Oh, Brothers

Pieces of the puzzle came together as they waited under a medic tent at the scene of the crime. Pansy Parkinson had been quick to date and become engaged to an older Hungarian wizard shortly after leaving school. He was previously in league with the Death Eaters and trying to create a new network to continue their work when he was stopped by the ministry and arrested, facing the same consequences as Pansy's family, who already held life sentences. She picked up where he left off, only slightly changing the target to the D.A.—an extension, she felt, of the Order of the Phoenix. She'd become fixated on Ginny in particular, though the reasons as far as anyone could tell were symbolic to Pansy herself.

Of course getting the entire D.A. would have been difficult and they felt it would draw immediate attention, which they did not want. When the first attempt to kidnap Ginny was botched, they slowed their plans, followed D.A. members, and used a handful of infiltrated positions of the Ministry (Pansy having been going by Jenna since her fiancé's arrest) to plot. Those that were taken were those they could isolate that particular weekend. Lance was initially supposed to outbid anyone else for Ginny at the fundraiser, then work on getting her to invite him back to her flat. Once he was invited all of the security measures to keep the Holyhead Harpies teammates safe would be dissolved and they could take Ginny from there; assuming Lance couldn't manage with Ginny en route.

"Why didn't he end up doing that?" Ron asked. Arthur was looking to Ginny for an answer as well. Percy, Harry, and Ginny exchanged looks and Percy muttered that they'd explain later.

Ron, of course, had gone to the flat as soon as Percy contacted him that morning. "I thought Dawlish would keep me off this one, assuming I couldn't be impartial," Ron said. He'd had every intention on waiting for Harry, but when he saw an opportunity to trace the kidnapper, he immediately though of Ginny and the time that had already passed. Knowing the chances of Ginny being alive and well decreased each hour was what pushed Ron to act rather than wait for Harry or any other kind of backup. Not knowing the charm on the building, he'd approached directly, being jumped and captured by members of Pansy's organization before he knew they were there.

Dawlish was furious on this point. He was spouting departmental policy and threatening to suspend Ron, if not fire him outright. Harry talked him down to a week of unpaid leave for Ron to recover. Ginny stood next to Ron, holding his hand while the entire exchange took place.

When all was said and done, it was decided that Ron didn't need to go to Mungo's, but special transportation was ordered for the lot of them to get back to the Burrow. One of the cars had extended seats. Ron needed to be in this space so he could lay out and Ginny insisted she wasn't leaving his side. An argument ensued, but she stood her ground and Harry agreed only on the condition that he would ride in the front seat. Arthur joined Audrey and Percy in the second car, but only after many reassurances.

Hermione and Molly were waiting by the kitchen door when they pulled up. Hermione ran straight to Ron when she realized which car he was in. She was still sobbing. "Oh, Ron," she said. "Ron, are you alright?"

He nodded, swallowed and leaned on her, Harry helping support him from the other side as they took him into the living room to lay on the couch. Molly seemed torn—helping direct where Ron needed to be, getting Ginny a set of fresh clothes (some old, ill fitting pieces), and making sure Audrey was comfortable enough. Bill and Fleur arrived soon after them. The day was turning to night and Fleur was putting Victorie down to sleep when George and Charlie arrived.

Ginny noticed that Harry kept himself aloof from the flitting figures, all trying to find something to keep them busy. He sat in a chair near Ron and Hermione. "I refilled your water," Hermione said, encouraging Ron to sit up and drink some more. Several of his wounds were from being roughed up and those were taken care of quickly, though the gash on his arm and a large bruise on his stomach were magic-related. He was doing better, sitting up, but still looked exhausted and it would probably take the entire week to put him to rights.

The family was finally settling, everyone finding places around the living room with plates of leftovers Molly threw together from the week.

"Has anyone contacted Gwenog about everything?" Audrey asked.

Ginny hadn't even thought about what was going on back in Wales. For a moment she felt guilty.

"We sent a messenger shortly after you came out," Harry said.

"I should probably make a call," Audrey stood to excuse herself. "Let her know I'll miss morning practice, but will be there for the afternoon."

"George had an upstairs grate put in with the floo network, dear," Molly told her. "You'll have some privacy there. Second floor. Third door on the right."

Audrey nodded, untangled herself from Percy's arms, and headed upstairs.

"So, what's been decided about where Ginny's staying for the time being?" Charlie asked.

Ginny was sitting across the room from him. Her mouth was full, but she stopped chewing and stared in disbelief. Charlie wasn't looking back, though. He was looking at everyone else for an answer. She might as well have been upstairs in bed.

"Her room is ready here," Molly said, Arthur nodding. "I can take tomorrow and help her move everything else back."

Ginny swallowed and put her fork onto the plate sitting in her lap. "I'm not commuting from here to Wales everyday," Ginny said, incredulous.

"She can always come stay with us," Bill suggested.

"Ve have a new addition," Fleur agreed.

"Yeah, a whole floor that could easily be a flat. And it's much closer," Bill said. "Victorie would love having her there, too."

"But it's too isolated where you live," Charlie argued. "Isn't that how they picked their victims? Waiting until they were alone?"

"She can come live above the store again," George said.

"No," Ron joined the fray. "That's where she was the first time they attacked."

"I'll make sure Ginny has someone with her when she goes out," George countered.

Ginny could hardly believe what was happening as the conversation rapidly built into a cacophony of arguments of where Ginny should stay, which of her brothers would be best able to care for her, and even whether or not she should continue with the Holyhead Harpies. She stayed silent as anger pulsed through her.

"Enough!" she stood, her shout mixing with the shattering of her plate as it crashed on the floor. "I am not a child! And I do not need my family making life decisions for me."

Everyone stopped, finally looking at her in silence.

Charlie, again, was the first to speak up. "You've had too many close calls out there," he said.

"Close calls?" Ginny asked sarcastically. "You work with dragons. And you're going to talk to me about close calls? At my last count we've been notified of your visits to Mungo's three times in the last two years."

"All he's saying is there's obviously no one looking after you there," George said.

"I don't need looking after," Ginny snapped. She looked around at all of them. They were all looking back as though she was the unreasonable one. "What is wrong with all of you? What do I have to do to be seen as an adult?"

"We do see you as an adult," Percy said. "But between this and the quod explosion and—"

"The quod explosion that saved your girlfriend from ending up like I was or worse?" Ginny asked. "Not to mention at least three other of my teammates nearby who had no idea what was about to happen. What would you have rather I'd done about that?"

Percy opened his mouth like he was about to argue, then shut it again.

"We just don't want to constantly have to worry about you," Ron snipped.

"Then don't," she countered.

"As your brothers, it's our job to keep you safe."

Ginny turned on Ron. She'd been gentle with him all afternoon and evening, but there was nothing gentle about her glare now, nor in the words that followed. "This from the brother who barged into the enemy's camp without thinking, only to be beaten to a pulp and used against me. Who was taking care of who in that basement cell, Ron?"

"That's not fair, Ginny," Hermione defended Ron, who was looking very hurt at Ginny's words.

"No, I'll tell you what's not fair, Hermione. It's not fair that I can't make my own decisions without it being put to a family vote. It's not fair that anything that goes wrong becomes an excuse to force me to move back home."

She had everyone's rapt attention now and, for once, no one was attempting to argue against her points. "I don't see anyone trying to tell Ron to quit his job after what happened today. I don't see anyone suggesting that he break off his engagement, or that George dump Angelina because they were being targeted." Ginny's eyes flicked only momentarily to Harry, who was sitting with elbows on his knees, looking down at his clasped hands. She was starting to choke up, tears welling in her eyes. "Let me enlighten you to my plans and end this discussion once and for all. I am staying the night, then tomorrow morning I will apparate to the Harpies headquarters to report back to my team."

"Ginevra," Arthur said, his voice tired and concerned.

"No, end of discussion," she said, then turned and walked through the kitchen and outside, slamming the door behind her, walking away and into the yard.

Everyone sat, saying nothing for several minutes. Molly had become emotional, but was trying to discreetly wipe away her tears with the corner of her apron. Bill let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes and leaning back. "I hate it, but she's right," he said.

Harry stood as everyone else took that in and followed Ginny's path outside.

Ginny was tempted to leave right now. She thought about apparating without another word to anyone inside and seeing how they handled not knowing where she was. About halfway into the chilly, grassy field she realized the temptation would be more than a little cruel after the day's events and sat instead, taking deep breathes to calm herself down. She looked up, watching the stars, wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them into her chest. They were bright, tonight, twinkling back to her in an uneven pattern.

She realized this was the first time since the war that she had laid into her family over their handling of her. She thought of times in school when Fred and George or Ron got on her case about dating or class choices and how quick she was to tell them to butt out. Perhaps she'd let this happen the last two years, stepping around the anxieties of her family, at times to her own detriment. It felt so good to finally say her piece.

Hearing someone behind her, Ginny turned to see Harry approaching, then looked back up to the sky. "I'm not rehashing what happened in there," Ginny said as he came even with her, sitting to her left, legs outstretched and leaning back on his elbows.

"Yeah, I didn't figure you would," he said. "I just wanted to apologize," he added, looking over to her.

"For what part?" Ginny asked. "For saving me when I got caught at a dead end?" She turned to him and gave a small, forced grin. They hadn't really acknowledged Harry's involvement in everyone getting out safely today. "Or for kissing me when there wasn't enough time for a proper snog?"

Harry's worry slowed only slightly as she brought this up. "Well, for starters there was that whole… buying you at the auction thing."

Ginny turned back up to the stars, smiling. "As it turned out that may have actually been helpful. Though Audrey might have been kept out of all this if you hadn't done that." There was an awkward pause. "You sure you weren't meaning to apologize to her?"

Harry groaned, leaning forward and readjusting himself. "You aren't making this easier."

Ginny turned to look at him again. Her smile was gone. She looked directly into his eyes. "Am I supposed to?"

"I guess not," Harry said. "Look, I've realized for a while now that I can't be without you."

"Oh?" Ginny asked. "And when did you figure this out?"

"I was fighting the inclination since August, but I guess it started more fully when I knew you were dating Dudley," Harry admitted. "And it solidified when I was sitting with you at Mungo's."

Ginny knit her eyebrows, confused. "You didn't come to Mungo's when I was there," she said. Then she thought about this. "Did you?"

Harry looked down at his hands. "I wanted to see you play and I thought a regular game might be too public. Bring about speculation, you know," he said. "Instead I asked for a tour of the pitch and got permission to watch the practice the day with the quod."

"Your invisibility cloak," Ginny said and Harry nodded. She continued to think. "You caught me when I fell, didn't you?" He nodded again. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was only able to be there when you were unconscious," Harry said. "Ron made it pretty clear he didn't want me there once you woke up."

Ginny scoffed and stood, walking away from Harry. He jumped to his feet, catching up. "I know, I should have told you everything."

Ginny turned on him. "You think that's why I'm mad? Because you didn't tell me?"

"Er—yes. Isn't it?"

"You're just like them, Harry," Ginny said. "You do these things 'for my good' and then leave me and what I want out entirely. Why does it matter what Ron wants?"

"He's my best friend and—"

"And he doesn't get a say in what happens between us," she said. "He is far too opinionated in regards to my dating life and you make it worse by cowing down to his whims and letting him think it's okay."

Harry looked deflated. "It's complicated."

Ginny snorted. "You'd think Ron had you filling out paperwork every time you kissed me."

Harry put his hands deep into his pockets and looked at Ginny directly. "I don't think you understand."

"Try me."

He tried hard not to let emotion bubble up as he explained—how he'd thought about her every moment of every day. How he'd thrown himself into work as a distraction. How painful it was to see her dating and how scared he was both at Mungo's and today. Harry poured out every thought—sometimes incoherently—and then stopped.

"So what now," Ginny asked.

"So… we find a way to be together that doesn't put you at risk. Just, keeping it out of the public eye and all that."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I can't even believe I asked."

"What?" Harry asked, still confused.

"I'm an international quidditch player and you're, well… you; the chosen one. When exactly are we supposed to be out of the public eye?"

"We just need to set up a way to see each other without anyone else knowing."

"Oh good, I always wanted to feel like a mistress my whole life."

"Well then what do you think is next? Because I've been trying to solve this for ages and I can't figure a way out."

Ginny thought for a minute before speaking. She licked her lips and cleared her throat. "Look, I'm not doing this anymore. We're either together—risk or not—or we aren't. I have never stopped loving you, Harry Potter, but I need someone who loves me regardless of what my brothers think, regardless of who else cares, and what else happens. I refuse to be in some secret relationship, so stop considering that as an option. Besides, I think we've already established that pretty much every instance you thought you were putting me at risk would have happened anyway."

"But there could be—"

Ginny held up her hand to stop him. "It's up to you, Harry, but if we start dating again the only reason you're allowed to break things off is because you don't love me."

Crickets chirped their evening music and the stars burned a little brighter. They were only a foot apart as Harry considered what she just said. Her gaze was unrelenting, firm, and bold. Maybe if he couldn't be certain of the future he could utilize some of Ginny's certainty until he found his own. "Okay," he said.

Ginny stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Harry's waist and burying her face into his neck. Harry enveloped her and held tight. He whispered, "I love you," into her ear and they swayed there.

Harry pulled back and leaned in to kiss Ginny, and for the first time over six months, Ginny felt things were finally right.

Ginny entered the kitchen again, this time her hand wrapped in Harry's. Percy, Bill, George, and Charlie were all sitting around the table, drinks in front of them. They had obviously been talking, but stopped as Harry came in behind Ginny, closing the door.

"Ginny, we've all decided something and we think you should know," Bill said.

Ginny started to tense again, her hand gripping Harry's more firmly as her mouth tightened.

Seeing this, Percy jumped in. "We've decided that we aren't going to decide things for you anymore," he said.

Ginny relaxed, letting out a breath. "About damn time," she said.

Charlie was the first to stand from the table and came over, hugging Ginny as Harry let go of her hand and stepped back. "We're sorry," he said as the others stood too, piling around her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Uh, guys," Ginny said, her voice strained. "I know I'm mostly okay, but my ribs and shoulders and pretty much everywhere else is sore and—"

"Shhhhh," George said, as they all remained there. Ginny smiled and leaned her head over onto Percy's chest to her right. George added, "even though we aren't going to interfere anymore, can we at least beat up Harry a little for being such an idiot lately?"

"Uh," Harry took another step back.

"Just a little," Ginny agreed.

"Ginny?" Harry's voice was trilling with concern.

"Oh, you get in here," Charlie said, grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him into the still hugging group.

Ginny finally extricated herself from the mass, saying she needed to talk with Ron.

"Sounds good," George said. "We're just going to take Harry out to the tank."

"Oooo, the tank!" Bill said. "We haven't gone to the tank for ages."

"Wait, what's the tank?" Harry asked, looking to Ginny. She just smiled and walked into the living room. "Ginny?!"

Hermione was sitting next to Ron, applying a fresh salve to his arm. Ron looked up at Ginny, then down to what Hermione was doing. "Is Harry going to be okay?" Hermione asked as Harry called Ginny's name again, looking back towards the kitchen.

"It's just this dunk tank Dad got ages ago," Ginny said.

"They used to make me sit while they practiced throwing rocks to hit it," Ron added. "Dad finally fixed it how he wanted so that only spells can make it work."

"It's so cold out, though," Hermione said.

"He'll be fine," Ron told her. "I just don't know why everyone is so insistent on having fun without me."

"I'm sure they'll all be happy to do it again when you're ready," Ginny said.

Ron scoffed, "yeah, as long as I agree to be the target."

Hermione was still looking out the window as they were carrying Harry by.

"Can I speak with Ron for a minute?" Ginny asked.

Hermione agreed, saying something about at least heating the water, and setting off to monitor the situation at the tank.

Ginny picked up where Hermione left off, adding fresh bandages to Ron's arm. "I'm sorry I snapped," Ginny said.

"It's okay," Ron said. "You weren't exactly wrong. I screwed up pretty bad today."

"No," Ginny said. "You were just doing what you always do. Being my big brother."

Ron looked at Ginny. "You know, all growing up all of them had something on me. Anything I could do or be had already been done by one of them. But what was really special was that I was closest to you."

Ginny started to tear up. "Annoyed most by a tagalong little sister, more like."

"No," Ron said. "I always knew that we were all real lucky to have you. And I just always thought I wasn't doing things right if I didn't take care of you."

"Well," Ginny said, "now you're about to have your own family to take care of. And hopefully a whole group of little nieces and nephews for me."

Ron reached over and squeezed Ginny's hand. "You got it."

There was a lull while a fire crackled in the grate and they just enjoyed the quiet.

"One other thing," Ginny said. Ron looked toward her. "Harry and I are going to start things up again. And I need you to not have an opinion."

Ron took a deep, labored breath and nodded. "I suppose I can live with that."

Ginny grabbed the chess board and they played until everyone came in, Harry shivering in wet clothes, leaving Ron laughing until his side started to hurt.

Two years later

Ginny had laced up her boots and was stretching. The entire Weasley family was going to be at the game today. The Harpies were on their way to the World Cup this year, which was being held in Brazil. Of course there had been a decent amount of turnover. Irene had taken over for Gwenog, who had taken a job at the federation level. Audrey had retired just this season, having been married to Percy in the summer and was now expecting. Even though she'd left the team, she was the one in the family that talked with Ginny about quidditch most, giving her tips and encouraging suggestions as she watched Ginny play. Ginny could hardly remember a time when her and Audrey weren't close.

Hermione and Ron had been married a little over a year and Bill and Fleur had just had their third baby. The family was starting to take a fairly good area in the stands, which was likely to be growing now that George and Angelina were engaged.

Then, of course, there was Harry. There were ups and downs after Ginny put her ultimatum on the table. Once there was an indication that a copycat was being planned, putting many D.A. members on alert. Harry became distant for about a week, but came around. Mostly things were just good.

"Alright, everyone on the field," Irene said, exiting her office and leading the charge.

"We still have ten minutes," Ginny said, confused, as Tasha closed her locker next to Ginny.

Tasha just shrugged. "Irene said go, we better do it."

Ginny growled, rushing to get her gloves on and grab her broom. "How am I always the last one?" she asked to no one in particular. Partly because most of the team was on their way out the door. Everyone straddled their brooms and Irene started their normal count. "One! Two!—"

The team all did the Harpies screech (a tradition for launch), but Ginny looked down, realizing she was the only one who had kicked off. Confused, she looked down for an answer, but they were all cheering from the ground. The crowd was going wild… but for what? Ginny scanned the field, turning her broom. There, in the middle, hovering on his Firebolt was Harry.

She took this in for a moment and then pressed forward on her broom, meeting him in the center. He was smiling, ear to ear, grabbing the handle on Ginny's broom and pulling her forward until they were facing one another directly. "What are you doing up here?" Ginny asked.

"You know, I just thought I'd like to get a prime seat," Harry replied.

Ginny laughed, "Harry, really. What are you doing here?"

He pulled a snitch out of his pocket, the golden wings fluttering and ready to shoot away from him. "This," he said, "is for you."

Ginny held it. It was similar to the one she'd given him for his birthday the summer after she graduated. Instead of a multitude of players, however, there were two. One male, hovering in one space, and a female with long hair, doing laps around the spherical body of the snitch. She reached out a finger, touching one and then the other. The wings retracted and the body slid half open. Inside was situated a simple gold ring, a diamond set into its center.

Ginny froze and looked at Harry. Their audience was going wild again, hooting and hollering. When Harry spoke this time, it echoed throughout the stadium. "Ginevra Molly Weasley," he said. "You are the one who has made me happiest for as long as I can remember, and nothing could increase that happiness, except if you would agree to be my wife."

The chants from the crowd built into a unified "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Ginny nodded as Harry grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him for a deep, passionate kiss. When they pulled back, Ginny took off her left glove so that Harry could put the ring on her finger.

"You know," she said. "I'd love to continue this later, but there's this pesky little game we're supposed to play."

Harry laughed and pulled her in for one more kiss, his hand wrapped up around the back of her neck. "Go win it," he said, and let her go.

As Ginny headed down to her teammates, she thought she just might.