1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. JK Rowling owns it all…

A/N: My reply to the “Flowers in the Attic” challenge by What Contented Men Desire, here you can find it: http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?showtopic=26767 Hope you will enjoy, it's kind of dramatic at times.

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Craving the Fame

Chapter One: Prologue

“I can't believe it!” Harry Potter whispered, nervously running his hand through his black hair.

“What is it?” Hermione Potter, his wife, asked him as she prepared breakfast for themselves and their three children, Mark, ten years old, Fabian, eight year old, and Alexandra, the youngest, only four years old.

The three of them would soon wake up and trudge into the big kitchen of the house.

“You might want to sit for this” he gravely said, and Hermione, worried, followed his advice.

“Basically, our investments in the Muggle world are going worse and worse. You know about the economic crisis that is currently menacing most of the industrialized countries of Western Europe and U.S.A., right?”

Hermione nodded.

“That caused the companies we invested in to lose huge amounts of money, and while the Goblins have done their best to minimize the damages, three quarters of our vaults have slowly emptied”

Hermione immediately realized the gravity of the situation. “We should have withdrawn from those investments months ago when the Goblins gave us the first warnings” she sighed. The two of them had faith in the Muggles and thought the weakness of their economy was only temporary. They were sorely mistaken.

“The worse part is, right now we don't have enough money to guarantee we can finish to pay for the house” Harry told her. “Knowing me personally, Ragnok has decided not to take it from us yet, but we have one month time to raise two hundred thousand Galleons before the next meeting of the Gringott's Council. Once the matter comes to the attention of the Council, there's nothing he can do to help us”

“Harry, we need to find a solution!” Hermione said, but the discussion was soon ended by them hearing steps in the hallway signalling their children were arriving. The two adults exchanged a glance to say they would continue talking about it later.

One month later

“Brother Goblins, the monthly meeting of the Council has started. The Muggle economic crisis has caused many of our customers to lose great amounts of money, and there are some situations that should be assessed.

One of those regards Harry Potter and his family. It is my understanding that the family vaults right now can't fulfil the payment of their house, is that true, Ragnok?”

The Goblin reluctantly stood up and nodded. “They have however managed to raise more than half the needed sum, if we could just give them more time…” he suggested, but the glare from the Chief Goblin quieted him.

“Our policy has always been of maximum severity, Ragnok. You know that very well. We can't afford our reputation to be diminished by acts of compassion, and believe me, I don't want to do this more than you do, Mr. Potter is a famous member of the Wizarding World. But rules are rules, and we must respect them. We must take their house. Now, onto the next matter…”

It was so that two days later, five people nervously knocked on the door of a big, imposing manor in the countryside, hoping someone would answer them, and hoping the answer was positive.

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2. Attempts at Seduction, Part I

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. JK Rowling owns it all…

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Craving the Fame

Chapter Two: Attempts At Seduction, Part I

When Ginny McTrodden, formerly Ginny Weasley, spotted who was knocking on the door of her and her husband's home from behind their house elf Stender, she grinned and went to greet her old friends.

“Harry! Hermione!” she squealed, hugging them both. “It's so good to see you! Come in, come in!”

The two smiled nervously at her, and once the kids were playing in the living room, the two adults explained their situation to Ginny.

“We are sorry to ask you this, Ginny” Harry said, “But Ron and Luna's flat is obviously too small for eight people living in it, and the same goes for Neville's. We truly have no other choice”

“Oh, nonsense, Harry. You don't have to justify yourself. You and your family are in a time of need and what are friends for if not for helping each other in dire situations?” Ginny said, contemporarily fluffing her hair.

“Well, but don't you need your husband's approval to let us live here?” Hermione asked, frowning.

“Who, Albert? No, he will be fine with it, as long as I approve” Ginny haughtily said, and Hermione felt a wave of disgust for her friend. She at times wondered how she and Ginny managed to remain friends when the redhead had changed so much from the little girl she first knew.

But after all, Hermione guessed she might have changed with the years herself, and not having realized it.

A few minutes later, Ginny was giving them a tour of the manor, and pointing out which rooms would be theirs, a sudden excitement bubbling inside her. This was the perfect occasion for her.

Of course, she was rich thanks to the marriage, but she was not famous. Only being Ginny Potter could make her famous like she craved, and while being married to Albert and spending lots of money was fun, now she had Harry forced to live in her house. A chance she must not let slip through her fingers to seduce him and convince him to leave that bookworm and marry her.

How could he have preferred Hermione over her perfect looks in the first place she couldn't fathom, but this was clearly a gift from fate to help her get what should have always been hers.

“Harry, this will be your room” she said, showing him a nice guest room, well furnished. It would have been perfect, if only it had had a double bed.

“Er, Ginny, there's only a bed here” the raven haired wizard gently protested, and the redhead looked at him apologetically, while on the inside she was grinning.

“Of course, there's only one bed, otherwise I couldn't try to seduce you if you slept in the same room of Hermione!” she thought, but instead she said, “I'm truly sorry, but we don't have double bed guest rooms…”

“Oh, well, we can always transfigure it” Harry shrugged, and took out his wand. Ginny scowled but no one noticed.

However, Harry's spell didn't affect the bed. Ginny almost squealed as she remembered.

“Oh, yes, how could I forget. Albert said we shouldn't transfigure the furniture, if we need something we can just buy it, so he made sure everything was transfiguration-proof. He says he doesn't want me to think he's not willing to spend money for my sake”

Hermione almost snorted. Ginny was wearing some really expensive robes, and saying she wasn't going cheap on her husband was an understatement.

The tour continued, and Hermione was a bit miffed that her room was on the opposite end of the corridor from Harry's, but sadly in the middle there were the bathrooms. Ginny had planned it well, putting them on that floor when she could have given them a double bedroom on the top floor. Now she just had to seal it before any of the Potters could find it and wonder why she kept Harry and Hermione separated when they could have had that room.

That night at dinner Harry, Hermione and their three children who had been quite satisfied with their new rooms but were still a bit sad for losing the house where they had grown up, and where their memories lay, met Albert McTrodden for the first time after a long time.

He was a rich wizard of Scottish origins, but born in France, where his father, Philippus McTrodden had met Jeanne Ducourt, a stunningly beautiful blonde woman, who was also one of the best Healers in France.

The two had met at a conference in Marseille, as Philippus was a Healer himself at St. Mungo's, even if his family inheritance would have permitted him to enjoy the pleasures of life without having to work.

Albert had chosen to not follow his parent's path in Healing, but he was a successful Herbologist, which was why Neville had recognized his name when Ginny had announced their wedding. From the little Hermione knew of him, Albert had been experimenting on some new varieties of magical plants in his personal greenhouse near Manchester. Well, the greenhouse was on the propriety of the house so he was never far away from home, but far enough that if some accident happened, those in the manor wouldn't be threatened.

Dinner was overall pleasant, and Ginny and Albert were the perfect hosts. After dinner Harry asked how come they didn't have children, and there was a bit of tension before Ginny explained that she felt she was still too young to be a mother.

Truth was, she had no intention of giving Albert a child, because she still hoped one day she would be married to Harry. Only then she would have babies, only Harry's.

For the following two weeks, life continued quite normally. Harry and Hermione would head to work in the morning, and Albert too, leaving Ginny home with the kids and the house elves.

That left the redhead with plenty of time to plan how to get Harry. She knew she shouldn't freak him out too soon, so she settled for a flirtatious nature, wearing dresses that while not vulgar, exalted her curves, especially her boobs, exposing her cleavage quite a bit.

Ginny also knew Hermione wasn't stupid, and if she stepped out of line the brunette would annoy her to no end, thus Ginny decided to slip a Confusing Potion in her food, so that her “enemy” wouldn't be aware of her advances toward Harry. As for Albert, their marriage was loveless, at least on her part, and he knew it but claimed he was content enough to be married to her. Clearly he lived in the delusion that one day she would love him back.

Poor lad.

However, if Harry noticed her flirting with him, he didn't show it at all, and the fact frustrated Ginny quite a bit. Deciding to step up her game a notch, that night she slipped Hermione a Sleeping Draught, so that the brunette excused herself early. The children were already in bed, and Albert claimed he had something to research so he closed himself in the library. That left Ginny and Harry alone in the living room, chatting.

Both were sitting on the couch, and Ginny moved closer.

Harry raised his eyebrows at her, but resumed sipping his Butterbeer.

“We don't see you often anymore” he pointed out. “Well, we didn't before this whole ordeal” he corrected himself, earning a giggle from Ginny, “but you know what I mean. The Weasley dinners, you don't attend them anymore”

She shrugged. “Mum keeps pestering me about grandchildren, and I don't want to hear about it” she said, moving even closer, their shoulders now touching.

Harry decided she might have had too much to drink, and that a retreat was a good course of action, so he excused himself, standing up.

Ginny followed suit, and smiled sweetly at him.

“Good night, Harry” she whispered, before kissing him hard on the mouth, pushing herself against him.

It took Harry a moment to shake himself from the shock, and he immediately pushed her away.

“Ginny, what the hell do you think you're doing?” he angrily said.

The redhead just raised her wand. “Obliviate!” she whispered, erasing the memory of the kiss from his mind.

“Good night, Harry” she said, before heading to her own bedroom. Her first attempt had gone awry, but after all, she hadn't pushed her luck too much. She still had a few cards to play, and hopefully they would have the desired effect.

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3. Attempts at Seduction, Part II

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. JK Rowling owns it all…

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Craving the Fame

Chapter Three: Attempts At Seduction, Part II

It was a couple days after the night of the attempted kiss, and Hermione had sent an owl that she would be late because there was an emergency at St. Mungo's, and to not wait for her because she didn't even know if she would be able to come home that night.

That gave Ginny an idea for the night. She just needed to make sure of a couple things, and then Harry would be hers.

Through dinner, everyone chatted amiably, the kids had perfectly adjusted by now to the new house, and Harry noticed they seemed to like Ginny too. Not as much as Hermione of course, the brunette was their mother and no one could ever replace her in their hearts, but they seemed to get along well with Ginny, considering they had never met her before this emergency.

After dinner, Albert asked Harry if he wanted to take a look at the plants in the green house, and not having anything better to do, the raven haired wizard accepted. Mark and Fabian were playing Exploding Snap in the living room while Alexandra watched them, giggling madly at every explosion.

Ginny left them alone, and readied herself for the deception she would soon be playing at.

It was after midnight that Harry finally went to sleep, having tried to wait for Hermione, but realizing he needed his rest for tomorrow, as it would be a long day of work for him too.

Sighing, he changed to his pajamas and slid under the covers in his bed, missing the warmth of his wife terribly. But there was nothing they could do, until they could afford a new house for themselves.

Gringott's had been clear, they would not be able to get a new house before their vaults were again full, ensuring even a little loss of money wouldn't stop them from having the Galleons needed to keep paying for the house.

Turning in his bed, he finally managed to fall asleep, his dreams filled with a certain brunette who was currently still working at the hospital.

A couple hours later, Ginny slipped into his room, after making sure no one else was awake in the house. She was wearing only a see-through pink nightdress, which would have left very little to the imagination if the house wasn't so dark. But darkness was what she needed to accomplish her mission.

Padding to Harry's bed, she gingerly sat on the empty side, and cautiously slipped under the covers.

She moved closer to him, and Harry reflexively wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her at him.

“Mione” he mumbled, and Ginny rolled her eyes. “Yes, it's me” she whispered, hoping his sleepy brain wouldn't recognize her voice.

She could see him smile thanks to the moonlight slightly peering in from the window, and then she kissed him.

Believing she was Hermione, Harry kissed her back, stroking her sides with his hands as he pulled her even closer, his hands wandering under her nightdress, meeting her bare skin.

Ginny's breath hitched, her heart pummelling in her chest. She was about to get her wish, thanks to his sleepy condition and a little deception on her part.

She moaned lightly when his hands met her hardened nipples, his hard-on rubbing on her thighs, and kissed him with a furious passion, excited because she was just a step away from realizing her dream. She had cast a Conception Spell on her belly before going to his room, to make sure she got pregnant when they had sex.

She was sure that he would do the honourable thing and divorce Hermione. Surely Albert would divorce her once he found out she was cheating on him. Harry wasn't person to leave a mother and her child on the streets. Plus, she could always alter his memories and make him believe he had willingly shagged her, knowing it was her and not Hermione, thus making him feel guilty for cheating on his wife.

Yes, it was going to be perfect.

Only, as sleepy as he was, Harry perfectly knew every inch of Hermione's body by now, and he especially knew about the scar she had on her chest after Dolohov's curse back in the Department of Mysteries.

When his fingers skimmed through the valley between Ginny's breasts and he didn't find the scar, his eyes flew open, recognizing the redhead in the faint light coming from outside.

“Ginny!” he whispered furiously, pushing her away, and making her fall on the floor with a loud thud.

“Ouch!” she cried, rubbing her arse on the point where she had landed, and glaring at him.

Harry, however, wasn't a man to be intimidated, and was glaring right back, angry at her deceiving ways.

Ginny knew what she had to do, since she had been busted. She should wipe his memory again, but she was also afraid that too many Memory Charms might damage him like had happened to Lockhart, and that she didn't want.

“Get out” Harry growled, and grabbed his wand to make clear he would hex her if she didn't.

“Don't forget it's thanks to me you aren't living on the streets, Harry” she haughtily called. “I can always send you and your family away”

Harry's eyes flared with anger. “That's why you are still breathing, Ginny” he hissed, and the redhead was scared of his expression. She made a beeline for the door, leaving him alone, both of them cursing under their breaths as Harry slipped back under the sheets and Ginny walked up the stairs to her own room.

The redhead was quite disgruntled the next few days. She and Harry kept ignoring each other, and of course Hermione noticed, but Harry didn't tell her what had happened. He didn't want his wife to worry that something like that might happen again. He knew he could deal with Ginny on his own, and if she made another attempt at something like that, he would take measures and take his family away from that house. Where to, he didn't know, but he would find a solution, if things became unbearable at the manor.

Ginny, for her part, was fuming, because she had wasted another opportunity and made Harry angry at the same time. She needed a foolproof plan, but Imperius wouldn't work. Harry had already proved he could resist it.

A love or lust potion maybe, but it took time to brew one, and there was no guarantee that it would work. After all, Harry had resisted the Veela charms too, he was really resistant to any mind control, and while those potions acted mainly on the physical aspect, they also contained a part of mind control to get the body to respond in a certain way.

With Harry already on the lookout for anything strange coming from her, it was going to be difficult to slip him one, anyway.

However, she didn't really have many other options, so she set to brew a lust potion. That was the most important, because coupled with her Conception Charm it would ensure she would get pregnant and the rest would fall into place. She could always slip him a love potion later.

It took her two weeks to finally have it ready, now she just needed to find a good opportunity to slip it to him.

Hermione being away for a couple nights for a conference in Paris was all Ginny needed, and that night she made sure a big dose of lust potion was in Harry's drinks and food.

When they were all reunited in the common room chatting after dinner, she could see the potion having an effect on him and inwardly smiled. He would sneak a peek at her, and she had consciously chosen a very revealing dress that night, but then force himself to look back at Albert, who was speaking.

When finally her husband left, she moved to sit near him on the couch, and he moved away.

“You can't deny it, Harry. I know you want nothing more than to shag me senseless, I've seen how you looked at me. I dare say you undressed me with your eyes” she huskily whispered in his ear, pushing her body as much as possible on his own.

“I…I don't know what you're talking about” he stammered, fighting the potion effects.

“Oh, how sweet. You want to remain faithful to Hermione, but you can't deny much longer what your body is telling you, Harry” she said again, nibbling on his earlobe, her left hand sliding down his leg to settle on his swelling crotch.

Harry gulped, but willed himself to not give in. Mustering all the willpower he had, he gently pushed her aside, and hastily retreated to his room, locking himself in with the strongest charms he knew.

Then, he collapsed on the bed, exhausted by the fight with himself he had just barely won.

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4. Attempts at Murder, Part I

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. JK Rowling owns it all…

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Craving the Fame

Chapter Four: Attempts at Murder, Part I

While Harry hastily retreated to his room, Ginny remained there on the couch, wondering why he was resisting her so much. Sure, he was a honourable man and he wouldn't cheat on his wife, but there must be something else driving him to resist even a lust potion, apart for his uncanny ability at resisting mind control.

She just needed to find out what it was, and then remove it, somehow.

With that thought, she sighed to herself and went to bed. At least, this time he didn't know what had happened had been her fault, and she could continue her attempts at getting him and most of all the fame being his wife brought.

No doubt Hermione had been ecstatic to marry him because of that, the little slut.

But Ginny would make sure things went the way they were supposed to, with the redhead by Harry's side whenever he was in the press. She would give him a family and make him happier than Hermione could. Ginny had always suspected that the brunette wasn't exactly skilled under the sheets, while she…well, she had had lots of different lovers through the years, before her wedding but also after.

What Albert didn't know didn't hurt him, right? So yes, Ginny was confident she was much better than Hermione in the sack, and Harry would love to shag her for hours, and she would be more than happy to carry his children.

As she mused about it the next morning at breakfast, a sudden thought struck her, like an epiphany.

The children! He was resisting her because of the children!

How stupid of her not to think about it sooner. Of course a divorce would hurt the three brats and Harry would never hurt his kids, not after all that he had gone through in his own childhood.

That had to be the reason, and so she should take those three annoying little things out of the picture, of course without having anyone know her responsibility in it.

But how? A kidnapping could work, but for how long? Aurors might find them and that would lead back to her. Not exactly the best way to win Harry's heart, letting him know she was the cause of his children being taken away from him.

She had to make sure they weren't able to testify against her, or anyway to provide a link to her that would get her in trouble.

She had to kill them, shut them up forever. She had never liked the three of them anyway, they were all too serious, their only redeeming quality is that they both love Quidditch, but that was not enough to stop her from getting rid of them, after all, nothing or no one was going to stand in the way of her winning Harry's heart!

If she really was to do it, she needed a well developed plan, one that was foolproof.

Smirking maliciously, the redhead retreated to her chambers to plot her moves toward finally becoming Harry's wife. Of course, she could kill Hermione too, and make things easier, but she wouldn't.

She wanted to see the brunette's face when Harry willingly chose Ginny over her, and for that Hermione had to stay alive. She could kill her later, after the wedding, and make it appear to be a suicide.

A couple nights later, when everyone was fast asleep already, Harry having been the last to go to bed as he stayed up late chatting with Hermione who had just returned from her business trip, Ginny silently slipped out of her room, wand in hand. Paddling through the corridors, she reached the room where little Alexandra was sleeping in.

Casting a Silencing Charm on the room, she neared the bed, and watched with fascination the little girl breathing steadily, her chest rising and falling, completely unaware that her young life was about to be broken.

Raising her wand, Ginny aimed it at the little girl's neck, and whispered, “Sectumsempra!”

Then, she waited, watching with morbid interest as the little girl's eyes shot open from the sudden pain and the difficulties of breathing, her own blood slowly choking her, burbles coming from her throat as she tried inhaling, the red puddle at the foot of her bed quickly enlarging, those brown orbs looking at Ginny pleadingly, asking for help, but the redhead just leaned on the wall, watching the show, until the little girl's heart stopped and she was dead.

Then, Ginny walked out of the room and down to the living room, where she created a bit of mishap, turning the couch backwards, destroying a small table and a window, then she cast a Stinging Hex on her own cheek, resembling the effect of a slap, and finally bound herself in tight ropes and cast a silencing charm on herself.

It was uncomfortable but it would make the situation much more believable when she would be found, her story being that someone had entered the house and when she spotted him he disarmed her, slapped her hard, and silenced her as she was to call for help, and finally bound her.

“He was really large, bulky, and he was much stronger than me physically, I couldn't do anything” she cried over Albert's shoulder while retelling her story to the Aurors the next morning. She had previously destroyed some precious objects to simulate a robbery, with them missing her story was believable.

She cast a glance at Harry and Hermione, silently crying together in a corner, hugging each other and trying not to break down completely, supporting each other in a moment of such pain and despair.

The redhead felt a flicker of guilt at causing Harry so much pain.

“I'm sorry, Harry, but I need to free you from the ties binding you to that…that…that cow, and if this is what it takes, then I'll do it with no regrets” she thought to herself, while the Aurors took away the tiny body of the deceased Alexandra Potter.

For a few weeks Ginny kept quiet. She figured she needed to give Harry the time to adjust to the loss before continuing her plan, both with the seduction attempts and the murders of his other two children. It wouldn't do to have him free from his ties to Hermione if the sadness of losing his three children drove him crazy. Ginny knew Harry loved them very much, and vowed to give him as many babies as she could once they were married, to repay him for this pain she was inflicting on him.

Besides, Harry and Hermione had become extremely protective of Mark and Fabian since the murder of Alexandra, and that made Ginny's job more difficult, as she absolutely couldn't get caught.

She needed time to plan her next move with accuracy, and in the meantime let Harry grieve a bit before administering the next blow.

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5. Attempts at Murder, Part II

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. JK Rowling owns it all…

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Craving the Fame

Chapter Five: Attempts at Murder, Part II

During the “break” she took from attempting the murders of Harry's children, Ginny thought hard about how to kill Mark and Fabian without raising suspicions.

Considering how much the boys liked Quidditch, and their young age, she devised a perfect plan, or so she thought, involving a broom accident, which would result in the death of one of the two brothers. Fabian, being the youngest of those two, would be the target because him losing control of his broom might be more believable than Mark.

While the boys were in Fabian's room playing chess, Ginny jinxed Fabian's broom, much like Quirrel had done with Harry's in his first year.

It would be only a matter of time before the brat lost his grip on the broom and the fall would hopefully be fatal.

Now she just had to wait for the weather to get better, they had had an exceptionally rainy couple of weeks lately. Surely the kids would love to go flying once a sunny day came around.

Just like Ginny had expected, three days later, the sun shone in the sky and Fabian and Mark were eager to mount their brooms and fly. Harry reminded them to be careful while Hermione clearly didn't approve of those two flying when so young.

“Mum, don't worry, we will be fine” Mark said with a grin, and the brunette couldn't help her face softening, and ruffling his black unruly hair, just like his father's.

Finally, the two adults left for work, and Ginny sighed. There will be hell to pay once the accident happened, but at least she would get another one of the brats out of the picture.

For half an hour, Fabian was completely in control of his broom, and Ginny scowled, watching them from inside, wondering if maybe she had messed up the jinx, but then his movements started to become more jerky, with hasty turns, and the broom not responding perfectly to his commands.

The boy was a bit upset at that but worked hard to keep the broom under control.

“What's wrong, Fab?” Mark called

“I dunno, Mark. The broom doesn't want to do what I tell it” Fabian answered, while harshly pulling it to the left so that he could follow his brother.

“Maybe you should go back down to the ground” the older brother suggested, but Fabian shook his head.

“No, it was fine a minute ago, I'm sure whatever it is will go away just as quickly as it started” Fabian confidently replied, but just as he finished that sentence the broom suddenly shook, almost trying to push him down off it, and then started pointing upwards, toward the sky.

“Fabian! Come down here!” Mark said, following him. Ginny watched the scene from inside, smiling smugly to herself.

The broom kept raising up in the sky, and Mark was having a hard time keeping up, but he wanted to be close in case his brother needed help, which at the moment seemed quite probable.

If only he could get nearer, he could pull Fabian on his own broom and then go back to the ground…

The younger brother was holding on the broom for dear life but it seemed to want to shake him off, and the little guy made the big mistake of looking down. Realizing just how high he had soared up in the blue sky, he panicked, and loosened his hold on the broom handle, feeling it slip from his grasp.

A violent shake tore his grip away, and the next thing Fabian knew was that he was falling at breakneck speed toward the ground.

Mark looked horrified at his brother falling from his broom and dived trying to catch him. It was desperate and he hoped to make it, because from that height Fabian would surely die otherwise. They had already lost their little sister, he didn't want to lose his younger brother too!

They were nearing the ground at high speed, and Ginny hoped maybe Mark would crash on the ground too. That would be too perfect, two deaths in one single attempt.

When Mark realized he wouldn't be able to reach Fabian in time without slamming himself on the ground, survival instinct kicked in and he pulled his broom up, closing his tear filled eyes, not wanting to see his brother's destiny, wishing he could save him somehow.

Unbeknownst to him, he performed accidental magic, cushioning his brother's fall as best as he could.

The crash was less disastrous than he had imagined, and when he dared to look, he could see Fabian still on the ground, holding his right side, his eyes shut, but his chest rising and falling just a tiny bit.

He was in bad shape, but alive, at least for the moment.

Running inside the house like mad, he called Ginny to help him, and the redhead had to act like she truly cared, bringing the boy to St. Mungo's, and alerting Harry and Hermione.

While the Healers were working on the boy, Ginny was witness of a heated argument between the two.

“I told you not to buy them real brooms before Hogwarts!” Hermione shouted.

“Fabian has had it for a year now, and he never had an accident. Mark has been flying for three years and similarly, never got a scratch” Harry countered.

They kept arguing back and forth for a while, before Harry stormed off, Disapparating away. Ginny wondered where he had gone, but hopefully their fight might escalate into something bigger.

Well, you can't fault a witch for hoping, right?

However, panic ran through her veins when Harry returned, twenty minutes later, Fabian's broom in his hand, and he occupied himself casting charms on it.

Ginny knew it wouldn't take him long to find out it had been jinxed, she could only hope he wouldn't be able to figure out by whom.

“It's been cursed” Harry said, just as predicted, after five minutes of analysing the object. “The same jinx Quirrel used with me in our first year” he said to Hermione. “This explains the fall, and proves it's not a matter of flying or not” he said, with a pointed stare at Hermione, who only scowled at him, but let it go for the moment.

“What I want to know is who would want to harm him?” Harry mused, “Seems strange that after Alexandra being killed now Fabian has been targeted too. Who's next, Mark?” he thought aloud, and Ginny knew killing the oldest would be really difficult. And, she had yet to complete the job regarding the other brat.

The healers decided to keep Fabian in the hospital for some days to be able to monitor his conditions. The broken bones had been mended, but they needed to make sure the child was ok.

Harry kept eyeing her suspiciously all night, and Ginny knew she had to distract him from the idea she might be behind the events of the day, and the only thing that would distract him long enough was to kill Mark that night, or so she reasoned.

When the manor was completely silent, Ginny crept into the boy's room, wand in hand, and pointed it at the boy. “Avada Kedavra!” she shouted, and the green light hit the body. A moment later, she heard a male angry voice behind her.

“Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus!”

Ginny fell face first on the floor, and felt someone turning her. Her eyes widened when she realized Harry was the one turning her, his green eyes flaring with hatred.

“I suspected it was you after Fabian's broom was jinxed. Who else would have had access to it, if not you, Albert or your House Elves? But Albert is always out of the house in his greenhouse during the day, and the House Elves would not take the order to kill someone, it's against their nature” He explained. “You might wonder why didn't I stop you before you cast the curse, well, that's simple. What you hit is nothing else than a book Transfigured into Mark's body, while he is safely sleeping in my room. Then I hid in the corner with my cloak on, and just as predicted you showed up. Your wand will be the evidence used against you to get you a life sentence in Azkaban” he continued, spitting on her face.

“I never thought you could stoop so low, Ginevra. Your family will be devastated by this, not that you care about them anymore” he sarcastically remarked, before binding her and grabbing one of his Auror Portkeys to the Ministry, his other hand holding Ginny's shoulder as they disappeared in a flash.

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6. A Trial and Comforting Each Other

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. JK Rowling owns it all…

Thanks to my beta Gingercat!

Craving the Fame

Chapter Six: A Trial and Comforting Each Other

The Killing curse cast by Ginny's wand would have been evidence enough to land her in Azkaban, but since the end of the war, trials were guaranteed to anyone, to avoid any fiascos like the one involving Sirius Black. Harry had been one of the most active supporters of that new law.

So it was a week after Harry caught her, a week that she spent in the Ministry cells, that Ginny had to present herself in front of the Wizengamot. Harry, Hermione, Mark and Albert were in the spectator part of the room, with the other Weasleys.

Molly was in tears, and Arthur looked down at Ginny with huge disappointment. Harry felt his heart break for them, but there was nothing he could do. Ginny had chosen her path herself.

Hermione was hugging him tightly, tears falling freely at the thought that someone she thought of as a friend would attempt to kill one of her children. And if Harry's guess was accurate, had already killed one.

“Ginevra Molly McTrodden, you are here to respond of the charge of using an Unforgivable, and of murdering Alexandra Potter” Kingsley, who was still Minister, started. “How do you proclaim yourself against these charges?”

“Innocent, sir” Ginny haughtily replied.

Murmurs erupted in the room, Ron had a murderous expression on his face and if Aurors didn't stop him, he would have probably attacked his own sister right there.

“Mrs. McTrodden, your wand has already been proven to have cast a Killing Curse. You proclaim yourself innocent from the charge of using an Unforgivable. How do you explain this?”

“Someone else used my wand”

“Your claim will have to be verified, Mrs. McTrodden. This means, Auror Harry Potter, responsible for the arrest, is called to testify”

Harry stood up from his place and walked to the chair prepared for him. Another Auror poured three drops of Veritaserum down his throat, and then he was questioned about the night of Ginny's arrest.

As other confirmation of him telling the truth, his memory of the night was shown. That would have been enough to sentence Ginny, but the other charges needed to be verified, so she was dosed with Veritaserum, given that her lies had convinced the jury she couldn't be trusted without it, and then she was questioned about the murder of little Alexandra.

She confirmed how she killed the little girl and then feigned the break in, and in another few minutes the trial was done.

Ginny was sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban, and on her way out she endured the insults of her own brothers, while Arthur glared at her, all the while comforting Molly. One had to admit that the redhead took all the insults with her head held high, and proudly walked out of the room to be taken away to the prison. Some might even admire her for it.

Albert filed for divorce that same day, and then decided to leave England. He claimed that he couldn't remain in the place where his hopes of a loving marriage were shattered so badly, too many memories of the time he had been married to Ginny haunted him in the Manor, and he would return to France to continue his research in another greenhouse he used now and then, which was situated on the grounds of another manor owned by his family.

He decided to gift Harry and Hermione with the one in England, saying that he very well knew it couldn't repay them for their lost child, but at least it was his way of saying he was sorry for not understanding what a loose cannon Ginny was.

That night, once Mark, and Fabian who had returned from St. Mungo's, were asleep in their rooms, Harry and Hermione snuggled close on the couch, both lost in their thoughts.

“It's all my fault” Harry finally sobbed, tears spilling from his emerald eyes. “I should have realized how desperate she was, and taken you and the children away from here sooner” he said.

Hermione hugged him tightly, letting him know she didn't think that way, and that she would never leave his side.

“It's Ginny's fault, not yours, Harry” she whispered, burying her face in his chest. He told her about the attempted seductions, and how he could have realized Ginny was growing more and more frustrated at her failures.

“But you could have never guessed she would stoop so low as to kill someone, and our children in particular, just for that reason” Hermione reasoned, and Harry sighed.

“How is it that you always manage to make me see reason even when I stubbornly want to punish myself?” he joked, and she smiled weakly at him.

“That's what I'm your wife for” she remarked, and he chuckled, kissing the tip of her nose.

“That's true” he admitted, pulling her close.

The pain of the loss of Alexandra would take a lot more to heal, and probably never would completely vanish, but Harry knew that with Hermione on his side he could face anything, she was his strength and he liked to think he was hers.

With that belief, he knew they could look to their future with optimism, and that nothing would ever tear them apart.

“Let's go to our room” he huskily whispered in her ear as he picked her up from the couch, his hands grabbing her bum as he carried her upstairs, their mouths fused in a long, heated kiss, tongues clashing as they climbed step after step, until Harry pushed their bedroom door open and lay her on the bed, kissing down her neck, and slowly unbuttoning her blouse, kissing her shoulders, while she buried her hands in his unruly black hair, moaning slightly at his ministrations.

Hermione quickly disposed of his shirt too, tossing it away after pushing it down his shoulders, and moved to his trousers, while he was fumbling with her bra.

Finally unhooking it, Harry kissed her left nipple, taking the quickly hardening nub in his mouth, and caressing the other one with his left hand, pinching, tweaking it, making his wife moan and writhe under him.

Finally, she pushed his trousers down his legs and quickly got of his boxers too, grasping his hard manhood, and making him hiss in pleasure.

The brunette still couldn't get enough of his reactions, knowing it was her who elicited them, and started stroking his shaft, making him groan, as he fumbled with her belt, and then pushed her own trousers and panties down her legs.

“You're so beautiful” he murmured against her skin as he kissed his way down to between her legs, where he found a slight dampness already waiting him. As he started going down on her, Hermione gasped at the feeling of his tongue on her clit, and then plunging inside her folds.

“Harryyyy!” she cried, and was suddenly glad for having silenced the room while he was carrying her to the bed.

He smiled against her cunt, and plunged in once more, making her grab the sheets frantically, as the waves of her orgasm rolled through her.

“I need you inside me, now!” she growled, and he was more than happy to oblige, pushing himself in to the hilt, and developing a rhythm, first slow, and then growing faster and faster, until he couldn't hold it anymore and exploded inside her, collapsing on her side and pulling her close.

“I love you” he said, kissing her softly.

“I love you too” Hermione sleepily murmured against his lips as he covered them both with the sheets.

Just before falling asleep, Hermione thought that even with the troubles that sometimes being his wife brought, she wouldn't dream to be anywhere else, and snuggled closer, finally letting her body get some needed rest as her eyes fluttered closed and a contented smile graced her lips, even in the midst of the sad happenings of the last few months.

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