May 2001

"Shh," Ginny whispered to Teddy as they crouched behind a bush. She could barely see her house through the thick foliage. "We have to stay really quiet or Harry is going to get us."

"Kay," three-year-old Teddy whispered back, hopping from one leg to the other. "Ginny, when we gunna wun?"

"Really soon," Ginny promised, eyeing him suspiciously. "Do you need to use the loo?"

"No, I wanna wun!" he said impatiently, his blue eyes glancing up at her imploringly. "Now?"

Ginny grinned and kissed the top of his head. "Not yet. Should I trip Harry this time?"

"I do it," Teddy said holding up the stick he'd found on the ground. "My turn to twip him."

"Right you are, little man," Ginny told him very seriously as the signal flew out for them to leave their hiding spots. "Okay, let's go."

She took his chubby little hand in hers and they struck out, checking to make sure they weren't going to be tagged. She heard Bill's muttered oath from somewhere to her left, but she didn't stop to check. It was harder running with a three-year-old, but Teddy refused point blank to be carried like a baby. Except by Harry; Harry was still allowed to carry him.

They snuck around to the side of the tool shed and paused, looking carefully around to see if the coast was clear. It wasn't. Harry was standing right there, facing away from them.

"You ready, kiddo?" Ginny whispered, surreptitiously pulling out her wand.

"I weady," Teddy said very seriously. He pointed his stick at Harry and said, "bang!"

Wordlessly Ginny fired the jinx off at her husband and hit him straight in the back, knocking him off his feet with a yelp. Ginny grabbed Teddy's hand and they ran as fast as they could for the back door.

Harry rolled over and saw them. He pretended to run after them while laughing and yelling a war cry. He allowed them to just beat him into the house.

"Safe!" Molly cried swinging Teddy up into her arms. "You're the winner!"

"Yay!" Teddy squealed enthusiastically and squirmed down to run for the biscuits on the table.

"What was the meaning of that?" Harry asked in her ear as he wrapped his arms around Ginny from behind. "I thought you said that was cheating."

"No," Ginny laughed dismissively as she turned her head to kiss him before nudging him towards the door to go hunt down the rest of the players in their game of hide-and-go-seek. "I said it's cheating when you do it. Some Auror you are. I got off a clean shot."

Harry chuckled and patted his wife of three years playfully on the bum before running back out the door.

Ginny walked over to the table to see Teddy eating his reward for 'winning' with Angelina who had declared herself too pregnant to play. "Where's Victoire?"

"She fell asleep," Angelina told her grinning. "Audrey is getting in some practice and putting her down in the spare room."

Ginny nodded, snagged an apple slice and sat down. "You sure you don't want to play? You know they'd give you a sympathy pass."

Angelina rolled her eyes. "George wouldn't give me any kind of pass. He'd be just as likely to want to hide together behind some tree and just not come out. I am not doing that out on the grass anymore." She informed her sister-in-law, patting her belly. She was five months along now and already looking huge.

"Do what?" Teddy asked looking between them.

"Sleep," Ginny said and handed him an apple slice.

Audrey, who was also pregnant, although only two months along, came back down into the kitchen and sat across from Ginny at the table. "She's getting so big."

"She's a baby," Teddy told them importantly. "She fell asweep, but not me!"

"You are so right," Ginny said head in one hand as she watched him, her lips twitching.

A moment later Ron sprinted into the house and skidded to a stop looking sourly at Ginny. "How did you beat me?"

"I twipped Harry!" Teddy told him proudly, pulling Ron's attention from his sister.

Ron held out his hand for a high-five and the little boy smacked it loudly with his own. "Good show, little man! I hope he fell hard."

"Uh huh," Teddy promised laughing as Ron swung him into the air.

"You boys are so competitive about this," Molly said, clucking as she pulled another batch of biscuits from the oven.

Ron sat down in Teddy's seat with the boy on his lap and they both went for a biscuit. "You just don't understand, Mum."

"You just don't understand, Gran," Teddy mimicked seriously and Ginny had to hide a snort of amusement. "Where's Grandma?"

"She's still out hiding," Molly told him, patting his cheek affectionately. "No more sweets Teddy. If you're still hungry, have some more fruit."

"Ha," Ron said teasingly to Teddy as he reached for another biscuit.

Molly swatted his hand away. "No more for you either," she told him sternly.

"Ha!" Teddy told Ron. He dissolved into uncontrolled giggles as Ron tickled him.

Ginny laughed as Teddy bounded out of Ron's lap and plopped himself in hers, cuddling into her arms. He rarely did it anymore since he was now a 'big boy', but she cherished every time he did. "Are you excited to spend the night?"

"Uh huh," Teddy said and she could hear the sleepiness creeping in. "Can Victoire spend da night?"

"Not yet," Ginny told him, kissing the top of his head. "She's still too little."

"Kay," Teddy said, rubbing his cheek against her shoulder. It was a sign that he was about to pass out and sure enough a few minutes later his solid little body went limp against her.

Ginny held on, holding him securely while she continued to chat with her family as everyone else poured in from the game. Teddy was a solid sleeper. When he was out, he was out.

When Harry finally made it in from being 'it' he came over and plucked the little boy up. After a sleepy goodnight kiss from his Grandma Andromeda, Harry took him up to the room they had made up for him.

Ginny watched him go, feeling a small ache in her heart. Hope would have been two years old now. She might have been running along with them, tripping Harry and giggling as they ran for the house. She'd have been petted and adored by her uncles, hugged and kissed by her aunts. Ginny would have been tucking her in that night.

The place in her heart where she felt the loss of her daughter had never truly healed. She still missed Hope daily, but she'd done as her mother had said and she was living. She remembered her daughter, and hoped that Luna was right and that someday she'd meet her on the other side. She was so thankful that she had Teddy in her life. She loved him dearly and in his own way he'd helped her keep going.

Harry bounded back down the stairs and walked over and kissed her. "He's completely out. All of that cheating has really done him in."

Grinning impishly Ginny shook her head. "Oh, Potter, you haven't seen anything yet. I'm 'it' next."

All of her brother groaned while Hermione, Angelina and Audrey cheered.

Harry just laughed and kissed her playfully on the neck. "Catch me if you can."

"I will," Ginny promised as her mother called for everyone to get set to hide again.

A/N: Thank you all! Please head over to my author's page and find the story called The Space Between. It's the sequel to this story.