You Don't See Me

CHAPTER TWELVE: Part of the Family

Later that evening, Abby and I had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. She was quiet the whole time we were eating and I didn't know what to expect from her.

"Dinner was delicious," Abby finally said, pushing away her plate.

"I know. I can't believe I ate an entire platter of pasta!" I replied.

Seven years ago, no one could have convinced me I could fix a dinner so efficiently. Mum was always the talented one in the kitchen. She was the boss, I had been the assistant. I had cooked edible meals before, but I'd never been the kind to experiment with exotic ingredients. But during those years I lived in New York, I'd somehow managed to feed myself with the minimal culinary skills I learned from home.

"You're a wonderful cook, Aunt Ginny. Thank you," she complimented. I was glad that she enjoyed the spaghetti ala Ginny I had prepared and that this wouldn't be the last time I'd cook for this family.

"You're welcome, sweetie. The pleasure is all mine," I told her. "Would you like some dessert? I bought some brownies from the bakeshop beside the ice cream parlor earlier," I offered, gesturing toward a foil-wrapped plate on the kitchen counter.

"Maybe later?" Abby stood, gathered her empty plates and placed them in the sink. "Can I watch some TV?" she asked politely.

"Sure sweetie. Go ahead. I'll catch up later when I finish here," I replied. In less than thirty minutes, I had cleared the table, wrapped the left-overs and washed the dishes before I joined Abby in the living room.

We watched television together for at least an hour before I told her to start preparing for bed.

"Can't I stay up a little longer?" Abby pleaded.

"It's late, Abby. Time for you to get some sleep," I said with a teasing smile. "Besides, you still have school tomorrow right?"

"When will I be old enough to stay up late?" she asked. "And how come dad goes to bed late?"

"That's because your dad's a grown-up, sweetie. When you get to be one, you can go to sleep any time you want," I explained as I cleared the clutter at the den. "I'll be heading up to bed soon. I'll give you a five-minute head start before I tuck you in."

"Okay," she replied. "Good night, Aunt Ginny."

"Good night, sweetie. I'll be up in a few minutes."

Baby-sitting wasn't so bad after all, not when you had an adorable kid like Abby under your care. She was very sweet, I had to admit. Not only was she smart, she was awfully pretty and resembled her mother uncannily. In a few years, Harry was going to have his hands full keeping boys away from her.

****

I hadn't expected to fall asleep easily that night, so I wasn't surprised to find myself awake at two in the morning, seated in my front of my laptop at a desk in Abby's room. A cup of chamomile tea stood near my elbow, its fragrance soothing. Propping up my head, I saw that Abby was sound asleep under the covers. I smiled to myself at the sight. She looked so... peaceful. Her face was always so full of energy that it was kind of cool to see her at rest.

I wrote an email to Kate earlier to check on the status of the Cartwright wedding and told her that my return might be a little delayed depending on the situation here at home. I had an email for Vera as well, and I explained to her carefully why I needed to stay a bit longer with my family for now. To update myself, I even checked the website of the firm so that I wouldn't have missed anything important when I flew back to New York.

Leaning back against my chair, I rubbed my eyes, which were beginning to burn from the strain of staring at the monitor. I took a sip of my tea, and then glanced back at my computer before I decided to turn it off.

It was getting late, and I needed to get some sleep because I had to drive Abby to school the next day. Her father wouldn't be back home until the day after tomorrow and so she was still my responsibility. I checked on her for the last time and then made my way to the adjacent room. But because I was feeling drowsy, it didn't occur to me that I fell asleep in Harry's bedroom.

****

I woke up relatively early the next morning considering I hadn't gone to bed until late the night before. Not that I knew what time it was. It just felt way too early, given my exhausted state. I was about to turn over onto my other side when I felt that weight draped over me. The weight of someone else's body.

Opening my eyes, I glanced sideways and saw a thin arm flung across my waist. Abby was using me as a human pillow. It looked like she managed to sneak into the room right after I fell asleep.

As I lifted up Abby's arms, I turned over so that I could climb out of bed and head downstairs to prepare breakfast. I let go of her arm, expecting her to take it back or wake up, but instead, as if she were a doll, her arm simply fell back on my waist again.

"Hey, sweetie," I whispered so I could tell her to rearrange her sleeping position.

No response.

"Abby?" I whispered again, a little more loudly this time.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open. When she saw me gazing at her, the first thing she said caught me by surprise. "Is Daddy home?" she mumbled.

"Not yet, princess. He'll be back tomorrow," I answered. She yawned in response and muttered something about going back to sleep again. "Go back to sleep. I'll go and prepare some breakfast for both us."

I grabbed my robe and hurried downstairs. At the bottom of the steps, I turned the corner and froze. Someone was already in the kitchen, seated in the breakfast nook and reading The Daily Prophet with his back to me.

I blinked. It wasn't possible.

"Harry?" I asked lightly as I crossed the kitchen to take some orange juice from the refrigerator.

Harry glanced up from the paper, startled. "Oh, hi, Gin." He put down the paper and took a sip of his coffee. "Are you hungry? I took the liberty of preparing breakfast," he said, gesturing toward the dining table. The plates had been set and we had toast, eggs, bacon and fresh milk as our menu that morning.

"Thanks, I was going to do that," I replied. "Aren't you back early? I though you weren't coming back until tomorrow?"

"We finished earlier than scheduled," he explained. "The Ministry simply required an ocular inspection at Nottingham before we give it clearance to host the annual Euro-Wizards' Conference. Plus I had to talk with the ones in charge of the affair and they'd covered every possible detail already at least three months ago. So I saw there was no need for me to stay there any longer. Satisfied?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry I asked," I answered. Before we could start another conversation, were interrupted by a loud yawn coming from the hallway.

"Hi hot stuff!" Harry beamed.

"Daddy! You're back!" the little girl squealed in return.

"Of course," he replied, tickling Abby playfully in the ribs. "I couldn't bear to be away from my angel for so long."

"So can you take me to school today?" she requested earnestly.

"My pleasure, princess," Harry answered. "Listen, after school, why don't we go shopping and buy your costume for the upcoming school play? Would it be okay with you?"

"Brilliant, dad! Can Aunt Ginny come with us?" Abby suddenly put in, surprising both me and, by the looks of his expression, her father.

Harry placed a hand on my wrist. "Ginny, you don't have to -"

"No, no." I traced the rim of my glass with my fingers. "I'd love to come, Abby. But does that mean I'm invited to your school play?"

"Sure! I'm playing the fairy princess," she proudly said.

"Great! You're one of the good guys," I replied.

"So. That's settled then. Your Aunt Ginny and I will pick you up after school," Harry told his daughter. Abby nodded and continued digging into her breakfast. When I looked at Harry, our eyes met, and I felt certain I had done the right thing. We were finally able to return to something like our old friendship.

"Better hurry up though or you're going to be late for school," I reminded Abby a few moments later.

"You have a knack for this," Harry said to me with a pulse-altering grin.

"I beg your pardon?" I honestly didn't know what he was talking about.

"You're good with kids. Abby really likes you," he replied. "I've never seen her so taken with someone in only a matter of days."

I forced myself to meet his gaze. How was I supposed to interpret that? 'Get a grip, Weasley! You're just the baby-sitter.'

"I have to go," I said, hurrying past him. "I still need to run some errands for Bill."

"It's for the wedding, right? Let me come with you," he offered, walking along beside me. "We could drive Abby to school and then go shopping afterwards."

"It's okay. Really," I sighed, feeling cornered by his insistence. "I'll just meet you at Abby's school." I quickened my pace and hurried upstairs but he was still close behind me.

"It would be easier for us to go there together," he said. "I insist. Besides, I told Bill I'd help you find a gift for your parents' anniversary."

I turned around, flashed a quick, tight smile, and said, "All right, you win this time Mr. Potter. Now I'd like some privacy if you don't mind? I'm in serious need of a shower."

Harry glanced around and grinned sheepishly when he saw that our conversation had led us to the bathroom door . "Sure thing. I guess I'd better freshen up myself. We'll wait for you downstairs afterwards," he gave a casual wave and headed off to his room to change.

****

After we'd dropped Abby at her school, Harry fulfilled his promise of being my shopping companion for the day. We were both surprised at who we ran into while were at an appliance store in downtown London.

"Bloody hell! Potter? Is that you?" a familiar voice called out as Harry and I were checking out a particular food processor.

Turning in the direction of the voice, we came face to face with Oliver Wood. "Wood? Hey man, how are you?" Harry greeted him in return.

"I'm fine. What's the great Harry Potter been up to lately?"

"Still busy at the Ministry as usual," Harry replied. "So, how's life with Puddlemere United these days?"

"We're practicing like hell. Coach seems determined to have a winning season this year," Oliver explained. "Good thing he gave us a few days off. Some of the players have been complaining about having no social life," he winked. I felt a bit uncomfortable when he turned his attention on me. "Won't you introduce me to your new girlfriend, Potter?"

My cheeks felt like they were flaming torches.

"Girlfriend? Oliver, don't you recognize her at all?" Harry asked seriously.

"Am I supposed to?" Oliver replied innocently.

"This is Ginny Weasley!" Harry introduced me as he patted my back gently. "Have you forgotten her already?"

"Ginny Weasley? No! Seriously? Ginny?" he said, wide-eyed.

"Uh-huh. Yes Oliver, it's me," I said. Oliver looked at me closely to convince himself I wasn't just a vision. "It must be the hair. It's a little longer than I used to wear it back at Hogwarts."

"If Harry hadn't told me that it was you, I would've assumed you were some supermodel witch that he's dating for the moment," Oliver nudged my shoulder. "Harry here is famous for having good taste in women."

"I didn't date them, Oliver. They were just my friends," Harry explained, growling.

"Yeah, good friends who draped their arms over you during Ministry parties?" Oliver shot back. "You should have seen him, Ginny. He was always part of the society pages at The Daily Prophet. Ladies are after unlimited photo opportunities with him."

"I really appreciate the report, Oliver. But you don't have to tell me all this. It's Harry's life," I whispered to him.

"You know what? We're going," Harry grabbed my hand and led me to the door. "Nice seeing you, Oliver!"

"I'll owl you, Potter! We might need a reserve Seeker on the team soon," he called out.

I turned and waved at Oliver just before the door swung shut. "Bye Oliver! We'll keep in touch!"

"What was that about?" I asked Harry as soon as we were outside the shop.

"Nothing." Harry stretched and ran his fingers through his hair.

"We just bumped into your former Quidditch captain at Hogwarts, then you purposely avoid any conversation with him, and you say it was nothing?" I asked earnestly. "C'mon Harry, I know you better than you think. What's wrong? Were you afraid Oliver might spill more interesting news about you?"

He squinted at me. "And would you believe him?"

"Well, I didn't know you fancied supermodels -"

"Ginny! I... never... dated anyone of them, okay? Please don't believe everything that Oliver said. He only got it from the society pages of The Daily Prophet," he explained. "My work at the Ministry requires me to interact with a lot of people. It's just part of the job."

"Oh dear, I can't believe I missed out on so many things while I was away," I said, feigning disbelief. "My dear friend is still very much a huge celebrity. I guess the media attention is worse than when you were still at Hogwarts, huh?" I replied as I reached up and tapped the tip of his nose with my index finger.

I immediately pulled back. Harry must've been shocked by my actions as well because he quickly looked the other way around. "I'm sorry. I tend to do that when I get too excited," I apologized first, breaking the seconds of silence between us.

"You never did that when we were at Hogwarts,"

"I was a shy kid then," I reasoned.

"And now?" he asked.

"I think I've changed," I smiled. "For the better, I hope."

"Too bad. I kind of liked the 'old' Ginny then."

I stared at him for a moment, holding my breath, and he stared right back. There was a giggle working its way up my throat, and suddenly I couldn't take it any longer. I burst out laughing at the exact same moment that Harry lost it too.

I gave him a playful whack on the shoulder. "You are so bad, Potter!"

"Ouch! That hurts, Weasley," he replied jokingly.

"Now before we hurt each other, I think we'd better get going because we have to pick up Abby in twenty minutes," I suggested.

Harry eyed his wristwatch, "Good that you reminded me. C'mon," he motioned for me to follow him.

I smiled secretly as I watched him walk ahead of me. Now this was something I hadn't experienced in quite a long time. I never knew guys could be such good company when you go shopping. As much as I hated to admit it, I actually had fun spending some time with him.

****

"What?"

That was the first thing Harry said when we set foot in Abby's school to pick her up twenty minutes later. Instead of meeting his daughter as we expected, we were both met by someone who I presumed was a teacher. She led us into an office. There, Abby was sulking in a corner. Her face immediately brightened when she saw Harry and me walk through the door.

"Oh princess, what have you done?" Harry asked exasperatedly.

"She actually punched a student in the face, Mr. Potter," a stern-looking woman explained. She introduced herself as Martha Hayworth, the headmistress of the school.

"Frances started it first!" Abby exclaimed.

"I did not!" came the voice of another girl. I turned and saw another little girl seated across from Abby. This must be Frances, I thought.

"She said I was different... because... I had no mother," Abby continued, her face distraught. "They've been teasing me for months already, but I ignored them. Now they're just too much!" Abby said and she burst into tears afterwards.

"And you allowed this behavior among your students?" Harry asked, turning to the headmaster for answers.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Potter. We don't condone incidents like this within our school's premises," Ms. Hayworth said. "I can assure you we will speak to the children concerned."

"But Dad! Why do I have to be punished as well?" Abby complained.

"Because what you did was wrong," I told her. "Ms. Hayworth was just being fair."

"I was just angry, Aunt Ginny. Frances provoked me to do it," Abby defended herself.

"And I was just telling the truth!" Frances snapped. "You really have no mother."

That did it. As soon as the words flew out of Frances' mouth, Abby darted forward and would have hit her again if not for Harry's restraint. I resisted the urge to give Frances a scolding of my own since it was not my fight. But this was no laughing matter, Abby was affected emotionally by all the teasing at school. Harry wasn't smiling either when he heard Frances' last remark.

"All right, that's it! Both of you, sit down!" he told Abby and Frances. "Ms. Hayworth, I'm really sorry for my daughter's behavior."

"We understand, Mr. Potter. I assure you incidents like this won't happen again," Ms. Hayworth promised.

"We're counting on that," Harry said. With our business there done, he said that we had to go.

But Abby wasn't finished yet. Before we left, she went over to Frances and gave her parting words. "Mark my words, Frances. I'll have a new mum soon... and you'll never be able to tease me again,"

"Oh yeah? Who?" Frances sneered.

"My Aunt Ginny," Abby said. I felt myself turning pale when I heard that.

"Abby!" Harry interrupted. "We have to go. Stop that nonsense this instant!"

And the conversation ended there. What followed next was a silent afternoon of shopping for Abby's costume. We were too bothered by the school incident to even talk about it. I didn't know what Harry thought of what Abby said to Frances before we left, but I knew I had to do something. She was getting too attached to me and I shouldn't lead her on.

Harry and I needed to talk.

(To Be Continued...)