Two beds and a coffee machine

Two Beds and a Coffee Machine.

She nervously opened the door, and looked at the sleeping form of her husband. He had finally passed out, probably from the drink, an hour ago - slumped in front of the muggle T.V he loved.

"Well at least he won't notice we're gone for another half hour," she mused to herself. But even with this thought she trod carefully around him, and was silent as she bent down to pick up the broken glass on the floor. Harry had thrown it at her in another of their arguments. This time had been worse than all the others.

She knew he blamed her for Ron's death, but that had been over three years ago. He had come home drunk - as usual - and started to berate her for not having his tea ready. It had been made, but she had thrown it away when he hadn't returned before ten o'clock. He had been more violent this time than he ever was before - she could feel the hot tears begin to slide down her face, stinging as they made contact with the gashes on her cheek. She could put up with the beatings, even the verbal abuse, but when he had rounded on their daughter, Alyssa, she could not just stand by and watch him do to their daughter what he had done to her.

She had paid dearly for the defence of her daughter she thought bitterly as she felt the bruise swelling on her cheek. It was time to get out. All her excuses had been used up. "I walked into a door." "I fell on the ice." "I got hit in the face with a bludger." She could never tell, and anyway who would believe that the great Harry Potter would abuse his wife and children? But no matter if they were believed or not, Ginny knew they had to get out.

It hadn't always been like this she told herself in the quiet hours of the morning. In the beginning he had been kind, and loving, and everything a boyfriend should be. She smiled secretly to herself, remembering the old days...

~~*~~

They laughed together as they slid into the disused classroom. Harry brought his finger to Ginny's lips, silencing her, as he listened intently for any sound of pursuit.

Ginny stood in breathless silence, her whole being centred around the tentative contact his warm fingers made with her lips. Why had he suddenly pulled her into this classroom? What did he want? And why did he seem to be shaking just as much as she was? Surely...? No, it couldn't be.

As soon as Harry was satisfied that they had not been noticed he pulled away from Ginny. Her lips still felt warm and tingly from his touch, but she managed to make them form the words -

"What do you want Harry?" He turned his emerald eyes to gaze deeply into hers, and she found the intensity of his gaze disconcerting. - Hell, with eyes like that who wouldn't?

"I wanted to talk to you about something in private," he said, his eyes never leaving hers.

"If this is about me helping you with your potions homework, why did we have to come out here?" She knew, deep inside why he had pulled her aside, but her automatic defences had kicked in. She didn't want to be hurt, and she knew that Harry wasn't entirely over Cho Chang.

But Harry didn't miss a beat.

"No, I wanted to talk about us." There was a long pause

"Oh. I didn't know there was an us."

"Do you want there to be?" His eyes... They looked at her so intensely that she felt that he was reading her mind, or looking into her very soul.

Ginny suddenly realised that she had stopped breathing. But before she could take another breath she felt Harry's lips press ever so softly against hers. For a split second she was in shock. Harry Potter was kissing her! The kiss was whispery, almost shy and his lips were so soft it was like they were not really there. But soon her body took over and she deepened the kiss, flicking her tongue out to moisten her lips. He tasted sweet, almost like sugar quills and although she knew that he hadn't had much experience, he was a very good kisser.

~~*~~

She was brought abruptly out of her reverie as she cut her finger on a shard of the glass she was sweeping up. Sucking on her bleeding finger and careful not to make a noise so that he would wake up, she quickly finished clearing up the mess and almost ran out of the room.

She hurried into their daughter's room, and gently woke Alyssa.

"Darling, we have to go away for a while so I want you to come and help me pack your things. Can you do that? And can you stay as quiet as a snidge for mummy?"

"Where are we going mummy?" Alyssa sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes

"Somewhere safe," Ginny replied, hugging her eldest daughter.

Walking over to the cot where their year old baby lay she was suddenly overcome with a weariness so strong that her legs gave out on her. She slumped to the floor and Alyssa gave a strangled cry, trying to muffle the sounds of her own sobs.

"Mummy, get up! We have to go. Rosita will cry, and we'll get noticed. Please mummy, get up!" Only the voice of her child begging her to get up gave her enough strength to finish the task of getting them all to the car. They had to go by muggle car - Harry had put charms on all of their brooms so that they couldn't fly unless he let them. Ginny had secretly been teaching herself how to drive the car, always sneaking out at night after he had passed out, and never for more than 15 minutes at a time. She wasn't the best driver in the world, but she could get them from A to B and that was all that mattered at the moment.

She wrapped her baby up in a blanket and placed her in the back seat of the car. Then she motioned for Alyssa to get in as well. Alyssa could look after Rosita; make sure she was all right. She put their bags in the trunk of the car and looked back at the house. This was the house that she and Harry had bought together just before they had taken their vows. She berated herself for being so stupid as to not have seen through Harry. But she loved him. She still did, even through all the abuse. He was her husband, even if she was not his wife. She gave a cynical chuckle. How could she have been so naïve? Even back then she wasn't his wife. Every time they had made love, kissed, even just talked to each other, he hadn't been with her. He had been with him.

When they had first kissed Ginny had been so elated she didn't see through the façade. She knew he was probably on the rebound, she just didn't know it had been from her own brother! Harry had told her last year, trying to hurt her, trying to break her. She didn't show him how mucht affected her, but it wore her down day after day. Then they had received the owl. Ron had died in a freak accident while working in Algeria. He had been attacked by a manticore, and the mediwizards couldn't save him.

Harry had blamed Ginny for his own failing to admit to Ron how he felt and became bitter towards her. He had never told Ron because Ron had started to date Hermione, so Harry had settled for the next best thing - Ginny. Her eyes brimmed over with tears as she recalled their farce of a wedding.

~~*~~

She paused for a moment to adjust her veil, and turned to give her father a broad smile.

"I'm so proud of you honey," Arthur Weasley said as he gave his daughter one last hug before she made that trip down the aisle to her soon-to-be husband. He smiled warmly at her and took her arm as the wedding march began to play.

She looked beautiful, radiant even as she took those steps towards married bliss. Her train flowed behind her and her two flower girls walked in front of her, covering the carpet with flowers that floated at knee level, changing to all the colours of the rainbow. She wore a simple dress, but it was the most dazzling white that she had ever seen. Hermione and Lavender, her two bridesmaids followed her as she walked slowly, practically glowing, down the aisle. She could see Ron whispering into Harry's ear - "Probably telling him how beautiful I look!" she thought happily to herself. As she reached the altar Harry turned and gave her a dazzling smile. It stopped just short of his eyes, but Ginny didn't notice as the feelings of love for this man became so strong she almost fainted. She returned the smile warmly and turned to face the vicar.

"Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, giants and centaurs, and anyone else who happens to be in the room." An amused murmur rippled around the room. "We are gathered here today to bless in the eyes of our Lord the union of Virginia Rosmerta Weasley," The vicar smiled at the blushing bride. "And Harry James Potter in the bonds of holy matrimony." Ginny turned to Harry, but he was staring at the vicar, refusing to look at her. A flash of doubt ran through her, but she turned resolutely to the vicar. "I believe you have written your own vows. If you would read them to each other please."

Ginny turned to Harry. She looked deeply into his eyes - she didn't need cue cards, she knew this speech by heart.

"Harry, No sooner we met, we looked. No sooner we looked, we loved. Well actually that's a lie. I loved you before I even met you. Not many people can say that in honest truth, but I can. I heard tales about the "Great Harry Potter" and I knew that you were the one for me. Little did I know in my childhood fancies quite how inadequate those accounts were. A book cannot hope to convey the kind of person you are. You saved my life once, even though in those days I was simply "Ron's little sister" or "The girl who blushes every time you walk into the room" I felt like you would never, could never notice a person like me. Just another faceless member of the fan club that followed you around. But you did. You noticed me. And for that I love you the more. I still blush when you walk into the room, but now I know I'm allowed. And I hope that you will allow me to, for the rest of our lives. Together." There was a rumble of agreement from the crowd. Harry smiled, and Ginny felt her knees go weak - he still had that effect on her.

"Ginny, in the past I have been stupid. I was looking around for love, never satisfied with what I found, and never knowing why, until I found you. You, who were right under my nose, had I thought to look. I nearly lost you, and I shiver every time I think about what could have happened had I not realised in time. But you never gave up on us, never stopped trying and I'm glad you didn't. Ginny, to the world you may be one person, but to this one person, you're the world." Now there was an audible "Aww" from the audience. The minister turned to Ginny.

"Do you, Virginia Rosmerta Weasley, take Harry James Potter to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Do you, Harry James Potter, take Virginia Rosmerta Weasley to be your lawfully wedded wife?" There was an almost imperceptible pause as Harry glanced at Ron. It was almost too small to notice, but Ginny did. She looked at him, confused, but his face was impassive as he said:

"I do."

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," the vicar announced.

Jets of brightly coloured sparks flew out of many wands in the audience, and Mrs Weasley's sobs nearly brought down the roof of the church. Harry leaned forwards and all of Ginny's doubts were drowned in the passion of their kiss.

~~*~~

Ginny sighed bitterly as she took one last look at their house, and got into the car. She turned to check that her children were fast asleep and comfortable, then ignited the engine. She started to drive down the lane, and was close to turning back before she turned round to see the sleeping forms of her two children. They were probably lost in dreams of chocolate frogs, and quidditch and such. They looked so angelic and she knew she couldn't risk that.

"Goodbye Harry," she said and was lost to the darkness.