Disclaimer: Thank you so much for the reviews guys! I hope you all stick around to read it! This chapter is not beta'd so all mistakes are my own silly fault, if anyone does fancy betaring though- my email is gingerjessie100@hotmail.co.uk, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it is the longest yet! Oooh Ps- I am not Jk, don't earn anything from this story and don't own anything but the plot- and of course the made-up characters!
Stephen Covey-
"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage-pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically-to say 'no' to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger 'yes' burning inside. The enemy of the 'best' is often the 'good.'"
Chapter three: Truths
Three weeks ago…
How dare they? It was her only profession, her hobby, and practically her escape from stress; Quidditch was her life. The Holy Harpies were an amazing team with the finest of players, for her, Ginny Weasley, to be told that she was too old to be continuing her position as seeker-was a kick in the teeth.
She used her arms to brace herself on the edge of the sink in the clubs bathroom, and glared at her reflection. Tightening the skin around her eyes, she let it go and then repeated her actions. The faint wrinkles that appeared dampened her mood and the conversation that she had with her boss, came flooding back in a wave of depression.
"Ginevra, please take a seat." Ginny looked curiously at her boss and ventured further into his office as her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She had previously been eating in the private players dining hall and when her boss' assistant had demanded her presence in his office. The whole table had roared into "ouch" and the odd "naughty, naughty Ginny." She fled the scene with flaming cheeks and followed the assistant to Mr. Vaughn's office. She knew that players were only called to his office on serious matters and hoped that her request for a bonus had been approved- not that she needed the money, Harry's inheritance and wages provided more than enough for her family, but he had been questioning her on her purchases recently and she was tired of the sighs and looks he gave her. A bonus in her wages would help her past that little predicament, providing her with a cover up for her expenditures.
"A superb match last night Ginevra, amazing talent you have." Her boss' voice pulled her from the trance that she had been ensconced in and she blushed as she processed his praise.
"However," Mr. Vaughn began- she knew it, he was going to tell her that she was underpaid for her 'talent' and deserved the bonus she had eagerly been awaiting. She clenched her fingers together and twiddled with her thumbs as he paused before continuing.
"You have been playing Quidditch for…several years now, have you not?" he enquired, emphasising on the several. She nodded and crossed her digits in hope that he was going to approve her wish.
"Since the age of twenty-one I believe?"
She nodded enthusiastically, and almost smiled at the fact that any minute, she could be receiving a hefty amount of money.
"You do realise that usually, players are retire once they reach the age of thirty?" he asked. Ginny cast a thought to this fact and nodded in response, he was leading her off the track, the track that led her to her bonus.
"You are thirty six Ginevra, six years over the usual limit," her boss told her bluntly.
"W-What are you implying?" she asked confusedly, honestly, her age had nothing to do with her request.
"Mrs Potter," she noted the formal title that he had bestowed upon her and cringed slightly.
"-we have continued to let you play for the Holy Harpies beyond the retirement age. In all honesty, I believe that you are a fantastic player, however-"
"NO!" she cried out frantically. It had suddenly registered in her mind that he was probing for a hint of her resignation. She couldn't, and wouldn't let him take all that was her escape from normalcy.
"You can't!" she bellowed. "I'm perfectly capable of playing- and you know it!" she insisted vehemently.
"Ginevra, please don't make this any harder than it has to be. I think you have had your fair share of quidditch, you have a family that you need to provide for now. It's time to step down, the club needs a change and amendments have to be made" Tears stung her eyes as her lively-hood was stripped from her very core. Family life had been increasingly difficult over the past few years, with the kids, Harry's constant lectures over her neglected responsibilities and the truth that had been brewing in the pit of her stomach-she was going to end up like her mother, a housewife devoid of any excitement and damned to a life of mollycoddling, and fussing over cleaning and what not.
She was frightened. At the age of thirty-six she still felt young, alive, and well. Since she had left school, she had been plagued by the press for being involved with Harry Potter. She had almost met death in her first year of schooling, due the enemy of Harry Potter. Now she faced the sack, doomed to live a life as a plain and boring housewife, housewife to Harry Potter.
Taking a large gulp of air she forced herself to look at her boss. His eyes were scanning her, watching for her reaction and waiting for her response. She shook her head gently and dropped her head to her hands. She rubbed her temples vigorously and sighed in frustration. A soft click resounded through the room and she lifted her head to find a piece of paper waiting on the desk before her, followed by an ink filled quill.
Reading the title of the paper she groaned in annoyance….Retirement….
"Arghhh!" the present Ginny screamed as she swatted her reflected self. The loud banging of her fists as they met the mirror alerted the caretaker, and Ginny was soon interrupted by an unimpressed figure.
"Just…Fuck off!" she screamed. Swiping her handbag from the floor, she barged past the horrified caretaker and stormed out of the bathroom, red hair flailing behind her. Storming down the corridor to the exit she let out an ungraceful 'oomph' as she collided with a tall and burly figure.
"Get off of me!" she snapped, swiping her arms from the person as they helped her up from the floor.
"Ginny?"
Snapping her arm away, she regained her footing and continued to storm her way towards the exit, leaving the person who she had rudely ignored.
"Ginny Weasley!" the voice cried out. She was used to people shouting out her name, but usually it ended with Potter, this caught her attention and she slowly turned to see who was disturbing her rage. Once she had turned fully, she found that a tall dark-skinned man watched her intently. She couldn't quite place the name to his face, but she couldn't disagree that he was handsome.
"Its Ginny Potter now," she told him matter of factly. He nodded and raised his hands in an innocent gesture
"Of course," he spoke with a deep and gruff tone. Ginny stared awkwardly as she pensively tried to think of his name.
"Blaise. Blaise Zabini," he interrupted her thoughts. Ginny's eyes widened as he revealed his identity, he was certainly different. His teenage body had been replaced by a muscular figure and Ginny could nothing but stare as she noted his differences.
"S-Slytherin. Year above me," she replied slowly, cursing herself for the momentary stutter.
"Gryffindor. Year below me," Blaise retorted playfully. Ginny couldn't help but grin as he copied her answer to suit her profile.
"Although," she began, swiping a piece of hair behind her ear, "you hated my family, pureblood traitors was the technical phrase you used?"
Blaise shook his head lightly and laughed, "Nineteen years Ginny, I would like to think I have changed," he replied smoothly.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, brushing off the sudden attraction she found by looking into his eyes. The Holy Harpies club house was off-limits to any normal visitor and Blaise wasn't part of the team.
"I'm a financier of the club," he replied as if reading her thoughts. She nodded in what she hoped to be a nonchalant manner and struggled to find something to ask him.
"You? - No stupid question. Everyone knows what Ginny Weasley became: Wife of Harry Potter, seeker for the Holy Harpies and mother of three kids, am I correct?" he asked amusedly. She nodded and found it endearing that he knew about her advancements in life since Hogwarts.
"So, life is treating you well?" he furthered the questions.
"Yes," she responded half-heartedly, "everything's great."
With the thought of her newly found retirement, she soon wanted to relieve herself of his company and nodded before turning on her heel.
"Wait!" Blaise cried, before she could walk another step.
"Will you be around? I'm going to be here a lot lately; what with the club's changes, they need a financier on hand at all times."
Ginny smirked and bit her lip, "No, I'm not," she told him bluntly. He furrowed his brows at her response and she noted that he seemed disheartened.
"But, I thought you came here for training and for those team meetings?" he replied confusedly.
"There will be no more team meetings for me, in three weeks my retirement will be taken into effect and I will officially be off the team."
"You're retiring?" he asked, unreservedly shocked.
She nodded in response, "Don't you go telling anyone. Harry doesn't even know yet, I think he was expecting this to happen; I won't even be surprised if he asked Mr. Vaughn to sack me."
They were soon interrupted by the sound of the cleaner's magical Hoover and so Ginny motioned for him to walk with her. Leaving the noise behind, she let him follow her to the exit and explained about Quidditch being her escape, he one true hobby that relieved her of the stress that came with the family and her popularity.
"The press are going to have a field day with your retirement," Blaise told her as they neared the exit.
"Sure they are. But to be honest, I liked the way that I was centre of attention, I actually damn well loved it. It makes me feel young, I don't want to grow old and become a housewife just yet. That's why I'm keeping my retirement under wraps, until it's actually over, when the kids are in school and out of the way. I want to keep my sanity for as long as I can, before I turn into my mother."
"That seems to be a good plan, I hope it fares well," he replied. Ginny sighed and smiled lightly before she accioed her belongings and pulled her coat on.
"Nice seeing you," she told him politely. Blaise regarded her with the same words and couldn't help but to feel her angst, he wasn't going to let Ginny Weasley slip away from Quidditch if he could help it…
Present
Harry and Hermione stared awkwardly as they both struggled with the burning desire to reveal all to one another. Hermione twiddled with her thumbs absentmindedly, whilst Harry fiddled with his fork that had previously been resting on his plate. The hustle and bustle of the muggle world could be heard in the background as they both fought the intense feeling of discord, which they had both suffered at home. Having known each other for twenty six years, they still found talking about their failures in life difficult to discuss. Hermione sat pondering on whether she should even tell Harry about her troubles, if she did, and then Ron were to find out, he would resent her for spreading their personal problems. Harry on the other hand hated the fact that Ginny still caused him pain, the one person apart from Hermione, he thought he could trust. He didn't want Hermione to feel sorry for him, as she had done with his previous woes.
"So," she sighed as the muggle waiter produced a bill and left.
"So," he repeated.
They continued to stare at one another, still lingering on the edge of spilling their secrets. Hermione soon lowered her eyes and found her glass of water to be somewhat interesting as she tried to avoid Harry's burning gaze. Feeling that she was loosing interest in his company, Harry soon caved and sighed apprehensively. Placing his fork back onto his empty plate, he stretched lightly before beginning his revelation.
"It's Ginny," he began minimally, watching Hermione's face for any sign of readable emotion. She lifted her gaze from the glass that she had been staring intently at, and sighed.
"I thought so" she replied hesitantly. Harry raised his eyebrows in response and she continued to explain.
"You seemed to be distancing yourselves from one another- that was clear back on the platform. Then the way you looked at Ginny when she grabbed you by the waist, you were lucky that Ron didn't catch it. Then there was the fact that Lily had a little argument with Hugo, kids are inquisitive and insightful Harry, they pick up what is going on around them," she explained thoroughly.
"So that means that Hugo picked up on what is happening at home? He seemed to have a valid point to express about you and Ron," Harry replied, ever so eager to probe further into her personal life.
"You could say that Ron and I have our spats and whatnot, its all part of married life," she said whilst trying hard not to reveal anything too personal.
"So as you were saying, you and Ginny," she added, egging him to finish his revelation. Harry simply raised his hand and shook his head.
"I'll make you a deal, you tell me what is really going on between you and Ron, and I will spill all on my troubles with Ginny," he offered. As she stared into his awaiting eyes, curiosity got the better of her and so she nodded lightly.
"Fine," she agreed. The two sat outside the muggle restaurant and slowly recited their current problems to one another. Ron's alcoholism, his unsavoury demeanour and the fact that he wasn't sure of his feelings over Hermione, visibly shocked Harry. He couldn't believe that his best friend had told his wife that he was no longer in love with her, after marrying and producing a family, he just didn't understand Ron's sudden turn of feelings towards his wife.
"-And he's adamant that he is not cheating, and never will. But there's always this nagging and incessant feeling that he is. For example, take today, he's called to the ministry and provides me with this whole palaver that he needs to be at work due to a serious incident, yet you, the ministry's Head Auror is left behind. Unless he has been promoted to the minister's top Auror official, I don't see why such an incident was excluded from your knowledge. I highly doubt that Ronal has been promoted, so there is still the hullabaloo over his whereabouts as well as the fact that he has lost his love for me. It's all a bit much to take right now," she rubbed her eyes wearily. Harry patted her free hand comfortingly and she smiled at him appreciatively.
"Mione, just relax. He'll be back soon and he will find those feelings again, trust me, he's Ron for Merlin sake you know the one with the emotional range of a teaspoon?" Harry assured her. Hermione smiled broadly and shook her head.
"How is it, that every time I need assurance, you always find the right words to say?" she asked curiously. Harry merely shrugged his shoulders; "I'm the chosen one" he smiled mischievously. Hermione instantly retorted with a light slap to his arm and he faked hurt for a short while. Not forgetting that he had agreed to a deal, Hermione instantly reminded him of the contract and he set about explaining his own personal problems.
"Well, yeah it's Ginny. She…Merlin, I never thought I'd be having this conversation with you. She's changed completely, I mean on so many levels. She refuses to mother the children, unless it's for some sort of publicity stunt, she returns home from work hours after she has explicitly set a time limit, she's obsessed with the idea of Witch weekly finding out about our problems and so she dismisses them. Our marital bed has only been slept in by me for the past three weeks, and the kids didn't even get a proper good bye from her, Merlin, it was Albus' first day!" Harry ranted. Every time he thought about Ginny, a sudden fury coursed through his veins, he wanted put of the hellish nightmare that was his wife and he wanted it now.
"I want to end it," Harry added bluntly. Hermione snapped her head upwards at his comment and her eyes widened in pure shock.
"E-end it?" she asked worriedly. She had only hours previously believed that Harry and Ginny were living the most perfect lifestyle, and so Harry's decision to end his marriage with his best friend, came as a huge shock. Harry refused to acknowledge her for a few minutes and raised his coffee to his lips, where he sipped silently while he mulled over his thoughts.
"You remember very well what I told you in the tent Mione. When Ron had left," he reminded her. Hermione nodded as her thoughts drifted back to the moment when they had discussed Harry's ideal wife.
"She's not the one Hermione," he added dismally, "she never will be."
Hermione sat and watched him battle with his thoughts, she could feel the hurt that radiated from his saddened appearance and she did all she could to keep her tears from falling.
"W-What about the kids?" she asked quietly, "You can't just leave them with her, which is what the wizarding court would probably decide, plus they'll be torn apart by the split, have you really thought about the consequences of this?"
Harry shook his head vigorously "I want to end it, but it doesn't mean I can. I will have to try for the kids sakes, but I really don't think Ginny will change her ways, she's stubborn and defiant. The only thing I can hope for Is that she is cheating, then I have a seemingly unselfish way to part with her" he added thoughtfully.
"HARRY, how can you say that? You want to wish that she's going to change, you really need to sit her down and talk face to face with her," Hermione advised.
"As do you with Ron, "he replied.
"Thanks Mione, I really needed that chat" Harry thanked her politely.
"The same goes to you Harry, just promise me that we won't let work interfere with our friendship. It's been weeks since we did something like this, me and you" Harry nodded assuring and helped Hermione to pull on her coat.
"Promise," He firmly stated.
"Same time tomorrow?" Hermione asked hopefully.
"Same time tomorrow," he repeated. Both smiling, they retreated their separate ways, both wondering what life could have been like with the other.