aibhinn_fics

Title: Heal The Pain
Chapter 10 - 'A Little Fall of Rain' (Part 1)
Rating: Teens
Words: 11,063 (Both Parts)

"Hey! Onyx!"

Harry's eyes blinked open; Ron was shaking him by his right shoulder. Harry sat up. "Right," he said, rubbing his eyes to clear them, then reaching for his glasses. "What time is it?"

"Half-past eleven. Big Sky and Jester will be here any moment for debriefing." Ron stretched, and Harry heard his bones creak. "Blimey, this was a killer shift. Thirty-six hours is too bloody much. I'm ready to go home and sleep for a week."

"And miss Lavender and Seamus' party tonight?" Harry grinned, leveraging himself up off the sofa in the corner of their office, where he'd been napping for the past couple hours. "Hermione would never forgive you, mate."

"Hermione hasn't been on shift for a day and a half, either," Ron groused, resettling his robes, which had ridden up as he'd stretched, to lie properly across his shoulders. "Thirty-six bloody hours! What was Twilight thinking?"

"Well, we shouldn't have to do this again any time soon." Harry straightened his own robes and went to look at the maps they'd created, which had been tacked to the wall. He knew Ron was just tired and short-tempered. "We can go home and sleep for a few hours before the party."

"If we don't get called." Ron scowled, coming up beside Harry. "Ten to one we will. It's not likely the Death Eaters will let New Year's Eve pass by again without trying something. There are just too many glorious possibilities for mayhem." His voice was dry enough to dessicate.

"Hm. They don't seem to need holidays to find an excuse, though," Harry commented, frowning at the dozens of pins pulsing red on the map, each one marking the site of a Death Eater attack. "And it's just the luck of the draw that we get New Year's Eve off, mate. Otherwise we'd be coming on shift right about now, and have all that mess on our watch."

Twilight had changed their schedules for New Year's. Because attacks—huge attacks—had occurred each of the previous two New Year's Eves, Twilight had chosen to put the two of them on a 36-hour shift from midnight, 30 December through noon 31 December. Jester and Big Sky would then take over for the next 36 hours, leaving Harry and Ron the chance to get some sleep before evening so that, if they were called out, they'd be rested. Harry had heard also that most of the rest of the Department, and all of the Aurors, were on alert as well.

Please, he thought as he cast a Cleansing Charm on their coffee cups and put them on the shelf beneath the map table, let this New Year's Eve be one without an attack.

But he didn't hold out much hope.

The door squeaked slightly, and they turned to see who was coming in. "'Ello there, lads," a deep voice said in a Liverpool accent, and a tall, dark-skinned man came in. "Long shift?"

"Longer than I ever want to experience again, Jester," Ron said. "But I don't want to spoil your fun by telling you all the details."

"Oh, spoil it, please," said Big Sky as he came in behind his partner, running his hand through his mop of mousy-brown hair. He was a shade shorter than Harry, but nearly as broad as Charlie; not a person Harry would be anxious to take on in a fight. "We're desperate to know what it is we've missed." He and Jester both moved over toward the map on the wall beside Ron. Harry made his way over there as well.

"Right, then," Ron said, and he waved his wand over the map. The red lights indicating attacks dimmed. "Two squads of officers were deployed about three hours ago to the Lake District; reports have placed Draco Malfoy there for the holidays." Two blue lights shone brightly in the northern part of England. "Apparently there have been some, quote, 'odd sightings' reported by the Muggles there over the past week or so, and the Department doesn't want to take any chances, especially as hard-hit as they've been by the Death Eaters recently. Another squad was sent to Devon as well; though there haven't been any attacks in the last couple of weeks or so in that region, it's seen enough action that they felt caution was warranted." He waved his wand again, and another blue dot began to glow, this one in the south, near Cornwall. "We've got two here at the Ministry on alert as well, and every other squad we have is ready to be called in at a moment's notice. So are the Aurors, of course; they'll be going out with us if we're called."

And not just the Aurors. Ron wouldn't say anything to Big Sky and Jester, of course, but Tonks had come in about six that morning to tell them off-the-record that the Order of the Phoenix—or what remained of it—was also on alert. Not so much for the fighting—though they'd be doing rather a lot of that, especially the members who had once been part of the DA at Hogwarts—but for information gathering. There were no equals to the Order of the Phoenix when it came to collecting information, not even the Department of Mysteries. Harry was exceedingly glad the Order was willing to carry on and to report to them, so they could do something about it.

"…think that's about it," Ron was saying. Harry pulled his attention back to the task at hand and tried to pretend he'd been listening all along.

"Right," Jester said. "Well, then, you lot get on home. We'll likely be calling you in a few hours, if the Death Eaters keep to their usual holiday timetable."

"And stop by Twilight's office on your way out," Big Sky said. "He ran into us on our way in and told us to tell you."

"Right. Quiet watch, then." Ron flipped them a jaunty salute; Harry rolled his eyes and just nodded. I just want to get out of here and get home. I've got plans for this afternoon, and I'd rather not be late for them.

They headed out of their office, turned left, and made their way through the maze of cubicles to Twilight's office. The door was open; Twilight was hard at work at his desk. Harry knocked on the doorjamb, and his boss looked up. "Onyx," he said by way of greeting. "Red Knight. I don't want to keep you, since I know you've got to be exhausted, but I've got something for you. Come on in."

Harry and Ron stepped into the office and approached Twilight's desk. He handed them each a small object about the size and shape of a ball-point pen. "Communicators," he said. "If we need you, it'll heat up; hold it up to your mouth and speak your code name, and it'll become a Portkey. If you run into trouble and you need backup, break it in two and the squads on call will be notified. If you need more than the two on call, speak into it with the number of squads you need and then break it. Got that?"

"Yes, sir," they chorused. Harry put his in the breast pocket of his robes, reminding himself to make sure he took it with him to the party tonight.

"Right, then, that's it. We're sending them out to everyone; we want to make sure every single officer of the Department has one, just in case." Twilight shook his head. "I don't understand why people insist on having big parties like this when the Death Eaters are so active," he complained. "It's just an invitation for them."

"This is an engagement party as well as a New Year's Eve party," Ron said. "Family as well as friends."

"That's not exactly my point, but at least they had the sense to have it someplace away from the worst of the attacks. Nottingham, did you say?"

"Just outside," Harry confirmed. "The hostess's parents have got a huge home on quite a bit of land."

Twilight sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'm glad it'll be the three of you, at any rate. If something does happen, you lot can hold things together until backup arrives. But no heroics, you hear me? We need you too badly for that. If you were dispensable enough to be on a squad, we'd have you there. All of you. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Twilight shook his head and waved his hand at them in a shooing motion. "Off you go, then. Mind you get some sleep; if you have to leave this party on a call, you don't want to be falling over from exhaustion. Or drunkenness," he added significantly, looking hard at each of them. "One drink, no more. Got that?"

"Yes, sir." They saluted, then left, heading for the Apparition point.

"You are planning to sleep, right?" Ron added to Harry as they headed out into the corridor.

"Eventually." A corner of Harry's mouth tugged upward. "I've got something to do first."

---------------------

Lunch was a fairly noisy affair. All of the Weasleys were at home for the holidays, except for Mr. Weasley and Percy, who were both at work. "And why they can't let them off on New Year's Eve, I've no idea," Mrs. Weasley said irritably as she set a plate of chops down on the table. "Or at least half a day. It's ridiculous that they should be expected to work on a holiday."

"They've tomorrow off, Mum," Charlie said soothingly, passing the bowl of broccoli to Ron, who scowled and handed it to Hermione without taking any. Hermione scowled right back and dished some onto his plate before taking some herself.

"I know they will, but still, the holidays are a time for family, and I don't understand why they have to work." Molly turned to Hermione. "Not that we don't enjoy having you here, Hermione dear, but are you certain your parents wouldn't rather have you with them? Or perhaps they'd like to come here for New Year's dinner tomorrow. I hate to think of them all alone on the holiday…"

Hermione smiled. "I'm sure they'd love to come, Mrs. Weasley. They certainly enjoyed themselves at Christmas. If you'd like, I'll owl them right after lunch."

"Yes, by all means!" Molly said, beaming. "I do like your parents. I hope that we can become good friends."

Crookshanks padded into the room, tail held high, and stopped beside Hermione's chair. "Mrrow?" he said in what would have been an interested tone of voice if he'd been human. Harry turned to look at him and burst into laughter: someone had tied mistletoe to the tip of his tail, and he was carrying it proudly, as though showing off his holiday spirit. Hermione appeared to be torn between amusement and irritation, and Molly was incensed on behalf of the poor cat, but everyone else had collapsed back in their chairs, laughing.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!" Molly bellowed. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THAT POOR CAT?"

Fred was laughing, but George managed to look as nearly innocent as either of them ever managed. "Just a bit of holiday spirit, Mum."

"Well, I don't think it's very funny! That poor cat has to carry all that around all day…"

"Crookshanks seems to like it," Charlie gasped, beginning to recover. He wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands and took a deep breath. "He's showing off for us, Mum."

"I don't care!" Molly snapped. "Mistletoe berries are deathly poisonous to people and to cats. You'll get that off him right now, and then you'll be spending the afternoon making sure this kitchen is spotless, and I do mean spotless."

"How old are we again?" Fred muttered to his twin, but they didn't argue. Harry rather thought it was because they knew it wouldn't do any good.

He looked over at Ginny, who sat to his left and had been mostly silent all through lunch. She didn't seem to be upset, though; it was more like she'd been enjoying the spectacle too much to interrupt it. Her eyes sparkled with unspoken mirth. "Are you finished?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she said promptly. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Get out of the kitchen before Fred and George start flinging Cleaning charms about?"

"Exactly," Ginny grinned, standing up. "Mum, we're through. Shall we put the plates in the sink for you?"

"Yes, thanks, Gin," Fred said before his mother could answer. "That'd be spiffing."

Molly glared at her son, but didn't say anything. Ginny tried to hide a smirk as she Banished her dishes and Harry's to the sink.

"Hey, Harry," Ron said, quickly swallowing his mouthful of potato, "fancy a quick match in the orchard a bit later?"

"Thought you were going to have a lie-down," Harry said.

"I am, but there's only a few more hours of daylight. What d'you say?"

Harry glanced at Ginny, then said, "Er, thanks, Ron, but Ginny and I were going to go for a walk."

"Ooooo, a walk," George said in a high-pitched voice.

"I don't know, George, should we let 'em?" Fred said with mock-seriousness.

"I'm not sure we should. You never know where a walk will lead—"

"—and she's our baby sister—"

"—she'll need our protection—"

"—from the dangers of these Ministry types."

"You two are the ones who'll need protection in a moment," Ginny said, but her eyes were twinkling. "I catch you two following us and a Bat-Bogey hex is the least you'll have to worry about."

"Oh, George, sounds like they want to be alone…"

"Leave it," Bill said firmly as Harry and Ginny turned to go upstairs for their cloaks. "Honestly, you two don't know when to quit, do you?"

"I don't know what you're on about, brother dear," Fred was saying hotly as they managed to escape into the living room.

"Whew!" Harry said as the kitchen door closed behind them. "I hope Bill can keep them occupied for a bit; don't want them following us."

Ginny had stopped and turned to face him. "Following us on the walk that I didn't know anything about?" she said, an eyebrow raised.

Harry blushed. He'd forgotten he hadn't asked her. I'd better apologise, fast. "Sorry, Gin," he said hastily. "I meant to ask you before lunch, but then our boss held us back for a bit, and when we got here we were all ready to sit down at the table, and—"

Ginny laughed and touched his lips with a fingertip to quiet him. "It's all right, Harry," she assured him. "I'm only joking. A walk sounds lovely. Where would you like to go?"

She's not angry. Good. "I was thinking down toward the pond," he said with deliberate casualness, trying to keep his nerves out of his voice. "Just to get out for a few minutes. Ron's right, we've only got a few hours of daylight left; we can nap later. It's only half past one, and we're not supposed to be at Lavender's till—what? Ten o'clock?"

"Ten-thirty." Ginny smiled. "All right, then. Let's get our cloaks before anyone comes out to disturb us."

She headed up the stairs, Harry right behind her. Once she'd turned into her room, which was on the landing below his own, he pounded up the remaining steps and raced into his room. His cloak was hanging on a hook on the side of the wardrobe, but he ignored it for the moment. Instead, he dug into the back of one of the drawers of his dresser, looking for the small box he'd hidden there. His hands trembled as he drew it out of its hiding place and looked at it for a long moment.

Do I dare? he thought, his stomach fluttering desperately with the nerves he'd been trying to hide. I don't even know if the time is right. What if it's not?

He imagined putting the box back, returning downstairs and going for a peaceful, innocent walk with Ginny. His nerves quieted, but his heart twisted in protest.

I can't put this off. Not and live with myself afterward. Am I a Gryffindor or not?

He'd changed into jeans and a sweatshirt before lunch; now he put the box into his pocket and closed his drawer. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his cloak off the hook and draped it across his arm, then headed downstairs.

It had snowed that morning while he and Ron were at work; their footsteps crunched as they walked from the house down toward the pond at the bottom of the orchard, nearly half a kilometre away. Ginny's royal-blue Weasley jumper peeped out above the collar of her cloak and showed through the arm slit, where she'd slid her arm through so she could hold Harry's hand. He laced his fingers with hers, praying they didn't continue to tremble and trying hard to focus on what she was saying, not what he was planning.

Merlin, she's gorgeous, he thought as she shook her hair off her shoulders and smiled at a small snowbird that flew past. I don't know if I can do this.

Yes, you can, an adamant voice from the back of his brain insisted. You will. You already Saw this, remember?

And with those words, the memory of his Vision more than a year ago fluttered through his brain. He had Seen it. It was the only thing he had ever Seen.

But did that mean it would come true?

I guess there's only one way to find out.

"Oh, Harry, look," Ginny said suddenly in an awe-struck voice, interrupting his thoughts.

He glanced up and was astounded by the sight that greeted him. The trees in the orchard, leafless through the winter, had each been frosted with an inch or so of snow along every twig and bough. It gave the effect of standing in the midst of an intricate lace pattern that sparkled in the thin, midwinter sunlight. "Wow," he said softly.

"Yeah," Ginny whispered. He turned to look at her. She stood with her face uplifted, taking in the beauty surrounding them. "This is incredible," she said. "It does this every time it snows—but every time it's so beautiful that you think you'll never see anything like it again. And you never do, because each time is just a little bit different."

He stared at her for a moment, then, as if in a dream, tugged her closer to him. Bemused, she turned her gaze from the lacy trees to him, smiling. "Isn't it incredible?" she asked. "Absolutely stunning."

"Yes," he said, looking deeply into her eyes. "Absolutely stunning."

She blinked, then her face began to colour as she apparently understood what he meant. She swallowed, keeping her gaze locked with his.

"Ginny," he began, a bit hesitantly. The butterflies in his stomach were back. Butterflies? No… more like dragonflies. Or dragons. Real dragons. Maybe a few Hungarian Horntails. "I…I wanted to come out here… for a bit of privacy. There's something I wanted to say to you."

A small frown creased her forehead. "Is everything all right, Harry?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Everything's fine," he assured her. "I just…" He paused again, then plunged ahead, looking deep into her eyes. "Ginny, you told me you've always known we were meant to be together, and I've never doubted it. I don't think anyone has, since we started going out. But now…I want to make it a little more formal." He released her hand to pull his cloak back and dig into his pocket. When he brought out the little blue, velvet box, he saw Ginny's hand fly to her mouth in sudden realisation. She looked up at him with huge brown eyes, hope and disbelief shining in them, tears of joy brimming.

He opened the box and revealed its contents—a gold ring set with a centre sapphire and a diamond to either side. Her other hand flew to her mouth as well, and now Harry couldn't help but smile as he bent his left knee, kneeling in the snow before her and taking hold of her left hand. "I can't promise you a perfect life," he said quietly, looking up at her. "I can't even promise you a safe one. Not with the Death Eaters active again. Maybe it's not fair to ask you this now, but—" he paused, trying to remember the words he'd said in front of the mirror for days, "—what I can promise you, Ginny, is that you have all of me—heart, mind, body, and soul—for all of my life."

She blinked furiously, her eyes filled with both tears and delight.

"You said once that we were destined for each other," Harry continued. "That may be, but we've taken that destiny and made it ours. Through pain and sorrow and laughter and joy, we've created our own destiny."

He brought her hand down to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles gently. "Ginny Weasley," he said, trying to put all his love and devotion and hope into his voice and his eyes, "will you marry me?"

The tears that had threatened finally spilled over, and she threw her arms around his neck, laughing with joy. "Yes!" she carolled as he wrapped his arms around her and stood, lifting her off the ground as he did. "Yes, yes, yes!" She pulled back enough to lean down to kiss him, and he felt his own tears of joy slide down his face as their lips met. My wife, he thought, hardly believing it. My wife. She's going to be my wife!

After a moment he let her slide back down to the ground and pulled back, grinning like a lunatic. "Give me your hand," he said, releasing her to take the ring out of the box. He slipped it onto her finger, and both of them stared at it, sparkling merrily against the background of snow.

It looks so right.

Feeling as though his pounding heart was going to jump right out of his chest, he took her fingers in his hand and lifted them to his mouth, pressing a kiss just below the ring and letting his eyes smile into hers.

Ginny smiled and reached up with her other hand to draw his head down for a soft kiss. "It's lovely," she said breathlessly. "It's perfect. But…"

Harry's heart stopped, and he pulled his head back, staring at her. "But what?" Oh, God, please… tell me she hasn't changed her mind!

"The party tonight," she said, as if that explained everything.

He blinked. "What about it?"

"It's Lavender and Seamus' engagement party, love," she said. "This is their day, love. We don't want to walk in and upstage them at their own party. I think I shouldn't wear this on my hand tonight." She reached beneath her jumper and pulled a gold chain free—the one with her birthday pendant on it. "Here," she said. "Put the ring on this for now. I'll wear it on my finger starting tomorrow, but I don't want to take the spotlight from Seamus and Lavender tonight." She smiled up at him, but it was a tentative smile, as if hoping he'd understand.

He blew out a breath in relief as his heart unclenched. For one horrifying second, he'd been afraid she was changing her mind about marrying him. One day's delay was no problem. "All right, love," he said. "Whatever you like."

Her smile became broader, and she reached behind her neck to unclasp the chain. He pulled the ring gently from her hand and held it for her to thread the chain through it, then refastened the chain behind her neck. The ring sparkled just below the pulse of her throat, lying against her jumper as though they were made to go together.

But it looks so much better on her hand.

"Only until tomorrow, Harry," Ginny said, and leaned forward to kiss him. He kissed her back, knowing she meant what she said. And really, I don't want to be a prat and upstage Seamus and Lavender either. "Tomorrow," she said as the kiss ended, looking straight into his eyes, "everybody knows about us. I want everyone to know."

"So do I, love." He grinned down at her, so overwhelmingly happy that he couldn't hide it any more. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up again, swinging her around. "I love this woman!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Harry!" Ginny laughed, her arms tight around his shoulders, holding on. "They'll hear us clear back at the house!"

"No, they won't. We're far enough away, and they're all inside anyway." He grinned at her, then threw his head back one more time. "I love Ginny Weasley!" he shouted again for good measure, and then set her down. "There," he said in a more normal tone of voice. "I've told the world. You can hide the ring as long as you want to."

Ginny just laughed and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. He held her, feeling her heart pound against his chest and hearing his own in his ears, and knew that, for this moment at least, all was right with the world.