Changing Seasons Gift Fic for katieay
Title: April in Paris
Author: irislock
Word Count: 5918
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Some seasons take years to change.
For
katieay, who requested "Harry and Ginny in some sort of transition, so: Harry being promoted to head of the Auror department, or them saying goodbye to James as he goes to Hogwarts, Ginny going through Menopause, or either of them retiring. Big moments, but nothing cliche (so pregnancy and Quidditch leaving have been done to death)."
Inspirational quote: When I arose and saw the dawn, I sighed for thee.
A/N: This is my first gift fic, and it was a lot of fun to work on. I hope you enjoy it! Many, many thanks to the lovely
lyras for the brilliant beta. All remaining errors are mine.
ETA: Oops! I forgot to mention that the Changing Seasons H/G exchange masterlist can be found here. Thanks r_becca, for organizing this, and for all of your awesomeness in general.
"I can't believe he's leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow, and I didn't even get to say goodnight."
Harry was leaning against the doorframe of James' room, rubbing the tense muscles in the back of his neck with one hand. The room was lit only by a glowing Snitch flitting around the room.
Ginny stood and set the book she'd pulled from James' unresisting hands on the desk by the bed. It was Hogwarts: A Revised History, a gift from Hermione. James pretended to his cousins and siblings that he wasn't interested, that he knew all he needed to about Hogwarts, but she had pulled this same book from him after he went to sleep for the last fortnight.
She held a finger to her lips as she stepped around the packed trunk at the foot of the bed and walked toward Harry. "It's okay, Harry. He knows you'll be here in the morning to take him to King's Cross."
"Still," he said, unconvinced. "I missed story time. Again."
"Story time? James hasn't listened to story time in months."
"That's what he wants us to think," Harry said. His neck was still tense, but he dropped his hand to his side. "He pretends not to care, but he listens. Last week, when I was reading The Fountain of Fair Fortune to Al and Lily in Al's room, he kept coming in and opening the wardrobe. He would mumble about looking for his socks that you had mixed up with Al's again, but he ended up staying until I finished the story."
Ginny reached for Harry's hand and leaned into him a little.
"It's hard to believe, isn't it? Our baby....he's so....big now. Trying so hard to be grown up. But still so young." She sighed.
"Yeah. I'm really going to miss him."
She gave Harry a quick peck on the lips and smiled. "Come downstairs when you're finished up here. I'll pour you a glass of mead."
Harry heard her soft footsteps on the stairs as he walked over to the bed. Honestly, was there anything sweeter than a sleeping child? James, who never stopped moving while awake, never moved once asleep. Harry ran his fingers gently through James' ginger fringe and let his touch linger on a freckled cheek. He was such a miracle to Harry, something he thought he'd never have.
Not for the first time lately, Harry thought that he had been taking James, and the rest of his family, for granted. As Head of the Auror Department, he had been exceptionally busy over the last year. The new Minister of Magic was annoyingly complacent in peacetime and had tried to cut Auror funding rather drastically. Harry had waged several bureaucratic battles to obtain pay raises for Aurors and authorization to train new recruits.
He let out a long sigh. There was a budget meeting in the morning that he really should attend. But he had promised that he would take James to King's Cross, and your oldest child would only get on the Hogwarts Express for the first time once. He'd missed a lot recently, but he wasn't going to miss that.
*****
The next year was much better. The Potters had stayed at The Leaky Cauldron for the last few days of August; Ron, Hermione and their children had been there too. The kids always enjoyed going to Diagon Alley, and James had a particular fondness for Uncle George's shop, but this year was special because they had taken some time to explore Muggle London as well. Harry apologized to Ginny for not taking everyone on a longer and more distant vacation, but, he explained, he really couldn't get away from work for more than a few days right now.
Ginny shrugged and smiled. "Harry," she said. "Don't be silly. They loved the London Eye, and Al and Rosie would have slept in the British Museum if we'd let them. The kids don't really care where they are as long as you're there." She paused, and then added, "Me too."
However brief it had been, the holiday ended abruptly when the train left the station. Harry kissed Ginny and Lily, and then he, Ron and Hermione headed for the Ministry while Ginny went back home to Godric's Hollow with Lily and Hugo, who was staying for the day.
"Try not to be upset, sweetheart," Ginny soothed as Lily cried loudly that her dad was supposed to spend the day with her. "Dad had to go to work today."
"But you do a lot of work at home, Mum! Why can't Dad?"
"It's a little different, dear. My job involves a lot of writing, and I can do that anywhere. Dad has lots of meetings, and he teaches witches and wizards how to be Aurors."
Lily had stopped crying but was still drawing in deep, heaving breaths. Ginny bit her lip to keep from muttering something she might regret. These were the times when it was hardest to forgive Harry his noble streak. His dedication to his job was understandable; she knew when she married him that fighting Dark magic and those who practiced it would be his life's work. Truthfully, it was one of the things she loved best about him.
His defeat of Voldemort had been so public that, despite his youth, witches and wizards much older and experienced than he had sought his advice and input after the war. He had helped find and bring to trial numerous Death Eaters. His zeal and skill had led to a string of promotions, and he had become the youngest Head of the Auror Department ever. Merlin, had it really been nine years? Ginny had been worried at the time; that last promotion had come just a month before Lily was due, and she feared that Harry would not be around as much. Instead, Harry was actually home more for a while; not having field duty and weekend shifts had freed up a good deal of his time.
That had all changed two years ago when Kingsley retired and that buffoon Smith had become Minister. It seemed to Ginny that he had been especially critical of the Aurors ever since he'd taken office, and Harry had been in the unusual position of having to defend his department's actions and expenditures ever since. He'd started working more and was less pleasant to be around even when he was home. She had tried gently to bring the subject up several times but knew it was an uphill battle; Harry was not one to quit a cause he believed in. Still, that was hard to explain to their nine year old daughter.
Ginny knelt in front of Lily and looked at her tear-stained cheeks. She knew from experience how hard it was to see your brothers being carried away on the Hogwarts Express and want nothing in the world more than to go with them. Harry's quick departure had only compounded Lily's heartbreak, and an afternoon spent with her mum, even if Hugo was there, was cold comfort. Ginny offered the best consolation she could think of. "Lily, love, I know it's hard. I'm going to miss them too. And your Dad would much rather be with you than at work. How about if we go to The Burrow? Grandma and Grandpa would love to see you and Hugo, and I bet Grandpa might even take you for a ride on Black Lightning." Black Lightning was Sirius' motorbike, which had been restored to its full glory. When the whole family was at The Burrow, competition among the Weasley grandchildren for the passenger's seat was stiff; being the youngest, Lily and Hugo often did not get a turn.
"Cool!" chimed in Hugo. "I want a turn too!"
"Okay," Lily agreed. She even smiled a little, though Ginny could tell that she was not entirely placated. "Look on the bright side," Ginny said, trying to be cheerful. "It's Friday, and you'll be with Dad for the whole weekend."
*****
The house was chaos. Three trunks, three owls trying to avoid being put into cages, three very excited children, two broomsticks, and two overwhelmed parents were just too much for the cottage in Godric's Hollow.
"I told you we should have stayed at The Leaky," Ginny complained as she put a long-lasting dewrinkling charm on Lily's robes. "It's worked so well the past two years."
"And I told you," Harry replied as he persuaded Lily's new owl, Ganymede, into her cage with an owl treat, "this is the last time that we will take one of our children to catch the Hogwarts Express for the first time. I wanted to spend last night together as a family in our own home. And," he added, shutting the cage triumphantly, "you have to admit, it was fun."
"I know," Ginny conceded, now sitting on James' trunk in order to close it. "You're right. But this is a bloody hassle." She blew a strand of hair from in front of her face and tucked it behind an ear. "At least you agreed to let the Ministry car take us this year. That will help."
As if on cue, a green car appeared in front of the house, and a driver in dark green robes got out and opened the doors. Things settled down considerably on the drive to London as the Potters sat in the spacious back of the car and talked while the scenery floated past.
"I can't wait until Quidditch tryouts," said James. "I'm sure I'll make the team this year."
"I'm sure you will, too," said Ginny, smiling. "You've practiced really hard all summer."
"I was thinking about trying out, too," Albus said quietly.
"No way!" exclaimed James. "You aren't big enough to be a Beater, or agile enough to be Keeper, and I'm going to be Seeker."
Ginny arched an eyebrow at James but didn't say anything.
"I thought I might try out for Chaser," said Al.
Harry smiled. He knew that Al had waited until this moment to make the announcement and how happy it would make Ginny.
"That's fantastic!" said Lily. "Just like Mum! I can't wait until I'm old enough to try out. Maybe we could both be Chasers Al!"
An hour later, Harry and Ginny were waving to James, Al and Lily as the train steamed slowly away.
"Wow," Harry whispered, as the train turned a corner and rolled out of sight, "just like that. They're gone."
"They'll be back," Ginny said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He could hear the smile in her voice.
Harry sighed and turned to face her. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
They held each other for a moment, and then Harry said, "I need to go to the office for a few hours."
Sighing loudly, Ginny disengaged from Harry's arms and folded her own across her chest. "Today? It's Sunday, Harry. No one's there. And besides, you said that when the kids were gone, we might actually get to have a conversation that starts before ten o'clock at night."
Harry winced. "I know. And we will. But you know that the Minister has started putting departments on a three year budget cycle, so our funding for the next three years will be determined next week. And I took all of last week off to be with the kids before school started; I really need to get some things done, and that's a lot easier when no one is there."
He had a hard time looking at Ginny directly knowing how disappointed she was. "How about if I take you to lunch at Vindaloo first?" Vindaloo was an Indian restaurant owned by Parvati and Padma Patil; the food was excellent, and it was one of Ginny's favorite places to go on the rare occasions that she and Harry went anywhere without their children.
"No," she said, throwing up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "You'd be crap company anyway. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be home."
He clasped one of her hands and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Thanks. Will you at least ride to the Ministry with me? You can Apparate home from there."
*****
Ginny's logic proved false; Harry worked through the night and all day Monday. She had a staff meeting at the Prophet offices on Tuesday and dropped off a lunch for him on her way. He wasn't at his desk, but she left him a note.
Wednesday morning they actually ate breakfast together. Harry was fastening his robes with a slice of toast in his mouth while she stood by the sink and finished her coffee.
"Why are you up and dressed so early?"
"For my interview."
"What interview?" He realized a moment too late that he was definitely supposed to know what interview she was talking about. He usually took note of the famous Quidditch players she was interviewing, but a search of his recent memory yielded nothing but numbers - how many Auror hours were worked in the last year (broken down by regular and overtime), casualty and arrest statistics, and annual expenses.
"For the editor position." She rinsed her cup and stared at him, incredulous. "Harry, I told you on Monday night that the Prophet was looking for a Quidditch editor."
"You mean the Monday after I worked all Sunday night and came home dead tired after sitting through half a dozen arse-numbing meetings?"
"No, the Monday before that - when you were home on holiday. And at The Burrow last Thursday, I told you that I was thinking about applying. Right after the family Quidditch match, remember? And you said 'Great. You should.' "
Harry remembered saying that to Al about trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team; apparently Ginny had taken it as an answer to her question, which he had no recollection of her asking.
"And yesterday, I left you a note saying that I got an interview. I left it with your lunch. Didn't you get it?"
Harry had a clear vision of his uneaten lunch - and an unopened envelope - still sitting on his desk. He had pushed them both aside yesterday afternoon to make room for the memos and other documents he'd been working on.
He opened his mouth, but Ginny was way ahead of him.
"I'm not surprised that you didn't eat lunch, Harry, but you didn't even read the note? I don't know why I bothered even trying to talk to you about this. I could take a job with Charlie in Romania, and I don't think you'd notice. Better yet," she continued, not giving Harry a chance to speak, "I should have taken that job at Hogwarts when Madame Hooch retired. At least then you'd take some time off to spend with me before I went back to school on the train every September."
"Ginny -"
"I don't want to hear it."
She grabbed her cloak from the hook by the door and left.
Harry felt like she had taken all the air out of the room with her. "Good luck," he whispered to the closed door.
*****
Ginny got the job, but she and Harry didn't have much time to celebrate it. She had to spend a lot more time at the Prophet headquarters than she ever had as a reporter, and Harry, in addition to his responsibilities as head of the Auror Department, had taken on another role. Several countries were attempting to form a European Wizarding Federation, and Harry was on the committee responsible for developing Auror training and testing standards for all member countries. He hadn't really wanted to do it, but the Wizengamot had appointed him, and he'd found it hard to say no.
Autumn became winter, and soon they were back at King's Cross, seeing their children off to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays.
One afternoon in late January, Harry was sitting at his desk with a vicious headache. He'd spent the last couple of hours in a meeting with the Minister and various representatives from Magical Games and Sports and Magical Law Enforcement discussing what England's role should be in providing security at the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. This was not at all what he'd pictured things would be like when he started Auror training. When he first started, his job as an Auror had been everything he hoped for - challenging but rewarding. It felt like important work, and he'd been happy doing it for a long time. Until a few years ago. Now it was all about meetings and politics, and Harry didn't know how much longer he could stand it.
He moved some papers and uncovered a picture of him and Ginny taken on their wedding day. That had been almost fifteen years ago, and it felt like almost that long since he had had a real conversation with her. He loved her so much, and he felt increasingly bitter that his work was allowing him less and less time with her. Lately, it seemed they saw each other only briefly in the early mornings; Harry would bring her coffee in bed before he left for work. At night, one or the other of them was usually working late. Sex had become an all too brief and infrequent respite from the mounting stresses of their busy lives. Last week when they'd discovered that neither of them had opened the post (containing a letter from the Headmaster about James) for several days, they'd started communicating through notes. Family dinners at The Burrow aside, it had been weeks since they'd even eaten a proper meal together.
He was stirring a pot of stew when Ginny got home.
"What are you doing home so early?" she asked a little suspiciously.
"Just thought I would surprise you," he said as he handed her a butterbeer.
"Well, it's a wonderful surprise," she replied, and kissed him.
They had a quiet, companionable dinner, and they talked, really talked, for the first time since before Christmas. This led to the unfortunate discovery that their schedules were in nearly direct conflict with each other for the next few months.
Harry had committee meetings and site visits to Auror training facilities in Vienna, Rome, Paris, Dublin, and Madrid. Because it was a World Cup year, Ginny would be busy putting together profiles on each of the national teams. She wouldn't have to visit each competing country, but her staff was small, and even as editor, she would have to do some of the traveling and writing herself. In addition, she was planning to publish information about Quidditch programmes at the Wizarding schools of Europe in the Prophet's Quidditch section, and she had business trips to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang planned. And finally, she added apologetically, new members were being inducted into the Quidditch Hall of Fame in April, and she would have to cover it. Even the times when they would both be in England were peppered with deadlines and projects.
"Damn," Harry said one morning in early March, looking at the color-coded calendar they had resorted to using. "Do you realize that the only time we're both going to be home for more than a few days is over the Easter holidays?"
Ginny looked up from her tea. "Do I know you?" she asked.
"This is ridiculous," Harry continued. "There must be some way for us to spend more than a few hours together without worrying about work."
"I wish. But when? That calendar is pretty full until Hogwarts gets out for the summer."
"I'll think of something. I miss you."
"I miss you too."
*****
"How about lunch?" Harry asked as they left King's Cross. Easter holidays were over, but it had been easier seeing the kids off this time, knowing that summer holidays were just a couple of months away. It was a rare day in which none of them had any other pressing commitments. Ron and Hermione readily agreed, and the four of them spent a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at a pub near the station. At five minutes to five, Hermione pointed to her watch; Harry nodded and stood up.
Holding his hand out to Ginny, he said, "Come on, love. We need to go."
"Go where?"
"You'll see," Harry replied, smiling and winking at Hermione. Keeping hold of Ginny's hand, Harry accepted a key from the bartender and thanked him as he started up the stairs.
"Harry," Ginny began, "we don't need to get a room; let's just go home. You don't leave for Paris until tomorrow, we'll have all night...."
Harry turned and kissed her.
"Shh," he said. "Do you trust me?"
"You know I do."
Harry waggled his eyebrows and pulled off his tie. "Good. Then turn around."
They were standing in the corridor. Ginny looked at him questioningly, but she turned around. Harry tied his tie gently around her eyes and slipped his arms around her waist. He held the key in both hands in front of them.
"No peeking," he said. "Now touch the key." She did, and soon he was overcome by that characteristic feeling of being pulled from somewhere around his navel and hurled through a wind tunnel, being jostled along with Ginny.
He opened his eyes and surveyed the room. Very nice.
"You didn't peek, did you?"
"No, but Harry, I'm feeling a bit sick. You should have warned me about the Portkey."
"Sorry about that. Here." He removed the blindfold.
Ginny gave a long whistle in a decrescendo. "Wow," she said.
Harry watched her carefully as she walked around the lavish hotel suite, admiring the gold wallpaper and the intricately carved furniture. The bed coverings were crimson velvet, and there were more pillows on that one bed than in Harry and Ginny's entire house. A basket filled with food and wine was sitting on a bedside table next to two champagne flutes.
The bathroom drew another whistle from Ginny; it rivaled the prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. In fact, the gold and scarlet colors in the room reminded Harry rather strongly of Hogwarts. If he hadn't known better, and if this wasn't Paris, he would have suspected that the room had been decorated by a devoted Gryffindor.
She ended her tour of the accommodation by walking over to one set of the full-length double windows and pulling a gilt curtain to the side so she could look out. It was dusk. The light was fading, but the skyline of the city was still plainly visible even as street lights began to twinkle.
She turned to look at him. The Eiffel Tower was visible in the window behind her.
"Paris?" she asked unnecessarily.
Harry nodded. "It was the most romantic place I could think of." He paused and shoved his hands in his pockets as she looked back towards the Tower. "Actually, it was the most romantic place Hermione could think of."
He saw Ginny's shoulders shake with laughter. "You and Hermione put your heads together, and the most romantic thing you could think of was to bring me along on one of your business trips?"
Harry was glad she was laughing. "Well, the site visit isn't the romantic part. Or the Quidditch Hall of Fame thing that you have to be here for at the end of the week. Although," he suggested, taking a step closer to her, "I would think it pretty nice of you to get me a ticket to the banquet. I hear Krum is getting inducted this year."
She turned to face him. "It's short notice, but I might be able to arrange that," she agreed. She reached out to touch his chest.
"The romantic part," he said in a whisper, "is that we came a day early. And we're staying in a nicer hotel. And in between my work and yours, we have four days here all to ourselves. I hope you don't mind the company, because I'm staying with you."
"Oh," she whispered back, "that is romantic."
*****
Weak gray light was filtering through the slits in the curtains. Harry rolled over and sighed; he wanted it to be night again. He had not spent a night like that with Ginny in a long, long time. They had skipped dinner and feasted instead on each other, first in the bed and then later in the opulent bathtub. They had drunk an entire bottle of champagne and nibbled on the cheese, strawberries, and chocolate they found in the basket.
They had slept together with his body curved around hers the entire night, and Harry woke feeling more rested and - he had to search his mind for the right word - content than he could remember ever feeling. He did not want to get out of this bed. But, he had to pee. And, he realized, Ginny was not there.
Tending to business in the bathroom, he glanced at the mirror and saw "I'm on the balcony" written in large red letters on the mirror. He pulled on some pyjama bottoms and stepped through the open French doors to the balcony; Ginny was sitting with her back to him, sipping coffee.
He slid his arms around her neck and kissed first the top of her head, then her ear.
"Good morning," he said softly.
"Indeed," she replied. He sat next to her and took a croissant from the plate on the table as she poured him coffee.
A lazy mist was falling, but it was warm, and the scent of flowers wafted up from the gardens below. They were protected from the rain by an awning, and Harry was hopeful that the weather would clear soon. April in Paris was supposed to be beautiful.
"I see you got my note," she said dryly.
"Mm-hmm," was all Harry could get out with his mouth full. "Where did these come from?"
"There was a breakfast tray outside the room this morning. And this." She held up an English version of the local wizarding paper.
He took a sip of coffee and sat back in his chair. Dressed in a creamy silk nightgown and matching dressing gown, she looked absolutely stunning. Older, with a few strands of gray among her rich red locks and a few lines around her eyes when she smiled, but still as beautiful to him as the day they had married. He got by far the better deal, he thought, as he scrubbed his hands over his stubbly chin and then ran them through his unruly hair.
"I suppose I have Hermione to thank for this, too," she said, holding out a sleeve of her dressing gown.
"Um, no," Harry replied, starting to feel aroused yet again. "Hermione packed most of your stuff, but I picked that out on my own."
"I'm impressed." She regarded him carefully. "Does your wife know you're here?"
Harry laughed. "I don't know. Does your husband?"
"Probably not. He works all the time." She stretched her arms up over her head, and Harry got a very nice view of her cleavage. "Doesn't know what he's missing."
It was a joke, really, but her words met their mark. Harry leaned forward and took a deep breath. He hadn't planned on telling her right now, but he couldn't not tell her any longer.
"I'm thinking about leaving the Ministry."
Ginny had been a world class talker when she was younger, but her days as a reporter had honed her listening skills. She knew when to let a subject keep talking.
"I know what you're going to say," Harry continued. "I get restless and dissatisfied with my job every spring, right before I get really busy with budgeting and overseeing the curriculum for new trainees. But this is different.
"It's not just that I'm tired of the bureaucracy and politics, though that's certainly part of it. Things are really beginning to change. More and more people who work for the Ministry don't really remember what it was like when Voldemort was powerful. Everyone takes the relative peace and prosperity for granted because that's all they know. And now, the Wizengamot is starting to pass rules - they call them new, but they aren't - that are more.... biased, I guess."
Ginny sipped her coffee, but remained silent and waited for Harry to continue.
"It started quietly, with things like Aurors having the authority to kill vampires on sight or the Ministry not allowing Squibs to be hired for any job at all, but it's getting more restrictive. I feel like I have no control over the laws the Aurors are being asked to enforce. I spend all my time pushing paper and sitting in bloody meetings, and no time actually trying to achieve a little more justice in the world."
He sat back in his chair.
"I've been at the Ministry almost twenty-two years; twelve as head of the Auror Department. I think it's time for me to retire."
"And do what?" Ginny spoke at last. With a reporter's instinct, she got right to the important question. "Merlin knows, Harry, no one deserves an early retirement more than you do, but I somehow can't picture you sitting on the sofa eating Chocolate Frogs all day."
Harry smiled. "No. Much as I'd like to, I don't think I can." He took another deep breath. "I'm not sure. Hermione has been after me for years to write a book about the war. I never thought it was important, but I'm beginning to see how a first hand account of what Voldemort was like might be needed now. She's been getting frustrated too, and she said a long time ago she'd help me write it if I ever changed my mind. I'd also like to start a fund or organization or something to help out some of those who really need it - Squibs and kids whose parents abandon them after they're bitten by a werewolf.
"There's other stuff, too. Neville's made some great progress on improving the Wolfsbane potion so that it only has to be taken once or twice a year, but the Ministry has cut his funding. I'd like to make sure his research continues. With my personal money if I have to."
He looked at Ginny. "You know we have plenty of money for ourselves and the kids. The interest on our investment in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes alone could fund the kind of organization I'm talking about. And George might be willing to contribute, too."
"How long have you been thinking about this?"
"Since last summer, really. I just got so fed up with everything, I knew I wanted out. I keep thinking that if the kids are only going to be home holidays and summers for the next few years, I want to be there when they are. Spend time with them. And you. And this is a good time to go; the department's funding is secured for the next two and a half years, and my committee work will be over by July. I didn't say anything sooner because it took longer to figure out what I might want to do instead."
"But you've talked to Hermione and Neville and George about it?" Her voice carried a note of betrayal, and the reporter's objectivity was gone.
"No. I haven't said anything to any of them. I've just taken a lesson from you and started listening to what they're saying."
Ginny's hands were folded in her lap, and she was quiet for a long time, just looking at him. He couldn't see anything beyond her; the mist still obscured the city beyond the balcony.
"It's not that I don't want you to do this," she finally said. "It's just that your timing sucks, Potter."
She picked up a napkin and began wringing it in her hands. "If you'd told me in the summer, I wouldn't have applied for the editorial job. Now that I have a chance to focus on my career, you'll have all this free time on your hands to be a philanthropist. We'll still never see each other." Her bottom lip began to quiver, and she started to chew on it.
"No, Ginny," he said, a little more desperately than he intended. He stilled her hands with his own.
"It won't be like that at all. I'm glad you got the job. I am so proud of you. And I don't want you to quit now. All those years you took care of me and the kids and the house - I'd like to do the same for you. I used to love being an Auror, but I just don't anymore. If I quit, I can make my own schedule and make sure that we don't ever have to have another color-coded calendar." He moved a little closer, and squeezed her hands gently.
"You and James and Albus and Lily are the most important things in the world to me. All of this other stuff is important, too, but it's not the same. It's not as urgent. They'll be grown soon, and I feel like I need to be there for them now. And you - I've been married to you almost half my life, and it's been the best half, believe me, but I want it to be better than it has been the last few years. I think it would be better if I liked what I was doing a little more."
Ginny squeezed his hands in return.
"And I want your help."
"How do you think I can help?"
"Well, I'm bloody tired of budgets. You could help manage the finances if you wanted to. Or just keep doing what you're doing. Like the editorial you wrote denouncing the ban on Muggleborns trying out for national Quidditch teams."
"I'm not sure it did much good."
"Nonsense. It got published in several languages, and it was noticed by a few wizarding governments. I happen to know that the European Wizarding Federation is thinking about lifting the ban for the next World Cup."
"Besides," he winked at her. "I'm going to need an editor if I write a book."
"I thought Hermione was going to help."
"Then I need a really good editor."
He could feel her relax a bit, and as they finished breakfast on the balcony, they talked enthusiastically not only about Harry's plans and Ginny's career, but the idea that they could both do what they wanted professionally and spend more time together.
"Thanks," he said, after the coffee and croissants were long gone.
"For?"
"For realizing how important this is to me. And asking the right questions. And giving the right answers."
Ginny smiled, a warm genuine smile that Harry had not seen often enough lately, and their lips met in a kiss that was at once familiar and a harbinger of new things to come.
When they finally broke apart, Harry looked up at the still dismal sky. Poking his head out from under the awning, he said "I guess the rain is going to hang around all morning." He pulled his head in and began wiping his glasses with a napkin. "I had booked a private guided tour of Paris by broomstick this morning."
"Cancel it," Ginny said firmly. "There's another broomstick I want to ride."
Author: irislock
Word Count: 5918
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Some seasons take years to change.
For
katieay, who requested "Harry and Ginny in some sort of transition, so: Harry being promoted to head of the Auror department, or them saying goodbye to James as he goes to Hogwarts, Ginny going through Menopause, or either of them retiring. Big moments, but nothing cliche (so pregnancy and Quidditch leaving have been done to death)."
Inspirational quote: When I arose and saw the dawn, I sighed for thee.
A/N: This is my first gift fic, and it was a lot of fun to work on. I hope you enjoy it! Many, many thanks to the lovely
lyras for the brilliant beta. All remaining errors are mine.
ETA: Oops! I forgot to mention that the Changing Seasons H/G exchange masterlist can be found here. Thanks r_becca, for organizing this, and for all of your awesomeness in general.
"I can't believe he's leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow, and I didn't even get to say goodnight."
Harry was leaning against the doorframe of James' room, rubbing the tense muscles in the back of his neck with one hand. The room was lit only by a glowing Snitch flitting around the room.
Ginny stood and set the book she'd pulled from James' unresisting hands on the desk by the bed. It was Hogwarts: A Revised History, a gift from Hermione. James pretended to his cousins and siblings that he wasn't interested, that he knew all he needed to about Hogwarts, but she had pulled this same book from him after he went to sleep for the last fortnight.
She held a finger to her lips as she stepped around the packed trunk at the foot of the bed and walked toward Harry. "It's okay, Harry. He knows you'll be here in the morning to take him to King's Cross."
"Still," he said, unconvinced. "I missed story time. Again."
"Story time? James hasn't listened to story time in months."
"That's what he wants us to think," Harry said. His neck was still tense, but he dropped his hand to his side. "He pretends not to care, but he listens. Last week, when I was reading The Fountain of Fair Fortune to Al and Lily in Al's room, he kept coming in and opening the wardrobe. He would mumble about looking for his socks that you had mixed up with Al's again, but he ended up staying until I finished the story."
Ginny reached for Harry's hand and leaned into him a little.
"It's hard to believe, isn't it? Our baby....he's so....big now. Trying so hard to be grown up. But still so young." She sighed.
"Yeah. I'm really going to miss him."
She gave Harry a quick peck on the lips and smiled. "Come downstairs when you're finished up here. I'll pour you a glass of mead."
Harry heard her soft footsteps on the stairs as he walked over to the bed. Honestly, was there anything sweeter than a sleeping child? James, who never stopped moving while awake, never moved once asleep. Harry ran his fingers gently through James' ginger fringe and let his touch linger on a freckled cheek. He was such a miracle to Harry, something he thought he'd never have.
Not for the first time lately, Harry thought that he had been taking James, and the rest of his family, for granted. As Head of the Auror Department, he had been exceptionally busy over the last year. The new Minister of Magic was annoyingly complacent in peacetime and had tried to cut Auror funding rather drastically. Harry had waged several bureaucratic battles to obtain pay raises for Aurors and authorization to train new recruits.
He let out a long sigh. There was a budget meeting in the morning that he really should attend. But he had promised that he would take James to King's Cross, and your oldest child would only get on the Hogwarts Express for the first time once. He'd missed a lot recently, but he wasn't going to miss that.
*****
The next year was much better. The Potters had stayed at The Leaky Cauldron for the last few days of August; Ron, Hermione and their children had been there too. The kids always enjoyed going to Diagon Alley, and James had a particular fondness for Uncle George's shop, but this year was special because they had taken some time to explore Muggle London as well. Harry apologized to Ginny for not taking everyone on a longer and more distant vacation, but, he explained, he really couldn't get away from work for more than a few days right now.
Ginny shrugged and smiled. "Harry," she said. "Don't be silly. They loved the London Eye, and Al and Rosie would have slept in the British Museum if we'd let them. The kids don't really care where they are as long as you're there." She paused, and then added, "Me too."
However brief it had been, the holiday ended abruptly when the train left the station. Harry kissed Ginny and Lily, and then he, Ron and Hermione headed for the Ministry while Ginny went back home to Godric's Hollow with Lily and Hugo, who was staying for the day.
"Try not to be upset, sweetheart," Ginny soothed as Lily cried loudly that her dad was supposed to spend the day with her. "Dad had to go to work today."
"But you do a lot of work at home, Mum! Why can't Dad?"
"It's a little different, dear. My job involves a lot of writing, and I can do that anywhere. Dad has lots of meetings, and he teaches witches and wizards how to be Aurors."
Lily had stopped crying but was still drawing in deep, heaving breaths. Ginny bit her lip to keep from muttering something she might regret. These were the times when it was hardest to forgive Harry his noble streak. His dedication to his job was understandable; she knew when she married him that fighting Dark magic and those who practiced it would be his life's work. Truthfully, it was one of the things she loved best about him.
His defeat of Voldemort had been so public that, despite his youth, witches and wizards much older and experienced than he had sought his advice and input after the war. He had helped find and bring to trial numerous Death Eaters. His zeal and skill had led to a string of promotions, and he had become the youngest Head of the Auror Department ever. Merlin, had it really been nine years? Ginny had been worried at the time; that last promotion had come just a month before Lily was due, and she feared that Harry would not be around as much. Instead, Harry was actually home more for a while; not having field duty and weekend shifts had freed up a good deal of his time.
That had all changed two years ago when Kingsley retired and that buffoon Smith had become Minister. It seemed to Ginny that he had been especially critical of the Aurors ever since he'd taken office, and Harry had been in the unusual position of having to defend his department's actions and expenditures ever since. He'd started working more and was less pleasant to be around even when he was home. She had tried gently to bring the subject up several times but knew it was an uphill battle; Harry was not one to quit a cause he believed in. Still, that was hard to explain to their nine year old daughter.
Ginny knelt in front of Lily and looked at her tear-stained cheeks. She knew from experience how hard it was to see your brothers being carried away on the Hogwarts Express and want nothing in the world more than to go with them. Harry's quick departure had only compounded Lily's heartbreak, and an afternoon spent with her mum, even if Hugo was there, was cold comfort. Ginny offered the best consolation she could think of. "Lily, love, I know it's hard. I'm going to miss them too. And your Dad would much rather be with you than at work. How about if we go to The Burrow? Grandma and Grandpa would love to see you and Hugo, and I bet Grandpa might even take you for a ride on Black Lightning." Black Lightning was Sirius' motorbike, which had been restored to its full glory. When the whole family was at The Burrow, competition among the Weasley grandchildren for the passenger's seat was stiff; being the youngest, Lily and Hugo often did not get a turn.
"Cool!" chimed in Hugo. "I want a turn too!"
"Okay," Lily agreed. She even smiled a little, though Ginny could tell that she was not entirely placated. "Look on the bright side," Ginny said, trying to be cheerful. "It's Friday, and you'll be with Dad for the whole weekend."
*****
The house was chaos. Three trunks, three owls trying to avoid being put into cages, three very excited children, two broomsticks, and two overwhelmed parents were just too much for the cottage in Godric's Hollow.
"I told you we should have stayed at The Leaky," Ginny complained as she put a long-lasting dewrinkling charm on Lily's robes. "It's worked so well the past two years."
"And I told you," Harry replied as he persuaded Lily's new owl, Ganymede, into her cage with an owl treat, "this is the last time that we will take one of our children to catch the Hogwarts Express for the first time. I wanted to spend last night together as a family in our own home. And," he added, shutting the cage triumphantly, "you have to admit, it was fun."
"I know," Ginny conceded, now sitting on James' trunk in order to close it. "You're right. But this is a bloody hassle." She blew a strand of hair from in front of her face and tucked it behind an ear. "At least you agreed to let the Ministry car take us this year. That will help."
As if on cue, a green car appeared in front of the house, and a driver in dark green robes got out and opened the doors. Things settled down considerably on the drive to London as the Potters sat in the spacious back of the car and talked while the scenery floated past.
"I can't wait until Quidditch tryouts," said James. "I'm sure I'll make the team this year."
"I'm sure you will, too," said Ginny, smiling. "You've practiced really hard all summer."
"I was thinking about trying out, too," Albus said quietly.
"No way!" exclaimed James. "You aren't big enough to be a Beater, or agile enough to be Keeper, and I'm going to be Seeker."
Ginny arched an eyebrow at James but didn't say anything.
"I thought I might try out for Chaser," said Al.
Harry smiled. He knew that Al had waited until this moment to make the announcement and how happy it would make Ginny.
"That's fantastic!" said Lily. "Just like Mum! I can't wait until I'm old enough to try out. Maybe we could both be Chasers Al!"
An hour later, Harry and Ginny were waving to James, Al and Lily as the train steamed slowly away.
"Wow," Harry whispered, as the train turned a corner and rolled out of sight, "just like that. They're gone."
"They'll be back," Ginny said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He could hear the smile in her voice.
Harry sighed and turned to face her. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
They held each other for a moment, and then Harry said, "I need to go to the office for a few hours."
Sighing loudly, Ginny disengaged from Harry's arms and folded her own across her chest. "Today? It's Sunday, Harry. No one's there. And besides, you said that when the kids were gone, we might actually get to have a conversation that starts before ten o'clock at night."
Harry winced. "I know. And we will. But you know that the Minister has started putting departments on a three year budget cycle, so our funding for the next three years will be determined next week. And I took all of last week off to be with the kids before school started; I really need to get some things done, and that's a lot easier when no one is there."
He had a hard time looking at Ginny directly knowing how disappointed she was. "How about if I take you to lunch at Vindaloo first?" Vindaloo was an Indian restaurant owned by Parvati and Padma Patil; the food was excellent, and it was one of Ginny's favorite places to go on the rare occasions that she and Harry went anywhere without their children.
"No," she said, throwing up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "You'd be crap company anyway. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be home."
He clasped one of her hands and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Thanks. Will you at least ride to the Ministry with me? You can Apparate home from there."
*****
Ginny's logic proved false; Harry worked through the night and all day Monday. She had a staff meeting at the Prophet offices on Tuesday and dropped off a lunch for him on her way. He wasn't at his desk, but she left him a note.
Wednesday morning they actually ate breakfast together. Harry was fastening his robes with a slice of toast in his mouth while she stood by the sink and finished her coffee.
"Why are you up and dressed so early?"
"For my interview."
"What interview?" He realized a moment too late that he was definitely supposed to know what interview she was talking about. He usually took note of the famous Quidditch players she was interviewing, but a search of his recent memory yielded nothing but numbers - how many Auror hours were worked in the last year (broken down by regular and overtime), casualty and arrest statistics, and annual expenses.
"For the editor position." She rinsed her cup and stared at him, incredulous. "Harry, I told you on Monday night that the Prophet was looking for a Quidditch editor."
"You mean the Monday after I worked all Sunday night and came home dead tired after sitting through half a dozen arse-numbing meetings?"
"No, the Monday before that - when you were home on holiday. And at The Burrow last Thursday, I told you that I was thinking about applying. Right after the family Quidditch match, remember? And you said 'Great. You should.' "
Harry remembered saying that to Al about trying out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team; apparently Ginny had taken it as an answer to her question, which he had no recollection of her asking.
"And yesterday, I left you a note saying that I got an interview. I left it with your lunch. Didn't you get it?"
Harry had a clear vision of his uneaten lunch - and an unopened envelope - still sitting on his desk. He had pushed them both aside yesterday afternoon to make room for the memos and other documents he'd been working on.
He opened his mouth, but Ginny was way ahead of him.
"I'm not surprised that you didn't eat lunch, Harry, but you didn't even read the note? I don't know why I bothered even trying to talk to you about this. I could take a job with Charlie in Romania, and I don't think you'd notice. Better yet," she continued, not giving Harry a chance to speak, "I should have taken that job at Hogwarts when Madame Hooch retired. At least then you'd take some time off to spend with me before I went back to school on the train every September."
"Ginny -"
"I don't want to hear it."
She grabbed her cloak from the hook by the door and left.
Harry felt like she had taken all the air out of the room with her. "Good luck," he whispered to the closed door.
*****
Ginny got the job, but she and Harry didn't have much time to celebrate it. She had to spend a lot more time at the Prophet headquarters than she ever had as a reporter, and Harry, in addition to his responsibilities as head of the Auror Department, had taken on another role. Several countries were attempting to form a European Wizarding Federation, and Harry was on the committee responsible for developing Auror training and testing standards for all member countries. He hadn't really wanted to do it, but the Wizengamot had appointed him, and he'd found it hard to say no.
Autumn became winter, and soon they were back at King's Cross, seeing their children off to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays.
One afternoon in late January, Harry was sitting at his desk with a vicious headache. He'd spent the last couple of hours in a meeting with the Minister and various representatives from Magical Games and Sports and Magical Law Enforcement discussing what England's role should be in providing security at the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. This was not at all what he'd pictured things would be like when he started Auror training. When he first started, his job as an Auror had been everything he hoped for - challenging but rewarding. It felt like important work, and he'd been happy doing it for a long time. Until a few years ago. Now it was all about meetings and politics, and Harry didn't know how much longer he could stand it.
He moved some papers and uncovered a picture of him and Ginny taken on their wedding day. That had been almost fifteen years ago, and it felt like almost that long since he had had a real conversation with her. He loved her so much, and he felt increasingly bitter that his work was allowing him less and less time with her. Lately, it seemed they saw each other only briefly in the early mornings; Harry would bring her coffee in bed before he left for work. At night, one or the other of them was usually working late. Sex had become an all too brief and infrequent respite from the mounting stresses of their busy lives. Last week when they'd discovered that neither of them had opened the post (containing a letter from the Headmaster about James) for several days, they'd started communicating through notes. Family dinners at The Burrow aside, it had been weeks since they'd even eaten a proper meal together.
He was stirring a pot of stew when Ginny got home.
"What are you doing home so early?" she asked a little suspiciously.
"Just thought I would surprise you," he said as he handed her a butterbeer.
"Well, it's a wonderful surprise," she replied, and kissed him.
They had a quiet, companionable dinner, and they talked, really talked, for the first time since before Christmas. This led to the unfortunate discovery that their schedules were in nearly direct conflict with each other for the next few months.
Harry had committee meetings and site visits to Auror training facilities in Vienna, Rome, Paris, Dublin, and Madrid. Because it was a World Cup year, Ginny would be busy putting together profiles on each of the national teams. She wouldn't have to visit each competing country, but her staff was small, and even as editor, she would have to do some of the traveling and writing herself. In addition, she was planning to publish information about Quidditch programmes at the Wizarding schools of Europe in the Prophet's Quidditch section, and she had business trips to Beauxbatons and Durmstrang planned. And finally, she added apologetically, new members were being inducted into the Quidditch Hall of Fame in April, and she would have to cover it. Even the times when they would both be in England were peppered with deadlines and projects.
"Damn," Harry said one morning in early March, looking at the color-coded calendar they had resorted to using. "Do you realize that the only time we're both going to be home for more than a few days is over the Easter holidays?"
Ginny looked up from her tea. "Do I know you?" she asked.
"This is ridiculous," Harry continued. "There must be some way for us to spend more than a few hours together without worrying about work."
"I wish. But when? That calendar is pretty full until Hogwarts gets out for the summer."
"I'll think of something. I miss you."
"I miss you too."
*****
"How about lunch?" Harry asked as they left King's Cross. Easter holidays were over, but it had been easier seeing the kids off this time, knowing that summer holidays were just a couple of months away. It was a rare day in which none of them had any other pressing commitments. Ron and Hermione readily agreed, and the four of them spent a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at a pub near the station. At five minutes to five, Hermione pointed to her watch; Harry nodded and stood up.
Holding his hand out to Ginny, he said, "Come on, love. We need to go."
"Go where?"
"You'll see," Harry replied, smiling and winking at Hermione. Keeping hold of Ginny's hand, Harry accepted a key from the bartender and thanked him as he started up the stairs.
"Harry," Ginny began, "we don't need to get a room; let's just go home. You don't leave for Paris until tomorrow, we'll have all night...."
Harry turned and kissed her.
"Shh," he said. "Do you trust me?"
"You know I do."
Harry waggled his eyebrows and pulled off his tie. "Good. Then turn around."
They were standing in the corridor. Ginny looked at him questioningly, but she turned around. Harry tied his tie gently around her eyes and slipped his arms around her waist. He held the key in both hands in front of them.
"No peeking," he said. "Now touch the key." She did, and soon he was overcome by that characteristic feeling of being pulled from somewhere around his navel and hurled through a wind tunnel, being jostled along with Ginny.
He opened his eyes and surveyed the room. Very nice.
"You didn't peek, did you?"
"No, but Harry, I'm feeling a bit sick. You should have warned me about the Portkey."
"Sorry about that. Here." He removed the blindfold.
Ginny gave a long whistle in a decrescendo. "Wow," she said.
Harry watched her carefully as she walked around the lavish hotel suite, admiring the gold wallpaper and the intricately carved furniture. The bed coverings were crimson velvet, and there were more pillows on that one bed than in Harry and Ginny's entire house. A basket filled with food and wine was sitting on a bedside table next to two champagne flutes.
The bathroom drew another whistle from Ginny; it rivaled the prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. In fact, the gold and scarlet colors in the room reminded Harry rather strongly of Hogwarts. If he hadn't known better, and if this wasn't Paris, he would have suspected that the room had been decorated by a devoted Gryffindor.
She ended her tour of the accommodation by walking over to one set of the full-length double windows and pulling a gilt curtain to the side so she could look out. It was dusk. The light was fading, but the skyline of the city was still plainly visible even as street lights began to twinkle.
She turned to look at him. The Eiffel Tower was visible in the window behind her.
"Paris?" she asked unnecessarily.
Harry nodded. "It was the most romantic place I could think of." He paused and shoved his hands in his pockets as she looked back towards the Tower. "Actually, it was the most romantic place Hermione could think of."
He saw Ginny's shoulders shake with laughter. "You and Hermione put your heads together, and the most romantic thing you could think of was to bring me along on one of your business trips?"
Harry was glad she was laughing. "Well, the site visit isn't the romantic part. Or the Quidditch Hall of Fame thing that you have to be here for at the end of the week. Although," he suggested, taking a step closer to her, "I would think it pretty nice of you to get me a ticket to the banquet. I hear Krum is getting inducted this year."
She turned to face him. "It's short notice, but I might be able to arrange that," she agreed. She reached out to touch his chest.
"The romantic part," he said in a whisper, "is that we came a day early. And we're staying in a nicer hotel. And in between my work and yours, we have four days here all to ourselves. I hope you don't mind the company, because I'm staying with you."
"Oh," she whispered back, "that is romantic."
*****
Weak gray light was filtering through the slits in the curtains. Harry rolled over and sighed; he wanted it to be night again. He had not spent a night like that with Ginny in a long, long time. They had skipped dinner and feasted instead on each other, first in the bed and then later in the opulent bathtub. They had drunk an entire bottle of champagne and nibbled on the cheese, strawberries, and chocolate they found in the basket.
They had slept together with his body curved around hers the entire night, and Harry woke feeling more rested and - he had to search his mind for the right word - content than he could remember ever feeling. He did not want to get out of this bed. But, he had to pee. And, he realized, Ginny was not there.
Tending to business in the bathroom, he glanced at the mirror and saw "I'm on the balcony" written in large red letters on the mirror. He pulled on some pyjama bottoms and stepped through the open French doors to the balcony; Ginny was sitting with her back to him, sipping coffee.
He slid his arms around her neck and kissed first the top of her head, then her ear.
"Good morning," he said softly.
"Indeed," she replied. He sat next to her and took a croissant from the plate on the table as she poured him coffee.
A lazy mist was falling, but it was warm, and the scent of flowers wafted up from the gardens below. They were protected from the rain by an awning, and Harry was hopeful that the weather would clear soon. April in Paris was supposed to be beautiful.
"I see you got my note," she said dryly.
"Mm-hmm," was all Harry could get out with his mouth full. "Where did these come from?"
"There was a breakfast tray outside the room this morning. And this." She held up an English version of the local wizarding paper.
He took a sip of coffee and sat back in his chair. Dressed in a creamy silk nightgown and matching dressing gown, she looked absolutely stunning. Older, with a few strands of gray among her rich red locks and a few lines around her eyes when she smiled, but still as beautiful to him as the day they had married. He got by far the better deal, he thought, as he scrubbed his hands over his stubbly chin and then ran them through his unruly hair.
"I suppose I have Hermione to thank for this, too," she said, holding out a sleeve of her dressing gown.
"Um, no," Harry replied, starting to feel aroused yet again. "Hermione packed most of your stuff, but I picked that out on my own."
"I'm impressed." She regarded him carefully. "Does your wife know you're here?"
Harry laughed. "I don't know. Does your husband?"
"Probably not. He works all the time." She stretched her arms up over her head, and Harry got a very nice view of her cleavage. "Doesn't know what he's missing."
It was a joke, really, but her words met their mark. Harry leaned forward and took a deep breath. He hadn't planned on telling her right now, but he couldn't not tell her any longer.
"I'm thinking about leaving the Ministry."
Ginny had been a world class talker when she was younger, but her days as a reporter had honed her listening skills. She knew when to let a subject keep talking.
"I know what you're going to say," Harry continued. "I get restless and dissatisfied with my job every spring, right before I get really busy with budgeting and overseeing the curriculum for new trainees. But this is different.
"It's not just that I'm tired of the bureaucracy and politics, though that's certainly part of it. Things are really beginning to change. More and more people who work for the Ministry don't really remember what it was like when Voldemort was powerful. Everyone takes the relative peace and prosperity for granted because that's all they know. And now, the Wizengamot is starting to pass rules - they call them new, but they aren't - that are more.... biased, I guess."
Ginny sipped her coffee, but remained silent and waited for Harry to continue.
"It started quietly, with things like Aurors having the authority to kill vampires on sight or the Ministry not allowing Squibs to be hired for any job at all, but it's getting more restrictive. I feel like I have no control over the laws the Aurors are being asked to enforce. I spend all my time pushing paper and sitting in bloody meetings, and no time actually trying to achieve a little more justice in the world."
He sat back in his chair.
"I've been at the Ministry almost twenty-two years; twelve as head of the Auror Department. I think it's time for me to retire."
"And do what?" Ginny spoke at last. With a reporter's instinct, she got right to the important question. "Merlin knows, Harry, no one deserves an early retirement more than you do, but I somehow can't picture you sitting on the sofa eating Chocolate Frogs all day."
Harry smiled. "No. Much as I'd like to, I don't think I can." He took another deep breath. "I'm not sure. Hermione has been after me for years to write a book about the war. I never thought it was important, but I'm beginning to see how a first hand account of what Voldemort was like might be needed now. She's been getting frustrated too, and she said a long time ago she'd help me write it if I ever changed my mind. I'd also like to start a fund or organization or something to help out some of those who really need it - Squibs and kids whose parents abandon them after they're bitten by a werewolf.
"There's other stuff, too. Neville's made some great progress on improving the Wolfsbane potion so that it only has to be taken once or twice a year, but the Ministry has cut his funding. I'd like to make sure his research continues. With my personal money if I have to."
He looked at Ginny. "You know we have plenty of money for ourselves and the kids. The interest on our investment in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes alone could fund the kind of organization I'm talking about. And George might be willing to contribute, too."
"How long have you been thinking about this?"
"Since last summer, really. I just got so fed up with everything, I knew I wanted out. I keep thinking that if the kids are only going to be home holidays and summers for the next few years, I want to be there when they are. Spend time with them. And you. And this is a good time to go; the department's funding is secured for the next two and a half years, and my committee work will be over by July. I didn't say anything sooner because it took longer to figure out what I might want to do instead."
"But you've talked to Hermione and Neville and George about it?" Her voice carried a note of betrayal, and the reporter's objectivity was gone.
"No. I haven't said anything to any of them. I've just taken a lesson from you and started listening to what they're saying."
Ginny's hands were folded in her lap, and she was quiet for a long time, just looking at him. He couldn't see anything beyond her; the mist still obscured the city beyond the balcony.
"It's not that I don't want you to do this," she finally said. "It's just that your timing sucks, Potter."
She picked up a napkin and began wringing it in her hands. "If you'd told me in the summer, I wouldn't have applied for the editorial job. Now that I have a chance to focus on my career, you'll have all this free time on your hands to be a philanthropist. We'll still never see each other." Her bottom lip began to quiver, and she started to chew on it.
"No, Ginny," he said, a little more desperately than he intended. He stilled her hands with his own.
"It won't be like that at all. I'm glad you got the job. I am so proud of you. And I don't want you to quit now. All those years you took care of me and the kids and the house - I'd like to do the same for you. I used to love being an Auror, but I just don't anymore. If I quit, I can make my own schedule and make sure that we don't ever have to have another color-coded calendar." He moved a little closer, and squeezed her hands gently.
"You and James and Albus and Lily are the most important things in the world to me. All of this other stuff is important, too, but it's not the same. It's not as urgent. They'll be grown soon, and I feel like I need to be there for them now. And you - I've been married to you almost half my life, and it's been the best half, believe me, but I want it to be better than it has been the last few years. I think it would be better if I liked what I was doing a little more."
Ginny squeezed his hands in return.
"And I want your help."
"How do you think I can help?"
"Well, I'm bloody tired of budgets. You could help manage the finances if you wanted to. Or just keep doing what you're doing. Like the editorial you wrote denouncing the ban on Muggleborns trying out for national Quidditch teams."
"I'm not sure it did much good."
"Nonsense. It got published in several languages, and it was noticed by a few wizarding governments. I happen to know that the European Wizarding Federation is thinking about lifting the ban for the next World Cup."
"Besides," he winked at her. "I'm going to need an editor if I write a book."
"I thought Hermione was going to help."
"Then I need a really good editor."
He could feel her relax a bit, and as they finished breakfast on the balcony, they talked enthusiastically not only about Harry's plans and Ginny's career, but the idea that they could both do what they wanted professionally and spend more time together.
"Thanks," he said, after the coffee and croissants were long gone.
"For?"
"For realizing how important this is to me. And asking the right questions. And giving the right answers."
Ginny smiled, a warm genuine smile that Harry had not seen often enough lately, and their lips met in a kiss that was at once familiar and a harbinger of new things to come.
When they finally broke apart, Harry looked up at the still dismal sky. Poking his head out from under the awning, he said "I guess the rain is going to hang around all morning." He pulled his head in and began wiping his glasses with a napkin. "I had booked a private guided tour of Paris by broomstick this morning."
"Cancel it," Ginny said firmly. "There's another broomstick I want to ride."