Unofficial Portkey Archive

TITLE: All Roads Lead Back

KEYWORDS: Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Draco and the rest of the gang. Primarily H/Hr, but a slew of various ships as well. Post-HBP.

SYNOPSIS: Harry Potter always figured that once his destiny was fulfilled he could finally have a happy, normal life. Unfortunately for him, he fell in love with his best friend...and everything went straight to Hell! A very gradual, slow moving H/Hr love story told through multiple canon character perspective as well as several flashbacks. Set 7 years after the final battle.

SPOILERS: All six books.

WORD COUNT: 15,902

RATING: NC17 for language and later sexual content.

BETA: Padfoot & murphsmine. Couldn't do it without them!

WARNING: This is a continuation from the last chapter so expect TONS of G/N. Harry and Hermione don't make an appearance sadly (though they are mentioned constantly through out), but hopefully you will appreciate the sprinkle of D/G "action".

DISCLAIMER: If it looks like it's JKR's, well, that's because it is. She's provided me with the canvas and I'm truly enjoying painting on it.

As the bedroom door slowly crept open, Ginny didn't give it or her guest any thought. Instead her attention remained fixed on her two feet that were encased in a pair of satiny off-white shoes. The open-toed sling backs were daringly high for her, and if a good breeze were to come through her window it might have toppled the diminutive young woman to the floor. But she was so entranced by the sight of her ten little toes in the shoes that she didn't care if the straps were sawing into the backs of her ankles, or that the big toe on her right foot felt pinched and was turning purple.

She didn't even care that the shoes weren't quite the same color as her robes, although she was terribly prideful of the fact that she was one of the few brides that could wear virginal white on her wedding day and actually mean it. The Italian silk shoes with the low heels that she had carelessly tossed into a corner somewhere were a better fit and matched the robes perfectly, but they hid her pedicure from sight and to Ginny's mind that was a small travesty.

Her toenails were a fascinating color of red, Jungle Red as Glinda called it, and the shade made Ginny feel sexy and daring. Although Ginny knew all about Muggle nail polish and that they came in a rainbow of choices, Ginny had never worn anything on her nails other than the mawkish pink that her mother liked for her to don for special occasions. Ginny herself preferred them nicely buffed and clean if any thing. But once Glinda started painting the crimson enamel on her toes Ginny had been smitten. Glinda had also painted all of her brides maid's toes; Hermione, Luna, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, and cousin Mafalda's, along with every one of their female friends they could manage to hold down long enough that evening.

It had been Ginny's hen night. Hermione had come up with the idea to have a "grown-up" slumber party at her flat, complete with frosty drinks with little umbrellas and naughty parlor games. At first Ginny had hated it; she had hoped for something a little more sophisticated, but once the alcohol had seeped through her system, a feathery boa had been wrapped around her neck, and Glinda had pulled out the bottle of Jungle Red, her aversion towards the idea had been flung far aside.

Of course her mother hadn't been too pleased with her new pedicure later on. Molly Weasley found it vulgar and said it made her look cheap. She made no bones about her distaste and told Ginny, her daughters-in-law, Hermione and anyone else who would listen that only, "those kinds of women" would wear something so tawdry. Naturally Glinda Weasley took that as a compliment.

When Molly insisted that Ginny remove the polish she out and out refused to have it taken off, but since the front of the ugly shoes that Hermione had picked out were enclosed, Ginny's father had settled the Weasley women standoff by deciding that little Ginny should have her way on this one thing. Besides, what difference would any of it make if no one got to see the offending piggies, he argued.

Well to Ginny it made a hell of a difference! It was her wedding and she felt as though she had no say in any of the planning whatsoever. Every suggestion she gave Hermione fell on deaf ears, and her mother and the brunette left her out of all of the important decision making. Ginny had finally had enough. She was going to take a stand! Her feet were far too pretty to hide in a pair of clunky old heels. She was determined to have her way on this, and if that meant walking down the aisle with her toenails an inappropriate color, and in shoes that were the wrong shade and didn't quite fit right, well...by Merlin she bloody well would walk down the aisle with whore red toenails and in too tight shoes!

If only the damned things matched.

"Hermione, I don't care what you or mum say. I like these shoes better than the other ones. My feet have never looked so small and dainty, don't you think?" she asked her visitor who had been oddly silent upon entering the room. Ginny hadn't pondered the strangeness of this, nor did she bother to look up as she asked her question, she merely continued to admire her feet. It was no surprise then that the answer she received nearly made her keel over face first.

"To tell you the truth, I don't think I've ever seen a pair of feet half as lovely as those."

Ginny's red head snapped up at the sound of the familiar male voice.

"Nev?!"

For hours Ginny had been all alone in the house. Her mum was at Hogwarts supervising the finishing touches for the wedding ceremony. The Great Hall was being enchanted to look like a throne room fit for the Faerie Queen herself. Molly was determined to make sure that everything was perfect for her only daughter's wedding day.

Fleur, Bill, and her dad were all at work. Instead of busying herself with more important matters, Ginny had been waiting around at the Burrow all day for her Maid of Honour to show up. Hermione was supposed to leave work at noon, then come over to the house so that the two of them could go over the final seating chart for the Ending Party that next night. By three o'clock, with no sign of the usually punctual swot in sight, Ginny's barely sustained patience had snapped as easily as a cherry wood wand, and her need to cure her boredom had taken over.

Littered all over the room were sheets of parchment that Ginny had been practicing her future signature on. 'Ginny Potter' was easier on the ear than 'Ginevra Weasley-Potter' and would look better on stationary she had come to decide. When she had grown tired of that distraction she had gone downstairs and opened all of the wedding gifts that had already arrived and were being stored in the front parlor. The only present she didn't touch was the one with the holes in it that would rattle and make scratching noises every so often. She knew that Hagrid's heart was in the right place, she just wasn't barmy enough to see exactly where that place was. Once that bit of curiosity had been fulfilled she cast an Obvulvus on the packages and trotted back upstairs as all of the gifts began to meticulously wrap themselves up again. Finding herself still bored after that, Ginny did the only logical thing she could think of next. She put on her wedding robes.

Originally Ginny had dreamed of going to Paris or some place as equally fabulous to pick out her robes, but the same evening her mum had placed Auntie Muriel's tiara on her head Molly had tearfully placed a box into her daughter's arms as well. Inside the box were Grandmum Prewett's wedding robes, the very same robes that Molly had worn when she got married. Now she was passing them on to her little girl. Ginny had been so overcome by the sentimentality of the moment that she had tried them on right on the spot. Although Molly had been taller and a few stones heavier than Ginny at that age, a few quick alteration charms easily solved any problems.

That night had been the last time Ginny had worn them. Luckily she hadn't gained an ounce in the weeks since then and they still fit perfectly. They had fit so well that Ginny didn't even want to take them off. She swanned about her room tossing admiring glances at herself in her small mirror as the looking glass paid her one compliment after another. The only criticism it did give was on the pointy shoes that Hermione liked so damned much and that had promptly ended up in the corner. Ginny had sided with the mirror. She had just slipped on the sling backs when she heard someone knocking at the front door of the house.

"It's unlocked," she had loudly called out. "I'm upstairs in my room. Just come in," she had invited her guest, her voice colored by only a hint of annoyance. Ginny had left her door partially ajar to listen out for Hermione's arrival and had naturally assumed that the footsteps on the stairs were hers. Because it was only Hermione she didn't bother taking the robes off. She figured that since Hermione had left her waiting with nothing to do for so long, the bossy know-it-all could stand around as Ginny took her sweet time to change. However seeing Neville's sunny face in her doorway made Ginny realize what an unwise decision that had been.

"NEVILLE!" Ginny shrieked. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! TURN AROUND! TURN AROUND!" she yelled repeatedly as she frantically waved her arms in front of her. "Don't you know that it's bad luck to see the bride in her robes before the wedding?!"

Neville, taken aback for only a moment by Ginny's hysterics, couldn't help but chuckle as he gamely turned his back to the agitated little witch.

"Considering the fact that I'm not the lucky bloke who is marrying you, I think your fate is safe," he said, barely concealing his amusement. "That only goes for the groom. Besides, that's just some old Muggle superstition. When did you start believing in those?"

"Since Hermione started filling my head with all sorts of rubbish," she grumbled, feeling like a perfect idiot. She was blushing furiously from the embarrassment of being caught in the act of playing dress-up.

But there was also some small part of her that wasn't too frazzled to recognize that the way Neville had been looking at her earlier, while she was clad in her wedding whites, might have had something to do with the state of her pink cheeks as well.

The second Neville turned to face the door Ginny grabbed her wand and performed a switching spell on her clothes. When she finally told Neville that he could turn around again her mum's robes were laid out on her coverlet while she was dressed in a light cashmere dressing gown that had previously been draped across the foot of the bed. Scattered about were other items of clothing that were a part of her trousseau, and were all waiting to be packed for the Honeymoon. Ginny didn't give a thought to the impropriety of the situation since it was only Neville. He had been her closest friend for so long after all.

"There, all better now," she said as she dropped her wand on the bed. She didn't miss the bolt of color that flashed across Neville's face when he got a gander at what she was wearing, but being the gentleman that he was, Neville quickly recovered and gave her a warm, affable smile.

"So what's this I'm hearing about a shoe?" he asked as he took a few confident steps from the open doorway to come further into the room.

"Two shoes actually. See."

She lifted a foot and held out a slender leg towards him.

"I was just trying them on with my robes."

"They are quite becoming."

Ginny's foot fell back slowly to the floor.

"I think so too," she said. "But I'm supposed to be wearing those," Ginny grumped as she motioned her head in the direction that the ivory heels had been carelessly thrown.

"Uh...those are nice too," Neville said as he glanced at them and back at her. The look on his face said otherwise.

"What do you really think, Nev?" Ginny asked with a perceptive grin.

"They are nice," he insisted. "That is if you go for the repressed schoolmarm look."

Neville smiled at his own joke and so did Ginny.

"Well I don't, but I don't think I'll really get a say one way or the other." There was a brooding note to her voice as she spoke.

Ginny wandered over to the bed nearest to the wall, the one that Hermione would sleep in when she used to spend the night, and plopped herself gracelessly on the mattress. Neville, however, found her melancholy mood perplexing.

"Why not?" he asked. He moved a few stray sheets of parchment and clothes out of the way and joined her on the bed. "If you like those shoes," he gestured towards her feet, "you should wear those shoes."

Neville's eyes then brightened as though his mind had settled on some fabulous idea.

"In fact," he said as he sat up to draw his wand from the side pocket of his trousers, "there. That should be about right."

Neville had pointed his wand at her feet and magically the shoes were changed. Ginny marveled at the transformation. Whereas they had been off-white before, almost egg shell in shade, they now were the same ivory color of her robes. They even fit better; her big toe was returning to its natural hue. That was just like Neville; knowing exactly what she needed without her even having to say a word.

"Neville, you're amazing! Why didn't I think of that?" She reached over and engulfed him in a crushing hug. "They're perfect!"

"As are you," he tenderly said. The heat from his breath tickled her neck and shot warring measures of pleasure and chaos through her. It unsettled Ginny so much that she found herself shooting off the bed as though she had been launched from it. She kicked off her shoes and they rolled under her bed. She then sat on the neighboring bed, mindful of her dress robes, and forced a wobbly smile.

It had just come out to play again. She didn't know what else to call it or even what it was. Just every so often it would rise up between her and Neville; some unmovable monolith that couldn't be seen, but would make its presence known all the same. At times Ginny wondered what would happen if she simply acknowledged that it was there. Would that be so bad? Would that destroy the natural order of things? Would the sun just forget itself and fall out of the sky if either she or Neville admitted that it existed? Rather than find out the answers to these questions, Ginny would always chose to ignore it; pretend it wasn't there. Just as she was doing now.

"I thought you were Hermione," said Ginny, her voice sounding strained at an octave much higher than what was normal for her. She coughed to clear her throat and said again, "I thought you were Hermione. That's why I said you could come up. For all I knew you could have been a vampire. I could have given complete access of the Burrow to a vampire!"

She was rambling.

Finding her chatter cute, Neville said, "This is true. But from what I understand most vampires like to sleep in a bit later than this."

"You know what I mean," she said, holding up her bare feet to wriggle ten Jungle Red toes at him. He was having fun with her and she deserved it, but she couldn't help but feel cross at acting so foolish. So she decided to vent her frustration on her usual target of late.

"Damn Hermione for making me sit around waiting for her! I've obviously gone mental. She should have been here hours ago!" Ginny whinged petulantly as she folded her arms across her chest.

That caught Neville's attention.

"You're waiting on Hermione?" he asked. When she nodded he replied, "Then you're going to want to put a kettle on; she's going to be a while."

Ginny frowned as her arms dropped to her lap. "What do you mean?"

"I just left her in town; she was having a bother of a time."

This piece of information infuriated Ginny.

"WELL WHAT WAS SHE DOING?!" she shouted at Neville. He merely stared at her as though she had taken leave of her senses.

Ignoring that, Ginny jumped up from the bed and began pacing back and forth in front of him.

"Oh, I just knew I shouldn't have chosen her to be my Maid of Honour! I knew that Hermione would find a way to spoil everything!"

To be truthful, Ginny had never wanted Hermione as her Maid of Honour in the first place. The two young women had barely been on speaking terms for a long while, and sometimes Ginny got the impression that Hermione would go out of her way just to avoid her. If Hermione thought she was too good for her and her family that suited Ginny just fine. To hell with her! But when it came time to select her wedding party, Molly had tried to convince Ginny that having Hermione as her Maid of Honour made perfect sense; efficient, dependable, trustworthy Hermione. According to Molly, though Muggle-born, Hermione was meticulous enough to orchestrate the Rites exactly to protocol.

Dragon dung!

Ginny was no fool. She knew that her mother was using her wedding as just another veiled attempt to get Hermione and her prat of a brother married off. Molly figured that planning a wedding would put ideas in the brunette's head and maybe soften her up enough to finally say yes the next time Ron tried another one of his disastrous proposals. Of course Ginny had balked at the suggestion. Making Hermione her Maid of Honour essentially meant putting the woman in charge of the whole show. No way was Ginny going to give her that much control.

But when her mum had mentioned the idea to Harry before the Naming Tea, he had thought the idea brilliant. Ginny felt forced to agree with him. Everyone commented on what a fabulous selection Ginny had made in Hermione and how lucky she was to have her taking care of every little thing for her. Ginny would just plaster on an insincere smile at those times and concur readily with them, but inside she was seething. Harry would listen and agree to every decision Hermione made leaving Ginny to feel like she was the odd man out every time. Just like in school, he looked towards his best friend for the solution to almost every problem. Ginny stood by and watched it all wondering if this was what her married life would be like as well; would every important step in her and Harry's marriage have to be screened by Hermione for her approval?

That thought made Ginny's already burgeoning resentment towards her so-called "sister" grow and grow every day until the point that it would rear up and lash out at the other girl almost without provocation. Nothing Hermione did was good enough for Ginny. She knew that eventually Hermione would wreck everything. If anything went wrong with the wedding it would all be Hermione's fault! In fact, Ginny spouted off as much to Neville as he sat back in amazement and listened to her rant away. Before Ginny could really get going though, Neville grabbed her hands to hold her firmly in place.

"I believe you would think differently if you saw what I saw," said Neville, trying to settle her nerves. "Hermione has been at the Cadabra House all day. Pomona sent me over with the floral settings for the bridal party table. Well, when I got there none of the decorations for your reception had been put up yet and Hermione and the manager were having words."

"Words?"

"Well technically speaking she would only let the poor fellow get one word in at a time. You know, she really is scary once you get her going," he said smiling fondly. That didn't help lighten Ginny's already rotten mood.

"Yes, yes Neville," she said snidely, "but tell me what happened!" she demanded.

"The manager overbooked the banquet hall."

"Oh no!" Ginny exclaimed fretfully.

"Oh yes," Neville answered back.

He pulled her down to sit on the bed beside him again. He hadn't bothered letting go of her hands.

"The manager floo'ed Hermione at the Ministry to tell her that there had been an oversight and that the reception wouldn't be able to start until well after ten tomorrow night. He claimed that some goblin fraternal organization had already reserved the room for an awards ceremony before her. I suspect the greedy-guts was just trying to make another galleon where he could."

"That's not fair; we were supposed to have the hall the entire evening!"

Neville leaned in closer to her.

"Hermione very politely explained this to the fellow. When that didn't do the trick, she conjured up all of the receipts and paperwork right into his hands. When he still tried to argue with her, she accused him of everything from out and out chicanery to being the second coming of Grindelwald in the flesh. She then threatened to drag him and his shady business doings through every court in the land, even all the way to the Wizengamot if need be. That shut him up quickly. When I left he was fuming, she was making sure that the 24 foot anatomically correct goblin lady by the door was being dismantled, and they were ironing out the rest of the details for tomorrow. I wouldn't expect to see Hermione 'til well after sundown if I were you."

She could tell that Neville found the whole thing hysterical and expected her to laugh right along with him. However his story did not have the desired effect on Ginny that he had hoped it would.

"Great, just great. A whole day wasted thanks to her," Ginny darkly muttered.

Neville tried to cheer her up.

"Just think, with Hermione on the case yours and..." he paused as an uncomfortable expression flickered quickly over his face then disappeared, "...and Harry's Ending Party should be corking."

It hadn't occurred to Ginny until that very moment that this was the first time she had ever heard Neville acknowledge the fact that she was marrying Harry. Of course he had congratulated her profusely when she had told him the news about the engagement, and he had happily accepted Harry's invitation to be one of his groomsmen. But whenever Neville talked about the approaching ceremony he always referred to it as her wedding. Never hers and Harry's. Just hers. Because Ginny had been mulling over this thought she almost missed the rest of what Neville had been saying.

"...Luna and I will have a fine time tomorrow, I'm sure."

Ginny blinked absently. "Luna?" she questioned distractedly.

"I asked her to be my date for the evening," Neville replied.

"Oh!" Ginny tried her best not to sound too surprised at the news.

"Since I'm walking with her down the aisle it made sense. Besides Luna is a great girl, we have loads in common, and I really enjoy her company."

Ginny jerked her hands away from Neville's as her face darkened. Her eyebrows turned downward as her forehead wrinkled harshly.

"Oh?!"

"Not like that. And you know how hung up she is on your brother," he chided as he scooted closer to Ginny and rested a surprisingly firm hand on her left thigh. He squeezed, and Ginny felt her pulse quicken and the back of her kneecaps go sweaty. Her face remained unresponsive, though.

"It's just that Luna and I have always understood each other," continued Neville. "Even though you guys were nice enough to share a few of your adventures with us it wasn't always easy standing on the outside looking in at you four; Ron and Hermione...Harry...you."

He removed his hand and Ginny immediately missed its warmth.

"But you probably don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"

In Ginny's mind's eye she could see her 11 year old self longingly watching three close figures climb up the staircase of Gringotts.

"You'd be surprised," she said with a wistful and a far off look in her eyes.

"Well the way I see it, Luna's pining away over someone...I'm pining away over someone..."

Ginny's head turned to face Neville so fast that it felt as though it would almost snap off. She looked at him in astonishment, mouth hanging open at how forthright he was being. Was he about to mention it? Was he going to touch that unmentionable obstacle? Instead he only chuckled dryly.

"We both can get pissed and commiserate together," he joked, shyly averting his eyes from hers. Ginny wondered if maybe all Neville needed was a little careful prodding.

"Why are you here Neville?" she asked him, smiling reassuringly.

Neville blinked as though her question had confunded him. Then he slapped a hand to his forehead.

"How forgetful of me," he said as he stood up and removed a small velvet box from out of his other pocket. "I've been chatting away with you for so long that I almost forgot what brought me out here. Seeing Hermione reminded me that I hadn't given you your present yet. I wanted you to have it before...well, just before."

Ginny stood up. "But you already got me and Harry a welcome mat," she said sounding bewildered.

It wasn't until Neville raised an eyebrow at her gaffe that Ginny realized what she had said.

"Whoops."

Neville only grinned back at her.

"I'm not going to ask how you already know about that."

Ginny giggled. "Good. I'm almost too ashamed to tell you."

"I'm sorry about that though," he said apologetically. "I know it's rather useless. But when I was in the store I really couldn't settle on anything else and I sort of...panicked." Neville's hazel eyes looked at her sheepishly and Ginny thought to herself that she had never seen a pair of eyes that were as sweet and thoughtful.

"Oh, but it's a nice Welcome mat," she said as she reached a hand out to squeeze one of his. "It really is. Thank you. Harry and I will get a lot of use out of it."

Although Neville's face retained its boyish smile, his eyes lost a measure of their sparkle.

"You're welcome. But that gift is for Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

"Oh?"

He nodded his head and held the small black box out to Ginny.

"This...this present is for Gin," he said.

Her curiosity aroused, Ginny reached out a tentative hand to take the box from his palm. The uncertainty of what the tiny container could hold both excited her and held her in check.

"Go on, open it," he prodded.

"What is it?" she asked looking up into his eyes.

"Well you'll never know unless you open it," he affectionately teased. This made Ginny blush and finally open the box.

In scarcely more than the wisp of a voice Ginny barely got out the words, "Oh Nev!"

Sitting in the case, on a small bed of velvet, was a large, startlingly blue pendant. It looked as though it were made out of some crystal-like matter, although Ginny didn't recognize the gem. The beautiful bauble enthralled Ginny and she was spellbound by the swirling blue world that seemed to be encased within it. When no further words would come from her, Neville dropped the box on one of the beds and held the pendant up by its thin platinum chain.

"It's called a selkie stone," he told her.

"Selkie? That's a mermaid, right?"

Her eyes seemed to follow the dangling pendant as it lazily swung back and forth before bringing her eyes back to him.

"A changeling, more like," Neville explained. "They can transform from seals to humans."

"I think I remember Hagrid talking about them in class once." She caught up the stone between her fingers to get a better look at it.

"My Uncle Algie swears that one rescued him once when he was vacationing in the Orkneys. He fell out of his fishing boat. Aunt Enid says he was just sloshed. Anyhow, this stone is like a Remembrall; it caries a bit of the sea in it. When a selkie takes human shape it makes one of these to remind itself that no matter how happy it is on land it will always be a part of the sea; it can always go back to where it truly belongs."

Ginny felt a tear form in the corner of her eye. "That's a beautiful thought."

"I thought so too. That's why when I saw it at Borgin and Burkes…"

Ginny's startled eyes cut quickly to Neville. Her hand drew back from the stone.

"You got this in Knockturn Alley?!"

Realizing her concern, Neville shook his head adamantly.

"Oh it's not dark! I would never, ever give you something that could…that might…"

Neville's woeful expression looked so determined, so resolute as he tried to assure her that he would never do anything to harm her that his dear troubled face settled any qualms she might have had in accepting the gift.

"I know, Neville. I know," she told him, touching his shoulder to calm his worries. Her touch seemed to comfort him.

"I had gone into Knockturn Alley to go to Shrivelfigg's. Old Man Shrivelfigg sells his gurdyroot dirt cheap, you see," he began as he tried to explain just how he had ended up in the dark goods store.

Ginny held back her laughter. Neville could be almost as bad about his plants as Hagrid would be about his wee beasties at times.

"Unluckily for me I ran into this drunken, hiccupping hag who decided that I looked an awful lot like her dearly departed husband, Hildebrand. She chased me through the streets and tried to lay one on me!" exclaimed Neville causing Ginny to outright snort at his plight.

He smiled bashfully.

"I ran for my life! I took cover in Burkes. I was shocked to see a selkie stone in there; they have very little magic in them once the selkie discards it and goes back to the water. But since Burke got carted off to Azkaban Borgin has been collecting all sorts of doodads; most of it not evil at all. Just between you and me, I think the poor old man might be a bit touched in the head," Neville shared. "He kept going on and on about how lonely life had gotten since his dear heart went away, how much he dearly missed his other half. But he gave me a nice deal on this."

Neville looked at the pendant.

"I hear that Muggle children sometimes find these washed ashore and take them home to use as marbles, but wizards tend to leave them alone unless they want to call back the selkie it belonged to and make it his bride. Still, it's very pretty," he said finishing his tale.

Ginny took the pendant out of Neville's hand.

"It's as blue as the pond out back," she said as she gazed once more into it, a small smile curving her lips.

Although Ginny's attention was drawn to the pendant, Neville's eyes never left her enraptured face.

"Funny, I saw it and all I could think of was your eyes."

Ginny glanced up and was engulfed in a world of hazel. Suddenly her palms began to feel clammy and she feared that they would become so sweaty that the selkie stone would slip right out of her grasp and shatter into a million pieces upon hitting the floor.

And there it went again; that thing that had no name but was as real as Neville and herself. Ginny had no idea how long it had been standing between the two of them, but she recalled in great detail the very moment she discovered it had been residing in that space.

It was her last Hogsmeade visit as a student at Hogwarts. Harry was at an away game in Ballycastle and couldn't come and see her, but after a hastily sent owl, Neville had shown up at the gates to escort her around the village.

They had enjoyed themselves so much that afternoon. He told her all about his schoolwork up at Aberdeen. She confided in him how less lonely she felt whenever he came to visit. They both dared each other to try an acid pop at Honeydukes, and both giggled like lunatics as they each magicked the hole in the other's tongue away. Neville even let Ginny talk him into having tea at Madame Puddifoot's. He even pretended not to be allergic to the pink confetti the little cherubs tossed onto his brown head.

At the end of the day, when it was almost time for her to go do her Head Girl duties, he walked her back towards the castle. On the way over a pebble had somehow gotten into one of Ginny's thin slippers, almost hobbling her. Neville gallantly got her to the nearest bench and removed the slipper from her foot to extract the jagged little rock. As he held it up for her to see, he laughingly kidded that he would hold on to it as a keepsake to always remember her by. The two of them shared a laugh at the joke. But as their smiles slowly faded, Ginny felt some entity shoehorn itself right next to her and the young man she thought of as the closest friend she had ever had.

And there it remained to this day.

"Put it on me?"

Ginny handed the chain back to Neville. She saw the apprehension alight in his eyes for a moment, but he quickly bobbed his head to cover it up.

"It would be my pleasure," he said as Ginny turned around and held her long hair up. Neville stepped closer to her and dropped the selkie stone over her head, bringing the chain around her neck to fasten the clasp. The pendant felt cool as it rested against the pale freckled skin Ginny's dressing gown didn't cover.

When Neville was done his hands hesitated at the back of her neck, as though not wanting to move from there, but eventually they fell to his sides. Ginny turned back to face him.

"There," said Neville as he smiled down at her, "now if you are ever in doubt, you can look at this and remember where you are meant to be."

Closing her eyes as the tears began to burn in them, Ginny threw herself into Neville's arms.

"Oh, Nev! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said over and over again as she stood on the very tips of her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She held on tightly to Neville as though she was sinking and he was the only thing that could keep her afloat. She didn't understand why she was feeling so weepy all of a sudden.

As Neville rubbed comforting circles into her back, she felt an overwhelming sense of grief; as though she were about to lose something terribly dear to her. As Ginny choked back a sob, she turned her tear stained face up to look at Neville. She found him staring back at her with such unrepentant yearning in his eyes that it almost made her knees knock together. In all her young life she couldn't recall anyone ever looking at her like that before and it terrified Ginny to think that maybe no one ever would again. That thought made her feel lost and mixed-up. She didn't know if she was coming or going. She didn't even know if her brain was still in the same vicinity as the rest of her body. How else to explain the reason for her eyes closing and her head slowly tilting back?

"I g-guess I'll see you tomorrow n-night then, Gin," Neville stammered nervously as he pulled her arms from around his neck and hastily stepped back from her.

Ginny opened her eyes and stared back dumbly at him. Neville seemed determined to look at anything but her. His whole body was shaking and he began staring at the opened doorway as though readying his escape.

"The party should be fun. I look forward to seeing you and Harry there..."

Ginny shivered at the mention of her fiancé's name. It was as though a bucket of ice water had been thrown on her, pulling her from her stupor. Harry? Harry Potter? For a moment it was almost as if she had forgotten that such a person existed. She chalked that up to having had no contact with him since the week long Seclusion began. For seven days now she and her fiancé had been separated, kept apart. They were supposed to use the time away from each other to decide whether or not they really wanted to go through with the Rites. Ginny used the time harrying Hermione into telling her the name of every witch who had tried to take advantage of the situation and make the moves on Harry during the short time period. She wouldn't get to see her future husband again until the Ending Party. But Ginny wasn't thinking about all that at the moment.

"Neville..."

"I really should be going," he said as he skirted past her to get to the door. "I need to pop back over to school and drop off an assignment that's due. I also have a study group to meet with and..."

He was almost out the door when she caught hold of his arm.

"Neville...please don't go," she begged him.

"I CAN'T, GIN!" Neville said savagely as he tore his arm from her grip and whipped around to face her. "I CAN'T!" he frantically stated again. His outburst was so violent that it momentarily stunned Ginny into silence. She only held her tongue for a second though before carefully inching her way to him. He was like a skittish unicorn foal she was scared she would shy away.

"Neville..."

She wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was feeling. Was he tired of not knowing what truly lay between them as well? But the words died on her lips as soon as Ginny looked into Neville's anguish filled eyes. They were begging her for something, but Ginny couldn't figure out just what that something could be.

"Please don't do this to me! Just...don't," he implored. "I love you."

Ginny's heart leapt into her throat at those words...then came barreling back down into her gut as he continued to speak.

"Merlin help me, that I love you. That's why I can't. In fact it's because I love you I know that I have to leave this room right now."

The fact that she was getting married in only two days seemed to hold very little concern for her.

"But why..."

"BECAUSE I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH, GINNY!" Neville railed at her, finally losing his painfully maintained composure.

Ginny gaped at him.

"That's why! I'm trying my best to get through the next few days, but I'm really not that strong!" he cried.

Ginny's brow furrowed. "Strong enough for what?"

Neville's frustration seemed to drain away from him all at once leaving him looking deflated and defeated. He looked at her miserably.

"I'm not strong enough to kiss you, then watch you marry someone who isn't me. You see," he took a step close to her and Ginny felt herself tense in giddy anticipation, "if I started kissing you I might never stop."

Ginny never knew what possessed her to say what she did.

"What if I didn't want you to?"

The question positively floored Neville. An emotion that closely resembled hope spread across his face.

"Do you love me too?"

"I..."

Ginny paused, then blinked. It was like her brain and her lips had gone momentarily out of sync. She had started to speak when all of a sudden her mind drew a complete blank. The next thing she knew she heard a small voice in the back of her head warning her that she was about to ruin everything. It almost sounded like herself but younger; somehow more desperate. Ginny tried to ignore it, tried to answer Neville as best as she could, but the almost hopeful expression had already died from his face before she could say anything.

"I don't know," was what finally came out.

Neville watched her face for only a second before shaking his head and turning for the door again. Ginny was desperate to make him stay with her until they figured this all out, though. She quickly placed herself between him and the exit.

"No, wait! I know it's different than what I feel for Harry," she tried to explain. "You understand me Neville. And you make me smile."

At this she gave him her prettiest grin, but he remained unmoved by her charm. Not letting that deter her, she continued on.

"Then there is the fact that you know just about every little thing about the real me and yet you still remain my friend."

The corner of Neville's mouth just barely turned upwards, but that small victory gave Ginny the courage to say what she said next.

"And just now, when you were holding me in your arms, I know that I wanted you to kiss me."

She then lowered her eyes demurely to the floor and awaited a response.

"You don't know what you want, do you?"

Ginny's surprised eyes darted back to Neville's stony face.

"You want to test drive me. Try me out for kicks, then throw me back on the pile after you are done."

"What?! No! That's not it at all!" Ginny vehemently denied.

"Or maybe you're just bored."

Ginny was dumbfounded by Neville's harsh accusations. It was as if he was purposely trying to wound her.

"Ginny, what have you wanted since you were a small girl?"

She felt dizzied by the quick change in topic. What did that have to do with anything, she stubbornly wondered. She found herself growing irritated that he would even ask her such a stupid question.

"Neville…"

"Answer the question, Ginny. What have you wanted since you were a child?"

"Harry, but..."

"Doesn't it seem odd that just when you are about to get him, you pull a stunt like this? Why now, Ginny? And why use me? Merlin! I know you have a heart in there somewhere; I just wish you would show it more often."

"I'm not using you!"

"No, you're not." He then squared his shoulders and resolutely said, "Because I won't let you. I'm not going to let you mess up your life just because suddenly you developed a case of cold feet at the eleventh hour. Tomorrow you'll be over it and then where will that leave me?"

"But that's not what this is!" she protested. "I never said that I didn't want to marry Harry. I still want to be Mrs. Harry Potter; that has never changed. But you and me..."

Ginny wracked her mind trying to find the right words to make him understand her, even if she didn't understand herself.

"Aren't you even at least a little curious? Haven't you ever wondered? Don't you want to see?" she temptingly asked as she boldly pressed her body closer to his and turned her blue eyes up at him.

Ginny saw the desire arise instantly in Neville's eyes. She was so close to him that she felt his desire rise up elsewhere as well. She was playing with fire now and she knew it judging by Neville's reaction, but Ginny had always been the type of girl to take what she wanted by any means. Her tactics generally never failed her. But then again there was always a first time for everything.

Neville clamped his hands on both of her shoulders. She had almost declared victory when he forcefully pulled her away from him.

"No," he finally replied, a firm set to his jaw. "I don't want to see. You are my friend Ginny. And Harry, Harry is my friend," he said as his hands still held her stiffly in place. "Nothing should blemish your big day. You earned it. And I think I deserve a little better than being just someone's second choice; some event you'll only end up regretting eventually," Neville added with a proud lift to his chin. "You see, if you had said that you loved me too then maybe..."

Neville shook his head.

"But you can't see anything past Harry. You probably never will. And I guess somehow I'll have to find a way to live with that."

Ginny looked at him disbelievingly. "So you mean to tell me that you're in love with me, but you aren't going to do anything about it?"

"No, I'm not. It's for the best."

She stared at him in mute horror as the ramifications of what had just happened dawned on her. In two days she would be marrying Harry Potter...and she had just thrown herself at Neville Longbottom. And he had rejected her!

"OH SPARE ME!" Ginny barked hatefully as she shook him off and her hands found their way to her hips.

She was enraged! The room started to hum with her magic. The sheets of parchment she had been writing on earlier all sparked into flames and disintegrated into ash. Her pride was hurt and all she could think of was striking back out as viciously as she could.

"You're nothing but a jelly spined coward, Neville Longbottom! And I could never want a coward," she said nastily. "You claim to be in love with me, yet you are perfectly happy to sit back and let someone else claim me?! How pitiful is that?! What kind of sorry excuse for a wizard are you?! What's wrong Neville, scared that you just can't measure up? I bet if Harry was in the same situation he would have just taken what he wanted by now," she berated him.

Neville shrugged his shoulders dispassionately.

"Perhaps. But I'm not Harry, only Neville."

She flinched at his words, while her abuse didn't appear to have any effect on him at all. This only made Ginny more furious than she had already been. But before she could hurl any more vengeful insults at him, Neville's next statement stopped her cold.

"Ginny, do you think that you could ever be satisfied with bumbling, doltish, forgetful old Neville?" he asked.

And there was the 25 galleon question. There was the intangible it in a nutshell. It had finally shown itself for what it was. The question Neville was asking was simple. Could she love someone who wasn't some fantasy, some childhood dream? Could she love someone who wasn't Harry? For all the world Ginny didn't know how to even begin to respond to it, even if she wanted to. She simply didn't know, and that was all the answer Neville needed.

"No?" he asked with an unnaturally cynical snicker. It didn't suit him. The sound of it almost made her want to cry. "I didn't think so either."

His words bruised, but Ginny refused to let him see that. Instead of sorrow, Ginny chose spite. There was refuge in anger. Her thin, pale arms reached up to unhook the chain around her neck. She practically yanked it off and nearly threw it at his feet.

"Here," she said as she held the pendant out towards Neville.

"That's yours," he said, unfazed by her cruel treatment.

"Don't you want it back?" she asked sourly, holding the chain by the tips of her fingers as if it were trash to be binned.

"No," Neville said as he turned her palm over, placed the stone there, and wrapped one of his mitts around hers to close her hand over it. "Like I said, this is for Gin. My Gin."

Neville squeezed her hand and Ginny screwed her eyes tightly shut, willing herself not to wail like some spoiled child. She had made a fool of herself and even she couldn't blame Hermione for this one; she was responsible for her own bad behavior. Her pride was battered, but more than that her heart ached and she didn't know what to do about it. She didn't know how to fix it. As she felt a pair of lips press gently against her forehead, her resistance finally broke. Twin trails of tears began to slide down her face. She pretended that the kiss would absolve her of all her past and future sins and she sought solace in that childish wish, but she didn't bother to hope for forgiveness for any of her transgressions that day. She knew that she would carry the burden of her foolish actions for all the days of her lives. And maybe that was just the punishment she deserved.

She had almost thrown away years of dreams and careful planning on something that wasn't real. Her and Neville? That was just the faulty imaginings one would find in bad romance literature. Her and Harry was what was right. It had to be right. She had waited for him for so long!

Ginny continued to cry softly. Neville, barely wanting to let her go, couldn't stop himself from planting a chaste kiss on her cheek as well. His lips wandered dangerously close to her fragrant neck, but his resolve remained strong. Instead they grazed her ear.

"Goodbye, Ginny," he whispered in it.

And then Neville walked out of the room.

She was running. She was running so fast that her legs burned as though every muscle and sinew were coated in acid and her limbs had never been put to their proper use before. She was running so fast that her lungs ached from the quick, sharp pants of air that tore their way out of her windpipe. Ginny ran so fast that her heart felt like just simply giving out. But she couldn't stop running. Even as the front of her shoes caught the material of her robes causing her to lurch forward wildly before regaining her footing, even as tears seared her eyes, making the world around her a watery blur; she had to keep running. She had to get away from Neville and Candide.

If ever her thoughts turned to that afternoon at the Burrow and Neville confessing his heart to her (and really for her sanity, she didn't do too much of that), Ginny always chose to blame premarital jitters for her out of character behavior that day. She had come to the conclusion that Neville had been right, she had been nervous about the wedding and she had simply been using him as some sort of diversion. How else to explain her stupidity? She had been stressed because she couldn't get her Maid of Honour to bend to her will, she had been lonely due to missing her fiancé, and she had been scared now that she was finally going to get everything she ever wanted. So when Neville had shown up at her door she had sought comfort in him, and nothing more. She had almost been fool enough to throw away her chance to finally have Harry for that comfort too.

Really, how preposterous could one get? The little girl inside her would have never forgiven her for such a heinous act. Harry was gorgeous, rich, famous, heroic and Neville was...not. Sure there was a certain puppy dog cuteness to him, but on every other score he just didn't compare. It didn't matter that he was the person who understood her more than anyone else in the world or that his shy smile was sometimes the best cure for her raging temper. It didn't even matter that he was the gentlest soul that she knew; he was no Harry Potter! And she would have been made a laughing stock if she had actually left Harry to pursue something with Neville. Really there was nothing even there in the first place, just a passing interest. She wasn't giving up Harry over some misguided curiosity.

So in the end Ginny made what she felt was the smartest choice. She never told a soul what happened between them that day and as far as she knew, neither did Neville. She buried the selkie stone at the bottom of her bureau and never looked at it again. If Neville ever wondered what happened to it he didn't mention it. She married Harry and despite the initial awkwardness, Neville remained nothing more than a good friend to her. Time marched on, as it was want to do, and now so had Neville.

It wasn't as though she had presumed that Neville would never get over her, she just hadn't counted on it hurting as much. It was clear though that he was moving on with his life and Ginny would no longer be the most important thing in it. She should have been happy that her friend had finally found some much deserved happiness, but she just didn't have that kind of selflessness in her. No, all she wanted to do was go somewhere and mourn for something that she had convinced herself never existed in the first place; and so she ran.

"Oof!"

Ginny stumbled backward as the person she ran into caught her by the wrists to keep her upright. Ginny had been in such a hurry to get away from the sight of Neville snogging Candide that she barely noticed where she had been heading. Without realizing it, she had followed the same footpath she had taken earlier to the fountain and had ended up in the rose garden again. Her head had been lowered so she couldn't see anyone and they hopefully couldn't see her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. How clumsy of me," she said as the pair of sturdy arms steadied her. Eyes still cast downward; she tried to get her emotions under control so that her rescuer wouldn't see the troubled state she was in. "I...I didn't see where I was going. Please, please forgive me," she courteously mumbled.

"No, no Mrs. Potter, pardon me," came the venom laced reply.

"YOU?!" Ginny had looked up to find before her the pale, pointed face of one of her least favorite people. Satan himself would have been preferable. "Out of my way Malfoy!" she ordered as she jerked her arms back and forth to free herself from his grip. Of all people to run into while in this condition! Malfoy?! Could this night get any worse?!

As if answer to her question, Malfoy sneered obnoxiously at her.

"Not so fast, She Weasel. They're playing our song," he told her.

Well yes. Yes it could get worse.

"Let me go, I need to go find my husband," she said, snarling at him.

She strained her neck to look behind him hoping that the mere mention of him would bring Harry racing to her aid. She had no such luck. She had left her purse, along with the wand inside it, at the table. She couldn't slap the git because of his unyielding restraint of her wrists. She was completely at Malfoy's mercy as he dragged her from the garden and back into the castle, kicking and cursing all the way.

Malfoy ignored her protests.

"Your husband is busy," he said nastily. "I'm sure he won't mind if I borrow his charming wife for a dance, though."

They entered the Great Hall. The band was playing some crazed mishmash of a Celtic reel combined with a tango played at three times its normal rhythm. The boisterous music mixed with the droning chatter from the crowd created a ringing sensation in Ginny's ear. She couldn't think straight and felt helpless as Malfoy hauled her towards the dance floor. She looked back and forth madly, expecting someone to step in and pull the arrogant prick off of her. But the Ball was still raging, and from the looks of it, all of the partygoers crowding the dance floor were either too drunk or engrossed in their own merry making to pay her or her tormentor any notice. She was going to have to do battle with the wanker on her own.

Ginny puffed herself up like a peacock and gave him her most withering look. There was no way she was going to allow Draco Malfoy to push her around.

"I don't want to dance with you. I'm not in the mood," she said haughtily.

"Fake it. You're pretty good at being a phony; this should come natural to you."

Ginny's lips curled maliciously. "What happened Malfoy, Hermione get tired of you?"

He twisted her wrist as he yanked her close to him and clamped a claw-like hand around her waist.

"OW! THAT HURT!" she yelled.

His self-satisfied expression never changed. "Good."

He began to move them across the floor in time to the music. Even though she put up a valiant fight and tried to drag her feet, the rat faced bastard was too strong of an opponent. He tossed her around as though she were a bundle of twigs. Her only option was to play along with his twisted game to find out what he wanted. The sooner he had his say, the sooner this torture could be over.

"What do you want Malfoy?"

"I want you to back off!" he said through gritted teeth. "I know that you were at the Hollow today. And I know that you said a few things that were so vile, Hermione didn't even want to come here and stare at your spotted mug all night. Luna and I had to practically force her out the house."

She rolled her eyes. "What are you, Hermione's grand savior now; her great protector? My, how noble."

That seemed to amuse the arse.

"So sorry to disappoint you my lovely little Firecrotch, but I am no one's hero. I am a bastard. And you are one narsty li'l bitch."

He twirled her around, then dipped her. Her outraged gasp at the slur seemed to puzzle him.

"Oh no, the bitchiness I respect," he said matter-of-factly.

He jerked her back up.

"It's the sneaky little way you go weaseling about it that I don't like," he continued. "But I'm giving you fair warning now, Weasley. If you hurt my friend again so help me…"

His arm tightened around her as though it were a boa constrictor. Air was starting to become a luxury. For the first time since this whole encounter started Ginny felt her first real twinge of fear. His words, however, made no sense.

"Again?!" Ginny asked shakily.

Malfoy's head lowered close to hers and Ginny felt herself shrink back internally from his menacing expression. The sweetness of his hot cinnamon breath on her face did nothing to quell the rising tide of alarm inside of her. This man despised her, and though she wasn't too keen on him herself, she couldn't figure out just what she had ever done to foster such contempt. And on top of that he was accusing her of harming Hermione in some way. What was that about?

"Hermione denies it, but I know that you are partly responsible for her leaving the country all those years ago."

For some strange reason Ginny felt the need to defend herself against such a baseless accusation. Back then she had been just as shocked as everyone else when they all realized that Hermione might have left England for good. It's not like she shed a tear over it, but she certainly wasn't the root behind it. She tried to say as much, but Malfoy wouldn't hear it.

"Deny it all you like," he said contemptuously, "but I recognize your grubby little finger prints all over it. I've yet to figure out how, is all. But I know one thing for sure Weasel-bitch; if you ever provoke another fight with her like you did today you will live to regret it."

The words meant for intimidation made Ginny's hackles rise. How dare he try to browbeat her! He was trying to push her around, but she was too much of a little bully herself to just roll over and take it.

"Are you threatening me?!"

He gave her a mocking smile. "Yes. Yes I am. I will make your life such a living hell that after a while you'll be begging me to just get on with it."

"I'll…I'll tell Harry!" she said, trying to shake him up as badly as he was rattling her.

She failed.

Malfoy chuckled mirthlessly. "I want you to tell him. Then Saint Potter will start asking some sticky questions of his own. But we don't want that, now do we?"

The thought of Harry hearing about the fight at the Hollow sent chills through Ginny. Malfoy had her right where he wanted her and he reveled in the knowledge. She shook her head in wonder. He was positively diabolical.

"You are evil," she feebly told him.

"No," he said with a pompous smirk as the music vamped to an end, "I'm a Slytherin."

The air then filled with the sound of applause as the dancers gave their appreciation to the band's performance.

"May I cut in?"

As the Belltones went into their next number, a slow and melancholy ballad, Ginny and Malfoy turned at the sound of the voice. Neville was standing behind the blond. Just the sight of his concern lined face nearly made Ginny weak with relief.

"Oh look, the cavalry," drolled Malfoy. He dropped her arm and turned to face the other man. "Hello there, Dumbottom. Where's that simply scrummy dish you had on your arms earlier? Finally decide to trade up the food chain, did she?"

Neville's eyes never left Ginny's.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Well of course she is!" Malfoy declared impudently. "Isn't that right, Weaselette?"

Ginny's eyes cut away from Neville to give the bastard the most hateful look she could.

"Now if you don't mind Mrs. Potter," he twisted her name as though it were something dirty, "I need to go collect my girlfriend."

His eyes had drifted towards the direction of the bandstand and Ginny's followed them. In a shadowy corner near it stood Luna and her brother Percy, heads drawn close together in what looked like deep conversation. Now wasn't that peculiar, thought Ginny. She couldn't remember Percy and Luna ever saying more than five words to each other during the entire time the blonde was with Ron.

Before she could think on it any further, Malfoy's incessant yapping drew her focus away from the pair.

"Looks like I'm going to have to rescue her from out the clutches of yet another one of your idiot brothers. I best be quick about it. I wouldn't want the poor thing getting Weasley all over her," he drawled as he looked at her, looked at his hand, then wiped it on his robes as though it were soiled. Getting the desired reaction from her (she tried to kick him), he swaggered off in the direction of his girlfriend; head thrown back cackling wickedly.

"I hate him!" wailed Ginny as she and Neville watched him go. "I don't see how Luna can stand the bastard!"

Shrugging his shoulders Neville said, "He's different with her, I suppose."

Ginny shook her head in marvel at his simplicity. Neville would give just about anyone the benefit of the doubt, even those as slimy as Malfoy who didn't merit it.

"Well she deserves better than Hermione's lapdog," she muttered as she rubbed at her aching wrist. "I wonder if she realizes just how far that ponce is buried up Hermione's arse?"

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she watched Malfoy walk up behind Luna. Without even glancing behind her, Luna leaned back against him. Sickening! She didn't know what Luna saw in him. She didn't care what anybody said; nothing would ever convince Ginny that Draco Malfoy was really and truly one of the good guys. She didn't believe it now, especially after he had just terrorized her, and she didn't believe it back then when Hermione was almost his only supporter. Then again she had always found Hermione and Malfoy's so-called "friendship" unnatural. She still did. He was awfully protective of her. It made one wonder…

"As a friend maybe I should say something to Luna-"

"No."

Ginny gave Neville a queer look. "Excuse me?"

"I said no," Neville replied again. "I won't allow you to make someone else miserable just because you are."

She scoffed at the remark.

"I'm not miserable."

"Liar." The faint ghost of a smile shadowed the corners of his mouth. Ginny felt her cheeks straining not to smile as well.

She then looked around and noticed that the two of them were just casually standing in the midst of a sea of slowly swaying couples. They stuck out like a couple of sore thumbs; the non-dancing variety. Neville must have observed this too because without further prompting he gently took her hand, pulled her towards him, and wrapped an arm around her. Ginny melted into the embrace. The two of them began to dance to the achingly sad melody. Ginny tried as best she could not to lose herself in the moment.

"I'm surprised you would know how I felt one way or the other," she said pertly with a pout. "It's not like you've said two words to me before now."

Neville went from looking at her face to staring at some fixed point behind her head.

"I've been watching you. Sometimes I can't help but watch you," he said simply.

The tenderness of his words mixed with the weariness of his tone saddened her. Her eyes roved his face looking for any sign of what he was thinking. Finding nothing there, Ginny decided to try and provoke a reaction out of him. Any reaction would do.

"Where is Candice?"

Neville chuckled amusedly as he looked down at her again. "Her name is Candide."

"Candice, Candide, Candelabra…whatever. So where is your little ballerina?"

"Talking to your father. He was asking her opinion on the Charles and Camilla wedding." Ginny's face must have registered some confusion because he added, "Don't worry; I don't know who they are either. But since Candide seemed to have loads to say I left them to it. That's when I saw you dancing with Malfoy. You looked…well, let's just say you didn't look too happy about the whole thing. I decided to come over and see if there was anything I could do to help."

Ginny's heart skipped. When she had been in need of someone to save her, it had been Neville who had come to her rescue. But that was really no surprise to Ginny. Neville had always been there for her in his own thoughtful and unassuming way. And she had taken it all for granted.

She smiled sweetly at him. "You always look out for me, don't you Nev?"

Neville looked pained at the remark. His eyebrows knitted together in consternation. His mouth opened and closed several times to speak before finally settling on something. Instead of answering her question he said, "I had been outside earlier. Candide thought she saw you."

Ginny's smile dropped. She didn't want to talk about her.

"She must have been mistaken," she said tonelessly before laying her head on his shoulder and snuggling nearer to him. She felt so at ease, so calmed.

Neville shrewdly studied her, taking in account everything from the expectant expression on Ginny's face to the way that she pressed herself so intimately into him. All she could think of was how truly secure she felt at that moment, like she hadn't a care in the world. All he could think of was how it was all too little too late.

"Ginny…" Neville began as he took a moment to find the right words to say what he needed her to know. "I'm going to ask Candy to move in with me tonight."

Ginny's head came off his shoulder and she pulled away from him slightly. Her eyes widened and she stared at him in incredulity.

"I've been looking at some flats in London closer to the new store and…well, I'm hoping that she says yes," he finished.

A physical blow wouldn't have hurt as much. When she had taken enough time to regain her self-possession, Ginny asked in a fragile voice, "Are you in love with her, Neville?"

Neville cast his eyes to his shoes. "I could fall in love with her," he said.

"What about…" us she had started to ask him, but couldn't bring herself to finish the question. She realized that she had no right to. "Is that what you really want?" is what she questioned instead.

Neville looked back up at her evenly.

"I want to be happy, Gin."

Tears sprang in her eyes as Ginny nodded her head in understanding. She slumped against him as though she couldn't support herself on her own. She rested her head against his shoulder again and he held her tightly.

"Nev, if you could do it all over again, any of it, would you do anything different?" her muffled voice asked him.

There was no hesitation on his part.

"Yes. I wouldn't have told you that I loved you…"

Ginny's shoulder's sagged.

"…then walked away so easily," he finished.

Ginny smiled sadly at the answer.

"I think…I think I might have done things differently too," she said wistfully as their song came to an end.

~~**~~ ~~**~~

After leaving Neville on the dance floor, Ginny went back to the table hoping to find her husband there. There was no sign of him. She couldn't find him anywhere in the Great Hall. For a second the thought of where he might be, or worse, who he might be with entered her head. Thoughts of all of the dark, secluded nooks and crannies comfy enough for two played through her head; Filch's supply closet just off the Great Hall, the shadowy corridor that led into the abandoned classroom on the fourth floor, the Room of Requirement. That last thought almost made her sick to her stomach.

Rather than investigating any of these possible haunts, Ginny found herself grabbing her purse and running to the nearest girl's toilet to empty out the contents of her stomach. She had hoped there would be no audience in the bathroom as she vomited her unhappiness away; that was the sort of thing you didn't like company for. But of course life hadn't finished kicking her around as though she were its personal plaything. Candide was there, standing in front of a sink, attention drawn away from the mirror in front of her to the doorway as Ginny walked through it. The sight of her made Ginny stop short.

"Oh! It's you."

Ginny barely concealed her distaste as she acknowledged the comely dark haired woman.

Ginny just didn't like her. In her opinion, Candy Lee just wasn't right for Neville. She was just too…"too"! Too tall, too thin, too young, too pretty, and as sweet as cane sugar as far as Neville was concerned. In other words: too good to be true. She was also a little too friendly, Ginny decided as she sized her up carefully. Probably a pushover too, she reckoned.

If Candide had read anything into Ginny's quiet appraisal she gave nothing away.

"Yes, just me," she said giving Ginny a pleasant smile before turning back to the mirror. "Make-up needed a little retouching."

She raised the small tube between her fingers back to her face and carefully spread a bit of bright red color over her lips. After preening at her image for what Ginny considered an unseemly amount of time (but really was barely more than a second), and making sure that her lipstick had been applied correctly, Candide capped the tube and dropped it into the little clutch purse in her hand.

Although her stomach was still churning, Ginny refused to look weak in front of Candide. It wouldn't do to look helpless and haggard next to Candide's fresh face and polish. Ginny walked further into the bathroom and went around Candide to take up a spot before the sink to her right. She turned the spigot for the cold water and ran her fingers under the tap.

"The hall was getting stuffy," she said in explanation for her absence from the party.

She turned off the water and sprinkled a few droplets at her face. In truth her skin was feeling heated and prickly, but Ginny figured that it was just the woman next to her and not the temperature that was causing her feelings of agitation.

"It is a bit warm in there, isn't it?" came Candide's response. "Nev and I had to step out for a second just to catch a breeze," she said conversationally.

Although Ginny's face remained impassive, she bristled at the sound of Candide's casual reference to "Nev". Only she called Neville "Nev". And he was the only person she could stand to let call her "Gin". This woman didn't seem to understand that she was stepping on toes here! Perhaps she should put the poor clueless tart in her place? Every other woman Neville had dated had had to pass Ginny's inspection; why should this one be any different? Even to this day Susan Bones still cited Ginny's meddling for ruining her very short-lived romance with the Gryffindor wizard. It wasn't her fault that all those other girls had essentially let Ginny run them off, she always self-righteously thought.

"You haven't by chance seen my boyfriend around, have you?" Candide asked the redhead.

Ginny didn't even blink.

"No. So, are you enjoying yourself?" Ginny asked, pretending as though she was interested in the answer. She had begun to play with the loose tendrils of hair that capped her face as she looked at her reflection in the large wall mirror. Really she was using the looking glass as a means to stare indirectly at the other woman.

Candide's face lit up in pleasure.

"Have I! All of this is just so…so…I can't even begin to put it all in words. It's all too fantastical! Tonight I've seen little elves and paintings that talked...and a real live vampire even asked me to dance!" she exclaimed proudly.

Ginny wasn't all that impressed. Sanguini tried to make the moves on just about any warm and unsuspecting neck at these functions. Even Ron once!

"You know at first, when Neville told me about all of this, I didn't think I could ever fit in his world," confided Candide. "But I'm glad that I tried. It's all been worth the effort. Then again Neville is well worth the effort." She grinned sappily.

Ginny put on a false smile. "Yes, Neville is great."

Candide's dark eyes twinkled.

"He certainly is. Any woman would be a fool to pass him up. Wouldn't you agree?"

Ginny's lips thinned into a straight line. There was a quality of artificiality to the question that irked her somehow. Was Candide...was she goading her?

"I…I suppose."

"Luckily I'm no fool. He's all mine. And not for nothing," she began as she leaned into Ginny closely, her eyes meeting the redhead's in the glass, "he's the best damned lover I've ever had."

Ginny felt the blood drain from her face.

"Like an eager little bunny rabbit, he is. He never gets enough. I mean three...sometimes four times a night..."

Ginny's left eye began to twitch.

"And don't even get me started on that tongue of his. Damned thing should be locked up in the Tower as a national treasure. Every time he-"

"STOP! JUST STOP IT!" shrieked Ginny as she whirled to face the taller woman dead on.

A young girl dressed in fuchsia, a Seventh Year by the look of her, had been entering the bathroom at that very moment. The frightened teenager fled from the scene in terror upon hearing Ginny's enraged outburst. Both women ignored her escape.

"Why are you telling me this?! What, by Godric, would make you think that I would ever want to hear any of this from you?!"

Ginny was panting heavily and taking her breaths as deep gulps of air. Her hands were balled into fists. Ginny was livid. The thought of Neville touching this woman...of Neville and this...doing that...

All pretense of friendliness was totally void from Candide's arrogant smirk now.

"Oh, I know you don't. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that I know that you don't."

Ginny was silenced by the implication behind her words. The message came across loud and clear; back off! Candide saw that Ginny had received the subtle warning and was pleased. For all intensive purposes, Ginny Potter had just met her match.

"Well, now that we understand each other a little better, I should be going. Neville is probably looking for me."

Candide tucked her purse securely under her arm.

"Oh by the way, I saw your husband earlier; he was wandering around looking distracted. Maybe you should spend more time worrying after him than spying on me and my boyfriend."

That was it! All day long Ginny had been taking it in the teeth; first from Hermione at the Hollow, then Malfoy on the dance floor, and now this vile beanpole was trying to intimidate her too. She had finally reached her limit. She wasn't taking any more lip from the harpy!

Ginny began to roll up her sleeves. There was a Bat Bogey waiting with the bitch's name on it, and the petite redhead wasn't afraid to make sure Candy Lee got it along with a heaping helping of shut the fuck up on the side!

Her fingers had been curled around her wand and had almost gotten it out of her purse when Lavender spoiled the moment (and more importantly, Ginny's clear shot) by flouncing into the bathroom. She walked right up to her, bypassing Candide.

"Well there you are!" she said throwing her hands in the air and looking exasperatedly at Ginny. "I've been looking all over for you. I wanted to say goodbye before Ron and I left. He's had one too many and I have an early morning tomorrow."

Taking this as her cue to go, Candide said, "I'll just leave you two then. Goodnight."

She then gave Lavender a courteous nod, turned on her high heels, and walked out the bathroom.

Lavender, waiting a moment to make sure that Candide had really gone, turned to Ginny and said, "I don't like her. Her tits are too perky. My mother says that you should never trust any woman whose breasts sit up abnormally high."

Ginny cracked a smile though she was feeling less than humorous.

"Your mum just might be on to something there," she said dryly.

Lavender grinned. "And isn't that a scary thought."

When Ginny didn't respond to the quip Lavender gave her friend a careful once over. Not liking what she saw, she reached out a hand to her.

"Ginny, what's wrong? You've been moody all night. And you look all pale and sweaty."

Ginny took a look at herself in the mirror. Lavender was right; she looked like shite. She felt like it too. And although she had forgotten about it during her friendly chat with Candide, her nausea had never ceased.

"Have you seen Harry?" Ginny asked, ignoring Lavender's concerned inquiry.

"Yes," Lav answered. "Just before I came in here. Why?"

"Was he with anyone?" Ginny dreaded hearing the answer.

Lavender was puzzled by Ginny's distress.

"No. No one important, just Hermione."

"Oh," Ginny muttered apathetically, unconcerned.

Then she felt her throat go dry.

"Oh," she moaned again as the insides of her stomach began to swirl and bubble like murtlap essence that had been left out for too long. "Sweet Circe, I'm about to be sick!" she groaned right before pushing her purse into Lavender's hands and running for the nearest toilet.

When she was done heaving her internal organs out, she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, got off of her knees, and exited the stall. She found Lavender leaning back against the sink directly facing her. The expression on the blonde's face was unease. Ginny pretended not to notice it.

Straightening her robes, Ginny strolled over to the sink next to her friend as though nothing were amiss. She ran some water over her hands and pressed her fingers to her cheek and temple to cool them.

"Ginny, I'm worried about you," Lavender said cautiously as she watched her friend closely.

Ginny gave her a tight smile. "I'm alright."

Neither of them believed her.

"I don't think so. You haven't been yourself lately. Something isn't right with you and I think…I think it has something to do with Harry."

Lavender paused to gauge Ginny's reaction. Ginny's hand trembled slightly as she turned the water off.

Getting nothing much from that Lavender asked, "Am I right?"

In answer Ginny folded her arms across her chest and gave Lavender a mulish look. It was the very same face that Lavender got from Violet each time she tried to tell the 4 year old that pink ribbons just did not go with black polka dotted socks. In the same wheedling tone that she would use on the little girl to get her to change said socks, Lavender tried to get Ginny to open up to her.

"Listen sweetie, you don't have to be ashamed. Ron and I have talked about it and…"

Humiliation swept through Ginny. Merlin! What did Lavender know?!

"You and Ron have been talking about me and my husband?!"

Lavender nodded her head. "We're your family Ginny. At least I will be soon. All of us have been concerned."

Her whole family thought that her marriage was in trouble?! Did they know that Harry was having an affair too? Ginny shuddered at the idea of that. She looked fearfully towards the door. Anyone could just be standing there, eavesdropping. Would all of the revelers in the Great Hall know soon as well? Would the news then spread through Hogsmeade and into the streets of Diagon next? Would every wizard and witch in England eventually find out that she had failed to hold the interest of the great Harry Potter?

Seeing Ginny's attention drawn to the bathroom door, Lavender said, "Don't worry, no one is going to come in. While you were occupied I made the place imperturbable and charmed an 'Out of Order' sign next to the door. No one will bother us. No one is going to hear us."

Ginny gave a relieved sigh. Lavender took this as a chance to gently press Ginny again.

"Sweetie, I'm your friend. Can't you tell me what's wrong?"

Ginny looked at her guardedly. "What do you know?"

"Nothing much," Lavender answered truthfully. "But I know that you've been pretty temperamental as of late. And Fleur mentioned to me that you've been queasy for a few days." She placed her hand on Ginny's arm and gave it a comforting rub. "What's the matter, Ginny?"

Lavender's caring blue eyes and compassionate smile settled Ginny's fears. Lavender knew nothing! Ginny could have cried over the reprieve. Although she meant well, and it was obvious that Lavender was genuinely concerned, the blonde busybody was only fishing for information. Because she and Ron were all lovey-dovey and the Potters weren't so much anymore, Lav probably had just assumed that something was wrong with Harry and her. Ginny resented the hell out of Lavender in that moment.

But this also made Ginny realize that if she didn't do something soon to fix her crumbling marriage it was going to become more evident over time that Lavender had indeed been right. What if Harry found a way to leave her for his mystery woman? Everyone would know then. She needed to act soon. She had to find a way to make sure that Harry couldn't leave her. He was all she had now.

And then suddenly it came to Ginny. Something that would shut Lavender up, make her think that the Potter union was just as strong as ever, and at the same time make all of Ginny's problems go away. In fact, no one would doubt that her marriage wasn't stable ever again.

Ginny placed her hand over Lav's and squeezed it. Really she just wanted Lavender to stop pawing at her like she was some fussy prized pet poodle. She arranged her face into the semblance of an earnest expression and batted her eyes prettily at her friend. Ginny knew that she had to make this good.

"I guess I can't keep anything from you, can I now Lav?" she said in a syrupy tone, lathering it on good and thick for her audience.

Lavender did her best to smile modestly. Ginny did her best not to roll her eyes.

"Alright, I'll tell you what's going on. But you can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you," she said giving Lavender a stern look.

Lavender took the hint. She vigorously bobbed her head up and down in answer to Ginny's understated directive. With that settled, Ginny continued with her feigned confession.

"You're right, Lavender; I haven't quite been myself lately and there is a very good reason for that. You see…" Ginny paused to make sure she had Lavender's complete attention, "I'm going to have a baby."

One would have thought a thunder clap had gone off; the silence that followed those words was just that deafening. Lavender gawked at Ginny in disbelief at them. Her eyes were practically the size of large platters.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT?!" she shrilled.

Ginny gave Lavender a vexed look as she snatched her purse back from her. Lav could be so damned melodramatic. Thank Merlin for sound proofing charms.

"B-buh ...b-buh...b-but you and Harry don't…I mean, that is to say that the two of you haven't…"

Lavender swallowed thickly to stop the babbling. To say that she was bowled over by Ginny's announcement would be the understatement of the year. But she didn't want to tell Ginny that. Lavender instinctually knew that her friend wouldn't appreciate Lavender knowing all about her and Harry's separate sleeping arrangements. Lavender yanked the foot right out of her mouth before she could say too much.

But now Ginny's weird behavior, especially these last few weeks, made a little more sense. The Potters were expecting. Lavender felt ridiculous for blowing things out of proportion. If you thought about, it really wasn't that shocking. It's not like you necessarily needed a bed to make a baby.

"Never mind," began Lavender wondrously, "I suppose Ron and I just got it all wrong," she said, almost apologetically. Then she brightened. She was going to be an aunt soon. Possibly even a godmother, if she didn't presume too much.

She couldn't wait to tell Ron!

"Congratulations!" Lavender squealed as she gathered Ginny up in a hug. Ginny suffered the embrace.

"Thank you," she said before quickly pulling away.

"But why didn't you tell any of us?"

The lie rolled easily off of Ginny's tongue. "I didn't want to steal your thunder. You're the little bride. You deserve all of the attention right now."

Lavender was overwhelmed by Ginny's supposed generosity.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" she simpered in a sugary fashion, moved almost to tears by Ginny's thoughtfulness. She took one of Ginny's hands. "You are the best sister-in-law a witch could ask for!"

Ginny felt a short-lived moment of guilt over the undeserved praise; Lavender really was a good person who truly cared about her. She was thrilled for Ginny over the happy news. She didn't deserve being lied to. But in regards to the big picture, Lavender's feelings were disposable at this point.

"Just wait until everyone finds out!" the blonde bubbled happily.

"NO!" shouted Ginny feverishly as she practically clawed at Lavender's sleeves. It was too soon for all of that. Much, much too soon!

Picking up on Ginny's panic, Lavender looked at her uncomfortably. The redhead was acting so strangely. All of this ballyhoo over having a baby?

Ginny could practically see the reservation in the other woman's eyes. So in an effort to diffuse the situation, she chuckled airily to wave away Lavender's concerns.

"All in due time, Lav," she said quickly to appease her friend's apprehension. "I'm not that far along yet so you'll have to keep quiet about this for a little while. You can't tell anyone, especially Ron."

Lavender's face fell at the request and Ginny didn't have to think too hard on why. Knowing Lavender, she probably had been chomping at the bit to run off and tell Ron the good tidings the second she heard them. Ginny had to nip that right in the bud. She needed a little time to put all her plans into motion.

"You see, I haven't even told Harry yet," Ginny said in explanation. She wrapped an arm around Lavender's waist. "I want it to be a surprise."

And boy was it going to be!

Lavender seemed to find that explanation reasonable. Of course the father should hear the big news "first". She was nodding her head in agreement to it.

"Of course, of course," Lavender told Ginny. "Charging centaurs wouldn't be able to get it out of me!"

The declaration sounded heartfelt. Once again Ginny beat the guilt back.

"Good," she said in deep thought. "Good."

The way to fix her marriage was quite clear to Ginny now. She needed to have a baby. It was a stroke of genius and Ginny didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before. That was the solution to this whole mess. Even if Harry was cheating on her he was still her husband; she had to hold on to him by any means. If that meant getting pregnant against his wishes, then that was what she was going to have to do. Ginny had done worse things before; this barely broke the top three. Once the baby arrived Ginny was certain Harry would change his tune. A child to carry on the Potter name would surely make him turn back to her, appreciate her, lover her. Their family would be complete then. Harry would be completely bonded to her for life.

By having a baby Ginny would be able to solidify her marriage, stop any gossiping tongues that might be wagging, and put all residual thoughts of Neville out of her head for good.

For a moment Ginny considered how disappointed Neville would be in her if he had an inkling of what she was up to, but Ginny banished those thoughts just as quickly as they came. Whatever she did was none of Neville's concern now. She had her own life to live and so did he. Ginny wasn't going to spend the rest of her life obsessing over the matter; she had bigger hippocampi to fry. She was about to do everything she could to ensure a little happiness for herself, and she hoped that if Candide was what Neville wanted, then that made him happy too. In fact, Ginny hoped that the slag made Neville so happy he choked on it!

"Well I think I'll be going."

Ginny's vengeful thoughts turned away from Neville at the sound of Lavender's voice.

"I need to be up at the crack tomorrow. I still have a few more things to buy for the Honeymoon."

"Would you like some company?" asked Ginny. "I still have to pick up a few more party favors for the bachelorette party. The two of us could make a day out of it."

Lavender adored the idea. "I'd just love that!" she beamed.

Her joy then faltered.

"Oh…but I don't want to tire you out," she said as she nervously glanced down at Ginny's flat stomach.

Ginny caught on fast. "Don't be ridiculous," she said exaggeratedly with a big counterfeit smile. "I'm barely showing."

Her hand went protectively to her belly. Ginny's assurance seemed to placate Lavender.

"Besides, I'm your Matron of Honour. I'm going to make sure that the hen night Wednesday is a success." She gave Lavender a squeeze. "We have to keep our bride happy, now don't we?"

That pleased Lavender.

"You are too good to me, Ginny," she said appreciatively.

Ginny benevolently nodded her head.

"I'm only doing for you what I wish would have been done for me. Now come on, I'll walk out with you," she said as she steered Lavender in the direction of the exit. "I think I'm going to go find my husband and head home early myself."

As the two women walked towards the exit, arms wrapped around each other's waists, Ginny began to do a mental checklist of all of the ingredients she had stashed in her cupboards at home. They were fully stocked. She could put her plans into action that very night she soon realized with increasing determination. Ginny was very skilled at potion making, had been since that summer before her Fifth Year. She had been the twins' very first test subject back when they were first developing all of their "Wheezes" and had practically studied at their feet.

There was no potion she could not brew perfectly; Invigoration Draught, Strengthening Solution, Wolfsbane, Amortentia. Ginny was sure she could come up with something strong enough to get her husband on his back but still responsive with little trouble. She wanted him incapacitated but she also needed parts of him still functioning for what she had planned for him. Then after that all nature would have to do was run its natural course. Why if Ginny played her cards right, she could be putting Harry's infant son into his arms in time for their anniversary next year, she rapturously realized. That mental image made Ginny rub her abdomen in anticipation.

They were almost to the door when Lavender suddenly let out a theatrical sigh of regret.

"It's almost a shame that we have to leave the Ball so early, though. The party looks like it was just starting to become interesting. Pansy and Greengrass have been eyeing each other across the room all night. It could get real good," she said animatedly.

Her friend's zeal made Ginny smile.

"Well, while I don't doubt that, I don't mind much. Been to one V-Ball, been to them all I always say. Plus I've danced enough tonight to last a lifetime. Several, in fact," she added with a slight grimace. Her wrist was still sore from Malfoy's abuse.

Or she could have been thinking about Neville's haunting eyes.

Ginny shook both men from her thoughts.

"Besides, I am going to have to give up all these late nights eventually, aren't I?"

Lavender's blue eyes sparkled brightly at that.

"That's right!" she exclaimed as she put a hand on Ginny's barely there belly. "You're going to be someone's mummy soon," she said excitedly.

Rather than enthusiasm, Ginny's eyes shined with resolve.

"That's right," she said as they walked out the door together, "I'm going to be someone's mother soon."

A/N: Next up is Harry's POV! Yay! LOL. Things to look forward to: Harry makes a surprising new acquaintance, he learns that Hermione may have yet another secret up her sleeve(or dress), and the twins cook up a scheme of their own.

A few more points of interest...

1) All characters other than Old Man Shrivelfigg, Hildebrand, and Hildebrand's widow are canon.

2) The Jungle Red nail polish is a shout out to one of my favorite movies The Women. In a way I think these characters would fit right in that movie.

3) The incantation "obvulvus" is a bastardization of obvolvo which translates as "to wrap up" in Latin.

4) Selkies are Irish and Scottish mythological seal changelings that can transform themselves into humans and are often thought of as mermaids. Now according to the HP Lexicon there are a couple of different varieties of mermaids. The ones in the Great Lake are supposed to be selkies but in my opinion they do not fit the description. Thus for the purposes of this story those are not selkies.

5) According to Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them a hippocampus is a mer-horse with the head and front quarters of a horse and the tail of a giant fish.

6) Cousin Mafalda is the Weasley cousin who didn't make it into Goblet of Fire. I decided to include her in my story.

7) The Obvulvus Spell, selkie stones, and Shrivelfigg's plant store are all original to this story.

Tell me if you like it. Tell me if you hate it. Just tell me something. Please review.