Sorry for the delay, but RL does indeed kick one's arse sometimes, doesn't it? Suffice it to say that the past bit's been a bit rough. Anyway, this has been written for a while and I'm just tweaking. I've already got the majority of this played out in my head, so hopefully it won't be that long on updating.
Yes, it's short. Bear with me, please.
R/R please. I enjoy the pushing to continue.
Most importantly, everyone's favorite know-it all will be making an appearance shortly. I can't go very long without her presence in any of my stories.
As always, JK owns it all and thus can screw it up any way she wants, I suppose.
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He couldn't shake it.
It wasn't a terribly overwhelming feeling.
More of a constant squirming in his gut since leaving the station, but the one thing that he'd always been able to count on was his gut instinct. He had followed it recklessly throughout his youth, sometimes against his better judgment and it had almost always served him well.
And this time he couldn't shake it and that unnerved him.
"I didn't appreciate being left behind today."
A deep sigh filled his lungs at the words behind him and he paused for a brief look at his daughter before pushing the front door open. They had always agreed to never speak angrily in front of the children.
He tossed Ginny a look over his shoulder reminding her of that fact before turning to his daughter. "Why don't you go get started working on that letter to Al, yeah?" Green eyes lit up as Lily took off towards the staircase without another word.
Another sigh left him as Ginny brushed past roughly already tearing the jacket from her arms as she moved towards the mahogany coat rack in the corner. He knew she was angry, could feel it from the cold way she had behaved in the car, the look she had given him to invite Ron and Luna over. He knew she had been mad but it seemed she was always mad these days and honestly, he wasn't in the mood to deal with it right now. He had more important things to think about.
His voice was even as he turned his back to her and began to mimic her actions, sliding the jacket down his arms. "I didn't leave you behind. I was merely walking. I didn't even…"
"Please! You seemed like you couldn't wait to get out of there, with or without me."
He heard her jacket slam onto the coat rack, the angry scoff from her lips and then her quickened steps on the tile towards the kitchen.
Tossing his jacket onto the rack, he drug one hand across his forehead in exasperation before bending to untie his shoe. He would not take the bait in this argument.
He would not follow her.
"I would appreciate it if you'd let me speak."
Silence reigned as he raised an eyebrow in anticipation and convinced him that she was indeed doing just that.
He moved to the second shoe.
"You're right. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I don't much like the idea of reporters hanging around trying to get an emotional shot on a day like today. They had no business being there, Ginny and I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I won't apologize for merely trying to leave with my daughter."
He had leaned forward to place his shoes by the side table when the kitchen door swung open with a bang.
"OUR daughter."
He raised green eyes to her angry trembling form and slowly straightened to his full height.
"What are you on about?"
"You said 'my daughter'. Need I remind you that I'm just as large a part of this family as you are? Much more so than my brother or Hermione, who you seemed woefully determined not to leave by the way."
"Ginny, I'm not doing this again."
He could feel the anger beginning to build inside him, the tension headache starting to spread across his forehead and he tugged the top button of his shirt loose and pushed past her into the kitchen.
He needed a glass of water.
He heard the door swing shut behind her, heard her tiny footsteps on the floor as she followed him angrily towards the tap. He knew there was a filtered pitcher of water that she insisted they use in the refrigerator, but didn't dare reach for it. For some reason, his liked that his using of the tap had always irked her.
It was a very tiny retainment of his individuality, he knew, but he refused to relinquish it.
She took an angry breath as he filled a glass and shut the tap off. Crossing her arms, she spat a breathy, "No?"
He swung so quickly that he was surprised he didn't slosh all of the water from his glass onto the floor. "No, I'm not. This argument is ridiculous. I didn't leave you. I didn't stop to look for anyone before you. I was merely trying to leave with our daughter before that slimy git snapped Merlin knows how many more shots of us. To be perfectly honest, I can't believe you'd expect me to apologize for that."
He brought the glass to his lips, leaned into the counter behind him and took a long sip. Ginny's eyes flashed and he knew that she knew his petty action was intentional. With a disbelieving scoff, the red head shook her head and started towards the door.
"Don't worry, Harry. You didn't do anything I didn't expect of you anyway."
The kitchen door slammed loudly into the opposite wall as Ginny shoved her way through. As it swung backwards with equal force, he suddenly realized that he hadn't bothered to cast a silencing charm on the kitchen.
Just how much Lily had been able to hear from her bedroom upstairs?
As he watched the heavy wooden door swing, he sank tiredly into the counter, raked a hand through his hair, and suddenly felt older than he had in years.
The rest of the afternoon found the house engulfed in silence until Ron's owl had arrived saying Luna was off early and that they'd be arriving around 7. Ginny had sprung into action then, albeit still not speaking to him. The house was cleaned and dinner started. He would have been completely satisfied, and knew Ron and Luna would have as well, with butterbeers and pizza.
Ginny, however, had planned an entire meal and declared that everything must be in order.
He had simply retreated to his study, shuffled into his leather desk chair with a couple of shots of firewhiskey, let his head fall onto the back rest and closed his eyes. Lily had bounded into his study later with Ginny in tow, declaring excitedly that she was going to stay with her Grammy tonight so she could see Amelie, Bill's youngest daughter.
Due to sheer exhaustion, he hadn't bothered to argue, instead kissing his daughter on the top of her head with a promise to floo later to say goodnight. She had hugged him tightly before Ginny had beckoned her towards his personal fireplace, grabbed a handful of powder and stared expressionlessly back at her husband as they disappeared into green flames.
Now, the entire scene seemed to have never happened.
Ginny was flawless, of course, having entered the room laughing with a drink in her hand. Soft music had filled their dining room and the smell of something delicious was coming from the kitchen. Ron had immediately perked up as they stepped through the fireplace.
"Wow, is Mum here?"
Ginny turned a curious glance towards him as she hung Luna's jacket by her own in the corner with a flick of her wand. "Why on earth would Mum be here?"
He chuckled lightly, tossed his jacket onto the arm of Harry's favorite lounge chair and shifted a heavy looking paper sack. "Smells like it."
Harry grinned at his best friend as he tossed him a wink and smiled. Ron always was the first to call Ginny out on her tendency to overdo things. Mrs. Weasley had always been famous for her large meals, but with well over ten mouths to usually feed, it was well deserved. With just the four of them, Ginny's extravagance was showing.
"So, where's the munchkin? I've got her some great stuff here."
Ron turned in a half circle, scanning the dining room and craning his head around the corner to peer towards the staircase.
Ginny's voice floated through from the kitchen and Harry could practically see the dismissive wave of her hand as she spoke. "Oh, she's with Mum tonight, Ron. I took her there earlier to play with Amelie. It's just as well; you know how I hate when you give her all those things to prank people with. Now that her brothers are gone, who do you think will be on the receiving end of it?"
Harry watched his best mate's face fall slightly for the tiniest of moments before he glanced at Luna and turned back with a smile.
"Well, no harm, yeah? We're going there later anyway, so I'll just surprise her then." The moment was over in an instant with Ron dropping the bag next to his jacket and rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"Where's the grub, then?"
Luna's tinkling laughter filled his ears, yet something about the disappointed frown of his best friend nagged at his mind. He wasn't entirely sure where all of these instances of niggling reminiscence were coming from or why they suddenly insisted on tugging incessantly at his conscience. With a deep sigh, he pushed himself off of the doorframe he had been leaning against and scrubbed a hand through the hair on the back of his head.
The thought that Hermione would have probably had the answer did not escape him and he suddenly felt an unexplained guilt creep into his gut. What had happened to them, anyway? His earlier headache was threatening to return and he pushed his glasses up to pinch the bridge of his nose. When they dropped back into place Luna's round eyes were peering at him from the doorway. With a start, Harry gave a tiny smile.
"Something the matter, Harry?"
He paused for a moment listening to Ron's laughter and Ginny's slightly annoyed voice as he tried to steal some bit of food. When blue eyes met green once more, his smile was a bit more real. "Wrackspurts, I suppose, Luna."
The blonde's face lit up immediately and Harry felt his chest constrict in warmth as she stepped back and linked her arm with his. "It's a good thing I carry some asperadalia. It's the only thing that will keep them at bay."
He was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude for the blonde and felt his throat tighten as he pulled her close in a half hug. Luna beamed at him and leaned so heavily into his frame that his breath caught with the happiness he knew Ron had found in her. Her eyes were shining as he smiled down at her and pushed open the kitchen door to Ron's teasing voice.
"Oi, leave you alone for five minutes and you're making a move."
Harry could feel Luna's laughter against his side yet when he turned towards her, her eyes were filled with such tenderness he felt almost guilty witnessing it. With a final squeeze of her shoulder, he released her towards Ron's tall frame against the island counter. The red head immediately slid his arm around her waist and offered a treacle tart to her awaiting mouth. Crossing his arms, Harry leaned into the counter to his left and smiled. Normally he'd have already began teasing Ron, but there was something about this moment of oblivious happiness that he couldn't bring himself to interrupt. He felt a contented sigh escape his lips and turned his gaze to Ginny who rolled her eyes happily and shook her head. He expected the same infectious feeling to spread and yet when their eyes met, he felt the tiniest tug of cold sadness slip into his smile.
It faltered for only a moment before he plastered it back into place, pushed himself off the counter and took his place beside his laughing wife.