I Saw My Lady Weep

Chapter 26: In The Rot And The Rust...

"Really? That's very cool. I had no idea." Harry leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table. He was finding he liked this new version of Percy a lot more than he ever liked the old.

Percy looked confused. "She's really never told you? I'm surprised, I mean, one would think... what with you two getting engaged and all..."

"Percy! Zhat was rude." Fleur scowled at him. Audrey, apparently agreeing, slapped Percy on the shoulder.

"Sorry, Fleur." Percy made an effort to look contrite. "Sorry about that, Harry."

"Don't worry about it. I agree... it's just not anything we've discussed. We've talked about where we'd live, and... you know... things like kids and such... but I don't think either of us has talked about what we'll do for a living." Harry rubbed his jaw.

Hermione looked aghast. "Harry... One would think that would be a pretty important issue to discuss, wouldn't one?"

"Not necessarily, Hermione." Harry thought about it and smiled. "I mean... I was sort of focused on doing something about this annoying wizard who kept coming round and mucking things up every now and again. You actually have to expect you're going to have a future before you can plan for it."

"Yeah, well, that's you," Percy said. "Ginny told me what she wanted to do for a living... oh, I think it was her third year at Hogwarts. Right after the Quidditch World Cup, she announced to me and George and Fred that she wanted to play Quidditch. You never found out?"

"I remember she said something about playing Quidditch, but I always assumed she was talking about Hogwarts. I thought she wanted to be a Healer. I seem to remember Molly saying something about it."

"Yeah... Mum said. Not Ginny." Ron picked up the near empty wine bottle and upended it into his glass.

"So how does one become a professional Quidditch player?" Hermione wondered.

"Get scouted by one of the teams while you're playing in a match. The teams are always sending scouts to the Hogwarts matches. Or you could be scouted while playing in one of the local leagues." Speaking about Quidditch, Ron was in his element. "You know... one of the pub league teams? The professional league teams send scouts around to those. And then there are open tryouts. But those don't happen often."

"Tricky... with her not being on a House Team..." Harry frowned. "Wonder if any of the pub league teams need a Chaser..."

"What yoo should doo ees owl a Queeditch team an' zay 'zis ees 'arry Pottair, I deman' zat yoo give my girlfren' a try-owt," Fleur giggled. "Use zome of your populairetee."

Everyone laughed... until Ron suddenly sobered up and said, "Actually, that's not a bad idea."

"Oh come on, Ron..." Harry said. "What kind of pull do I have with a Quidditch team, anyway?"

Percy lifted his arm and put it around Audrey as she leaned in to him. "I think you would be surprised what your name would bring you right now, Harry. You're still the man of the hour, you know. It wouldn't surprise me if the entire League fell over itself giving Ginny a try-out if you asked them to. They'd likely put her on a team regardless; just to say they had your girlfriend..." Percy suddenly frowned, as if something new had occurred to him.

Hermione was still thoughtful. "Yes, but the real question is would Ginny appreciate it if that happened? You know she likes to be as independent as possible..." She looked at Percy and realized that they had come to the same conclusion.

"I'm fine with that," Harry said. "I think I'd be happier being known as 'the husband of Ginny Wea... Ginny Potter..." He grinned, and everyone around the table joined him. "... than I ever was as the Boy Who Lived or the Chosen One or whatever it is they're calling me now."

"I think my favorite so far has been 'the Man Who Triumphed'. Though the 'Savior of the Wizarding World' is a close second." Ron leaned over and with a wide grin he gave Harry a friendly shove. "Nothing like having your head inflated... "

"Oh shut it, you! You're one to talk... you're on a bloody Chocolate Frog Card..." Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, isn't it cool?"

XxxxxxX

Ginny stood in the door of what used to be her room, looking it over to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything she wanted to bring. It was, she was discovering, harder to leave than she imagined. This room had been her own sanctuary within the larger Weasley home for her entire life... and now it wasn't any longer. And that, Ginny found, hurt just a little.

Ginny turned from the room to look at Molly, standing right behind her. "Well... I think that's all of it." She turned and hugged her mother, knowing that regardless of how much leaving stung, her mother was feeling it all the more. "I'll be okay, Mum. I'm not disappearing. I'll be back, just like the rest of the kids..."

"It's different, Ginny. It's different with you. I've grown used to Bill and Charlie not being here. Even Percy and George, really. But you'll always be my baby." Molly kissed her cheek and hugged her again.

"I know, Mum. I'll always be your baby. Even when I have babies of my own, I'll be your baby." Ginny felt a sudden pang of homesickness. Strange, seeing as she hadn't left yet... "I love you, Mum. I... I should collect Harry up. It's getting late and we need to go... home."

Molly nodded but couldn't say anything. "All right, dear. You'll... you'll have to invite your father and me, or you know... the family... over when you've settled. Maybe have us over for dinner."

Ginny smiled. "That would be fun. Well... I'll talk to you later, Mum." She turned from her mother and walked down the stairs. Behind her, Molly entered her daughter's former room and sat down on the bed. She was crying within minutes.

Ginny stepped into the parlor. She smiled at George and Bill, trying to muddle through her feelings. "Well... we're going to go. I'll see you both later. Mum wants me to invite everyone over once we get settled. So I'll... I'll get in touch once we're ready to do that."

"Sounds good. You know I'm always up for eating." George hugged her.

"Ginny..." Bill ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He nodded to her, but his face was still glum.

Ginny approached her older brother and hugged him. "It's okay, Bill. Say what you have to say. I'd like to get it all out now, so there's nothing hanging over our heads."

Bill nodded. "Ginny... I know you well enough... to see how much you care for Harry. And I see the way he looks at you. I know you both love each other, but... you're both so young." He made a vague gesture with one of his hands, as if not sure what to say next. "Are you certain about this, Ginny? Are you certain that this is what you want? You've got so much time ahead of you..."

Ginny snorted. An odd, offended look crept across her face, only to be replaced by confusion. "Bill, how can you ask me that? Am I certain? Don't you trust me enough to know...? Bill..." Her face softened; her older brother wasn't looking at her, but was carefully studying his shoes "... Bill, look at me." When his eyes finally met hers, she simply nodded. "Yes, Bill... I'm sure."

He sighed again. "Look, Ginny... I don't want to hurt you... it's just that, well, you've been by baby sister for all your life and I've kind of got into the habit of looking out for you. I want you to be happy, and I just want to be sure you're going to be. With Harry, I mean. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy... in fact, given everything he's been through I'm amazed at how wonderful he turned out. I just worry about you. It's part of my job, being your brother."

"I know. It's all right, Bill. We'll be fine together. I promise. And if I ever need help, I'll come ask you for it, okay?" Ginny gave her brother a hug.

"Yeah..." Bill stood and walked her to the door. "If he hurts you..."

"I know, Bill." She smiled at him, waved goodbye, and was out the door.

XxxxxxX

Sunday morning.

Harry and Ginny sat under the awning, listening to the tapping of the raindrops on the tiles and watching the back garden breathe around them. The large, enclosed garden... though garden wasn't the right word... it was more like a small part enclosed on two sides by row-houses and on the other two by iron fencing and ivy... had come as a pleasant surprise, and he could easily see Ginny and himself enjoying warmer nights and cool days here. They'd only discovered it by accident that morning, when Ginny found the back door while looking through the pantry.

It was a huge yard, green and growing, with trees, and flowers, and benches, and it was perfect for them. They'd quickly decided to eat their breakfast outdoors. Harry had taken a quick look to make sure none of their Muggle neighbors were watching, and then conjured a deck table and two chairs. The pair now sat, drinking tea and exchanging pages of the Daily Prophet. They'd yet to work out an equitable system of who-got-what-section first, but they were working on it.

"We're going to have to get something more permanent for out here," Ginny said. She laid the Quidditch pages down on the table and smiled at what the day portended. "These are all well and good, but... how long do your conjured objects tend to last, Harry?"

"Mmm? Oh... yes, sounds lovely. Let's do that," Harry said vaguely.

Ginny scowled at him for a moment, and then laughed. "Darling..."

"Yes, Ginny?" Harry said.

"Seamus Finnigan is coming over later. I was thinking about shagging him on the couch while you watched. What do you think?" Ginny grinned expectantly.

"Oh... certainly, Ginny, I think that's a great idea." Harry flipped the page over to continue reading and lifted his cup to his mouth. He was about to take a sip when something must have lodged in his consciousness. "Wait... what?" He sat up and stared at her.

"I asked you how long your conjured objects tended to last." Ginny grinned.

"Oh... I thought you said something about... never mind... um... a couple of hours, I suppose." Harry smiled at her. "Sorry, did I drift off?"

"Yes, you did. What are you reading?"

"Ah... it's an article about the upcoming trials for the surviving Death Eaters." Harry looked thoughtful. "I expect we're going to be called in to testify."

"Yes, likely." Ginny's brow furrowed. "So what's the matter?"

Harry looked uncomfortable. "Malfoy. I... it's hard to explain."

"Draco or Lucius?"

"Draco. I don't think he deserves to go to prison... not with everything else that's happened to him." Harry looked guilty. "I don't like him. I hate him, in fact. I think he was callous, cruel, and black-hearted, but he was never murderous... quite far from it, in fact. I know for a fact it's the one thing we can't accuse him of."

"Dumbledore." The single word from her was as much an accusation against him as it was against Malfoy.

"No... that wasn't murder. That was assisted suicide." Harry shook his head. "Dumbledore worked it out months ahead-of-time with Snape... he was dying anyway, and used his death to further the cause against Voldemort."

"So what do you...?" Ginny was confused. She didn't like being confused.

"I think I'm going to testify on his behalf. I owe his mother a life-debt... keeping Draco Malfoy from rotting in prison will be my repayment of that debt." Harry threw back the rest of his tea and swallowed.

"You owe her a..." Ginny was quiet. "And what about Lucius?"

"Lucius can rot in a cell for all I care." Harry's eyes were dark. He hoped she didn't argue with him about this, or if she did she was quick to forgive.

"Well..." Ginny said after a pause, "... that's one thing we can agree on, then. Do you really feel strongly about Draco?"

"Yeah."

"All right. I don't like it, but I understand it. You are sometimes too noble for your own good." Ginny finished her tea. "Now... what do you think of some garden furniture?"

Harry laughed. "I suppose. I never knew until today the house had a back door, much less access to a shared garden." He flipped his pages over. "What do you have in mind? Metal? Glass? Plastic? Maybe cherry wood or pine?"

"What's plastic?" She looked confused.

"It's something the Muggles use because they can't cast Waterproofing Charms," Harry said. "We can take a look and see what we like. We'll have to find a garden shop, I think."

"It would give us something to do today that's out of the house." Ginny smiled. "I'd like for us to paint the bedrooms today, though, and the sitting room. There is far too much black, dark green, and silver in this house for my taste."

"That sounds fine, Ginny," Harry said. "The furniture doesn't arrive until tomorrow, though. Are you sure you don't want to wait until then to paint the rooms? That way you can make sure it matches."

"No, I want to finish making this our home as quickly as..." Ginny trailed off. "Harry, I think we've been spotted."

Harry followed her gaze. A middle-aged woman dressed in a white jogging suit was looking at them strangely. The woman was holding the leash to a rather fat pug, which was at that moment contentedly piddling on one of the flowerbeds.

Harry smiled and waved. "Good morning! How are you today?" He turned and looked at Ginny. Quietly, he said, "I suppose this means the charms are down..."

The woman was surprised by the greeting. Suddenly aware that she was staring, she smiled at Harry and Ginny and tried her best to recover. "Oh, yes... good morning! I'm Mrs. Rooney from next door. Are you two guests of the Dannatts?" She approached with her hand extended.

Harry stood and met her at the edge, shaking her hand in greeting. "I'm Harry Potter, this is Ginny. I'm sorry, but we don't know the Dannatts. We... er... moved in just last week. This is our first time enjoying the garden, obviously."

"You moved in?" Mrs. Rooney looked confused. "You mean the Dannatts moved out? That's strange... I saw Louise Dannatt just last night... she never..." The woman looked more closely at Harry and Ginny's patio, and then peered past them at the patio to their left. "Wait... that's Louise's bird feeder over there..." She straightened for a moment. "Now that's odd..."

Harry looked to Ginny. Her eyes were as nervous as he knew his were. "What would be odd, Mrs. Rooney?"

"Well... I don't ever remember noticing a whole new house in between the Dannatts' and..." She stepped past to peer more closely at the Dannatts' back stoop. "No, that's definitely..." She stood still, simply staring for a moment. "Well... isn't that strange?"

The fat pug waddled to Ginny and sat at her feet. Ginny, not sure what to make of the dog, looked to Harry, then to their neighbor.

"Oh don't mind him. Anthony is harmless, and friendly. He's never met a stranger in his life. Just scratch him behind the ears and he'll be happy." Mrs. Rooney turned her attention back to Harry. "So... Mister Potter did you say? Well... I suppose a welcome to the neighborhood is in order. Odd, though... Oh well... I must be getting a bit senile in my old age. Sorry to bother you with it." It was plain to Harry that the woman didn't consider herself old, and if Harry were a betting man he'd say the woman was only a year or two older than Molly.

"No trouble at all. I've had that happen before, myself," Ginny added, trying to get the Muggle woman past the fact that Number 12 had been magically hidden for decades. "I remember walking down Charing Cross and suddenly passed a pub I swear hadn't been there the day before."

"Hmmm... yes. Well... so what business are you in, Mister Potter?" Mrs. Rooney asked.

"Ah... well... I'm in law enforcement," Harry said vaguely. "I've just joined the... um... force. But it's a career I've wanted my entire life."

"And do you work, Mrs. Potter?"

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, but neither felt the need to correct her. "Not presently, though I hope to be in the future. I'm a bit of an athlete, and will be trying out for several teams..." Ginny was intentionally non-specific. She and Harry had gone to bed talking about the plans she had for her future.

"Oh, you're one of those female footballers, then? Excellent! Good for you, good for you. I do so hope the two of you will be happy here. I think we've got a grand neighborhood... you're not the only young family." Mrs. Rooney smiled, and Harry was struck by how similar to Molly Weasley she actually appeared.

"The McCabes over there..." Mrs. Rooney pointed to the back of a house on the opposite side of the shared garden, in the far left corner "... they're but a few years older than the two of you... they just had their second child. He's in advertising, I think. Now, the Dances..." she pointed to the house to the immediate right of the McCabe's "... are an older couple. Their grandchildren sometimes play back here. The next house is owned by a man named Oxley. He's a chef, I think." Mrs. Rooney leaned in to Harry, as if sharing a great confidence. "He lives there with another man... his boyfriend, I think... must be twenty years younger. It's a scandal!" She pointed to the last of the houses across the way. "That's the Adedejis... a Paki couple. They're nice enough, I suppose, though I'm not sure they fit the neighborhood, if you know what I mean."

Ginny glowered. Harry spoke up quickly, wanting to avoid a public argument. "Yes, well... I suppose we should be getting inside, if we're ever to get any of the painting done... Nice meeting you, Mrs. Rooney." He turned back to Ginny and started guiding her back into the house.

"Very nice meeting you as well, Mister Potter!"

Once the door was closed, Ginny exploded. "Oh, the Paki couple isn't good enough to be amongst us stuck up busy-bodies."

Harry laughed. "I actually think she was more offended by the gay bloke and his live-in boyfriend."

Ginny giggled. "So... do we Obliviate her, or are we going to be a part of the neighborhood and hope no one notices? Or do we Obliviate and then be a part of the neighborhood and hope no one notices?"

Harry thought about it... "Ginny, let's make that decision later," he laughed.

She smiled brightly at him. "Come here."

He came to her, and his thoughts were filled with words like "beautiful" and "sensuous", and when she kissed him, with words like "oh my."