How I Met Your Father

Chapter 2

So Molly was right, after all.

Nothing good ever happens after 2 AM.

~*~*~*~*~PRESENT DAY~*~*~*~*~

"Oh no," Lily whimpered, staring at Harry with wide, teary eyes. The poor thing looked absolutely devastated.

James grinned and ruffled her hair fondly. "Come on, Lil," he cajoled, pulling his baby sister into a comforting hug. "You know that story has a happy ending. We've got Hugo and Rosie to prove it."

"But it's so sad," Lily sniffled in his shoulder. "Poor Uncle Ron! Aunt Mione shouldn't have left like that."

Scorpius frowned as he considered that. Evidently, he disagreed. "I don't know. She probably wouldn't have been happy if she stayed. Sometimes you have to see what's out there."

Al shifted uncomfortably. "I'm with Lily on this. That just sounds selfish to me."

Scorpius opened his mouth to retort but Harry raised a hand. "There's no right or wrong here," he said firmly. "Sometimes people have to make hard choices. Your Aunt Hermione made hers and it was tough for all of us. I'll be the first to admit I didn't understand why she did it at the time but when she came back, she knew what she wanted for certain. She was happier for it. And that wouldn't have happened if she hadn't gone away in the first place."

"So she came back?" Lily asked hopefully. "Everything was okay again?"

Harry chuckled fondly. "Of course she did, darling. You just saw her yesterday, remember?"

"I still want to hear the story," Lily mumbled, still looking rather unconvinced. "What made her come back if she wanted to leave so badly?"

Harry leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Of course, sweetheart. We're not done yet. So, where was I? Oh, yes. So, about three months passed since your Aunt Hermione left for Brussels. Ron was having trouble moving on, of course and things looked pretty miserable for him. But Ginny and I were...well, let's just say things had changed for us. A lot..."

~*~*~*~*~YEAR 2~*~*~*~*~

"I love you," Harry whispered as he trailed kisses down Ginny's neck. "I love you. Merlin, I love you so..."

The rest of his ardent declarations fell to the wayside as Ginny looped her arms around him, drawing him into a long, slow kiss. Harry sighed in contentment, enjoying the comfortable sensation of her lips against his and the taste of strawberries on his tongue. Would he ever get tired of this?

"You've made that very clear," Ginny teased with a soft laugh. "I love you too, Harry."

His heart surged at those simple words. It had taken three whole months of being together but somewhere in the middle of the dating and the dinners and the snogging, those three words had come about. First in hushed whispers and shy smiles- a secret just between the two of them. And then in public - an almost casual declaration of their feelings that felt so natural that they didn't even think about it anymore.

So much had changed in these three months. His whole life had turned upside down. But with Ginny in his arms, maybe it wasn't all bad...

"You're thinking again," Ginny smiled, nudging his shoulder. "Want to tell me what's on your mind?"

Harry rested his chin on her head, stroking her hair gently. "I was just thinking about how great these last few months have been. I'm just...I'm really happy."

"I am too," Ginny replied. "I'll admit I wasn't sure we would work but..."

But they had. They were together and they loved each other and for once, Harry's life was perfect. And he had a feeling that it would get better. Ginny had changed her mind about him, hadn't she? She was just as happy with him as he was with her, he knew it. So maybe in due time, she would change her mind about all the other things too. Maybe, one day they could be more than just a couple. Maybe they could be married and have a family...