The Long Wait

Chapter 2:

The next day was Monday. Harry stopped at St. Mungo's after dropping Al off at the Muggle school he'd been attending for the last year.

"Mr. Potter, is something wrong with Al?" Casey asked worriedly as Harry entered.

"No, Al's fine. But I was wondering if I could see Healer Dawson."

"I think she was headed to see another coma patient on the fourth floor."

Harry walked along the corridor of the fourth floor and caught the Healer coming out of the room across from Ginny's with a quill and clipboard in her hands.

Must be a new patent of hers, he thought.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. I didn't expect to see you so soon," the Healer said.

"I know. But I've given what you said a lot of thought, and I think we should go along with it."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Positive."

"Then I'm going to need you to sign this form." She turned a few pages on her clipboard and handed it to him along with the quill. Harry read it through (skipping all parts that mentioned the risks) and signed it.

"How long will it be before she wakes up?" he asked.

"It'll take a couple of days for the magic to start working and another few before Mrs. Potter starts reacting to it."

With that, Harry quickly checked on Ginny and left for work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you going to tell Alroy?" Remus asked him as they sipped their Firewhiskey after Al had gone up to bed that night.

"I don't know. Would it do him any good?" Harry replied.

"At least he would be prepared. He's lived his whole life without a mother. To suddenly have a woman in the house who feels the same way towards him as you do might be a bit of a shock," Remus said, concerned.

"He'll be fine. I was."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The week passed by quickly and soon it was Thursday morning. Harry awoke to a tapping on his window and he opened his eyes (his vision rather bleary without his glasses) to see an owl waiting patiently for him.

He opened the window and grabbed the letter. It was a short note from Healer Dawson that simply said:

'She's responding.'

Harry quickly wrote a note to Arthur Weasley (the new Minister of Magic) explaining that he would be taking the rest of the week off and one to Healer Dawson telling her that he'd be there within the hour. He then got dressed, woke up Al, made cereal for them both and dropped Al off at school, all without saying a word about Ginny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry hurried up the stairs to the fourth floor anxiously and spotted Healer Dawson waiting for him.

"Is she all right?" he asked.

"She's fine, just a little confused about what happened to her. But she was asking if you and the baby were all right. I didn't tell her anything except that you were coming. It's your decision whether or not to tell her what year it is. You can go in now," she added, noticing Harry eyeing the door.

Harry walked in slowly and closed the door behind him. He looked across to the bed, but it was empty. Then he heard a noise to his left and when Harry turned, he saw her.

She was sitting at the vanity they had set up in the corner brushing her long hair.

"Ginny?"

She turned. The brush was half way through her hair, but she dropped it as she suddenly jumped up. "Harry!"

She ran to him and they stood there hugging (an occasional kiss slipping in now and then) for a few minutes before Ginny's legs buckled beneath her. Harry caught her before she fell and he carried her over to the bed.

"The Healers said I shouldn't be walking, but I couldn't help it. I didn't want to look like a mess the first time I saw you in . . . . what? . . . A week? . . . Month?"

Harry looked down. He never thought ahead.

"Harry? What's wrong?" He gazed up at Ginny; her face was full of concern.

"Ginny, you've been in a coma for almost eight years now," Harry said quietly.

"What?!"

"I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"What are you talking about? How could it have been your fault?"

"I went to Germany to look for Severus Snape when I should have been here with you. I could have protected you."

"Harry, it was your job to leave. And besides, I blame Snape for this."

Harry smiled at this. To know that not even Ginny blamed him for her eight year memory lapse was a great relief.

"Where's Alroy?" she asked. "I know I left him with Mum when I went to see Luna, but whoever took me threatened to kill him."

"Al's fine. And he sees you every Sunday."

"Has he asked what happened to me yet?"

"Only last week."

"What did you tell him?"

"What I thought, that Death Eaters hurt you for revenge."

"That's what I thought too. Only, I heard the voice of the man that took me."

"Did you recognize it?"

"Yeah, I think it was Draco. I mean, it was hard to tell, it'd been six years since I had seen him leave Hogwarts, and it was a bit gruff."

Harry and Ginny spent the rest of the morning talking until it was time for Harry to pick up Al from school, so after Harry promised her that he'd write to all of Ginny's family to tell them to come over that afternoon and that he'd be back tomorrow he left her reluctantly, thanked the Healer who had gone down to her office on the ground floor and went to get Al.

Harry returned the next day, his arms full with photo albums to show Ginny. He hadn't told Alroy about her yet and he was starting to see why Remus had warned him. All the Healers that had examined Ginny had said she would be able to go home any time. So the next day Harry decided to tell him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alroy ran down the stairs. "Where are my presents?" he asked when he saw the foyer was empty.

Harry smiled. "I thought I told you, the presents are at the Burrow with the party,"

"Great, let's go," Al said as he grabbed the container of Floo Powder.

"Later. Let's eat first," Harry said, putting the Floo Powder on top of the fridge.

They ate their breakfast quickly and quietly and Harry wasn't surprised when Al asked to go to the party while they were clearing the table. But instead of grabbing the Floo Powder Harry grabbed his son and carried him into the living room.

"Dad, we're going to be late!"

"No, we're not. The party's tomorrow."

"What? But we go to St. Mungo's on Sundays."

"Actually we won't be going to St. Mungo's anymore."

"Why? Are we moving?" Al asked worriedly.

"No, but your mother is," Harry answered with a smirk.

"Where?"

"In here with us."

"She woke up?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"When you were sleeping." Harry chose to leave out 'two days ago'.

"When can I see her?" Al said, the party now at the back of his mind.

"Well we can do it now or later."

"Now!" Al cried as he jumped off the couch.

"Good, because I didn't want to hide in that broom closet any longer," Ginny said as she stepped into the room.

Alroy ran over to his mother and jumped into her outstretched arms. Harry made to pull him away before Ginny's legs gave out again, but she stopped him before he got any closer, and instead Harry got the camera.

The best moment of my life, he thought as he took the picture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the end of the day everyone had cried at least once and they were all tired by nine. So as Harry put Al to bed Ginny slowly walked up the stairs and into her old bedroom.

Not much had changed in the eight years that had passed since she had sat brushing her hair at the vanity in the on-suite bathroom before she had gone to meet Luna in a Muggle diner that dreadful day.

Harry walked up behind her. "Tired?" he asked.

"Yeah. Harry, I'm sorry you had to raise Alroy by yourself."

"I thought we talked about this already; its Snape and Draco's fault. Besides, I had your whole family to help me." He laughed.

They both silently got into their pajamas (Ginny using the pair Harry had bought her the day before) and got into bed. They talked for a few minutes before turning out the lights. Harry passed out immediately, but Ginny lay awake, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't help feeling a loss; her memory, her baby, her life. All had been altered and she couldn't stand it.

I'm never going to get over this, she thought. I've got to get my life back.