The sun shone bright over the chaotic London square as a tall red-headed man made his way carefully through the crowd. He stopped at the corner and looked down at a scrap of paper in his hands as if checking an address. He crossed the street and stopped at the first building, squinting at the sign that read The Sun. He checked his watch and then sat down at the bench in front of the building, apparently waiting for someone. He looked at the scrap of paper again, even though he had already memorised the contents.

Dear George,
Here’s the address you requested. Part of me is curious as to why you need the address of a Muggle newspaper, but I’m sure you have your reasons. And tell your mother that Ron and I will be at dinner on Friday as requested! Please don’t cause any trouble with the Muggles!
Love, Hermione

George smiled slightly, folded the note up and put it back in his pocket. He looked at his watch again and sighed. Crossing his arms across his chest, he leaned back and kept waiting.

Inside, the main office of The Sun was loud and hectic, with people rushing back and forth between desks and talking over the noisy printers. In the back corner of the room, a young woman sat at her desk, typing frantically on an old typewriter. Her long red hair was pulled back into a loose braid with a few stray hairs falling around her face. She was so involved in her work that she didn’t notice the man standing next to her desk.

“Ginny, Mr. Grayson wants your notes on the Harrods article in ten minutes,” the man said, tapping Ginny on the shoulder to get her attention. Ginny jumped at the interruption and looked up at Alan, her editor’s assistant.

“Ten minutes?” Ginny replied, groaning slightly. “He just gave me the assignment an hour ago; I’ve barely gotten any usable notes together!”

“Hey, I’m just the messenger,” Alan said shrugging his shoulders. “If you didn’t insist on using this ancient typewriter, you could always say there was a printing problem.”

“I like my typewriter,” Ginny said stubbornly. “It reminds me of home. We never had computers where I grew up.”

“And where was that, the Dark Ages?” Alan teased. “But seriously Ginny, ten minutes!”

Ginny swore under her breath as she watched Alan walk away. Her notes were completely disorganised but they would have to do for now. She spent the next few minutes scribbling down some random facts that could be relevant to the article and shoved the rest of the notes in a folder. Gathering up her things, she took the folder over to Alan’s desk.

“All right, here are the notes Mr. Grayson wanted,” Ginny said, placing the folder on the desk. “But could you wait until he’s in a good mood to give them to him? It’s really not my best work.”

“Why don’t you just ask him for another half hour to work on them?” Alan suggested, picking up the folder and looking through the notes. “He may be a git but he does want the best.”

“I would but I’m already late as it is,” Ginny said, looking at her watch and groaning. “Remind him that I’m taking a long weekend and I’ll be back on Tuesday, okay? Thanks!”

Ginny hurried out of the office and opted to take the stairs down, despite the fact that The Sun’s office was six floors up. Lifts were one of the things that Ginny would never get used to, no matter how long she spent in the Muggle world. She was only comfortable using the lifts at the Ministry, where they were controlled by magic, something she knew and trusted.

Five minutes later, Ginny reached the lobby and stepped out into the bright afternoon sunshine. She didn’t notice as the man sitting on the bench in front of the building slowly followed her as she made her away across the street and into a nearby playground. Pausing only slightly to smile at all the children running and playing, she quickly looked around and her face lit up when she saw who she was meeting; a young brunette sitting on a bench across the playground with a little girl who had strikingly green eyes on her lap, and a young blonde boy sitting next to her.

“Laura, I am so sorry!” Ginny exclaimed breathlessly as she reached the bench. “The meeting went longer than expected, and by the time it was over it was already three o’clock and my editor wanted extra notes for my article and I got here as soon as I could!”

“Ginny, Ginny it’s all right!” Laura laughed at the panicked look on Ginny’s face. “We’ve only been here for a few minutes anyway, little Aidan over here threw a fit as we were about to leave the house.”

Relief filled Ginny’s face as she sat down on the bench beside Laura and the children. She reached over and pulled the little girl off of Laura’s lap and cuddled her close.

“And how’s my little girl?” Ginny cooed at the young child, tickling her stomach and making her laugh. “How was she today? She seemed a little fussy when I dropped her off this morning. I’m worried that she’s hitting the terrible twos, she’s been ever so mischievous recently.”

“Oh she was fine,” Laura assured her. “Aidan just loves playing with her and you know John dotes on her like she’s his own.”
Laura looked down and smiled at the little girl as she continued, “You know it seems like her hair gets darker and darker every time I see her.”

“Yes, it does seem that way, doesn’t it?” Ginny replied, running her fingers lovingly through her daughter’s dark red hair. “You should have seen it when she was born, I swear her hair was brighter than mine!”

“Well would you believe that Aidan had jet black hair when he was born?” Laura asked laughing a little. “I was worried John would think he wasn’t the father! But his hair started turning blonde less than a week later. You just never know with babies!”

Ginny smiled down at Aidan, who was sitting and playing quietly at his mother’s feet.
“Well I hate to leave so quickly, but I’ve got to put Lily down for a nap and start dinner,” Ginny said hugging Laura and standing up. “Thank you so much for watching her today, as always you’re a lifesaver!”

“Oh it’s no problem at all,” Laura assured her, “We’ll have lunch and catch up soon.”

Ginny nodded and hugged Lily close as they walked out of the park, still unaware that George had been following her all this time. He had ducked behind a few trees as Ginny and Laura talked, waiting patiently for Ginny to leave. After what seemed like an eternity, he watched Ginny hug the woman and start to leave the playground. He slowly followed Ginny out of the park and after a few blocks, the crowds began to thin and soon they were walking down a nearly empty street. Looking around to make sure they were truly alone, he discreetly tapped the top of his head with his wand and performed a Disillusionment charm on himself. He felt a trickling of cold flow over him and knew the charm had worked.

He followed Ginny closer and after a few more empty blocks, she stopped in front of an old brick building. She walked up the steps of the building and rummaged around in her bag for a few moments. George paused at the bottom of the stairs, wondering if she was going to pull out her wand and Apparate to wherever she was going. This would certainly be a good place, as the street was completely empty. To his surprise, she pulled out a small silver key and used it to unlock the front door. George hurried up the steps after her, but the door slammed just as he reached the top.
He swore under his breath and looked at the mailboxes outside the door, noting that flat 4-D was currently occupied by a Ginevra Wiles. He looked around cautiously and tapped the front door with his wand, unlocking it and slipping inside.
***
Upstairs, Ginny unlocked her front door and walked inside, happy to be home. It was a small flat, with one bedroom and a small kitchen and sitting area, but Ginny had added a few magical touches over the years to make it more of a home for her and Lily. Ginny put her bag down on the couch and sat Lily on the floor to play. She watched contently as Lily started building a tower of blocks while singing to herself. Ginny put the kettle on the stove for tea and was rummaging in the pantry when she heard a knock on the door.

“Door door door!” Lily sang happily, knocking over the tower in her excitement.
Ginny smiled at Lily and walked over to the door, wondering who would be knocking on her door. She opened the door slowly and gasped in disbelief when she made eye contact with a man she hadn’t seen for almost three years.

“Well, well!” George exclaimed, throwing his hands up in mock surprise. “If it isn’t little Ginevra Weasley, all grown up.”

Ginny stared in silence at her older brother before managing to say one word.
“George.”

“Oh come on, Ginny,” George said laughing. “You can’t find any better way to greet your favourite brother?”

“But…how...when...” Ginny stuttered as she stared at George, her face still registering the shock of seeing someone for the first time in three years.

“It’s not like you to be speechless Ginny,” George said still laughing. “But I think when you stuttered you meant to invite me in. So, thanks!”

George squeezed past Ginny, who was still standing in the doorway with a shocked look on her face, and walked into the apartment.

“This is a pretty nice place,” George said, looking around. “Nicer then my flat, that’s for sure. Cleaner too.”

“George!” Ginny said crossly, finally able to speak. “How did you find me? Why is it you and not Mum or Dad? And why now, after all this time?”

“Those are all excellent questions,” George replied, grinning slightly. “But how about you explain the child sitting on your floor first?”

“She’s my daughter,” Ginny said quietly, shutting the door behind George.

“Well, thanks for that clarification, Ginny,” George replied sarcastically. “But I worked that out on my own. I was hoping more for how she came to be your daughter.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know how babies are made, George.” Ginny said chuckling nervously as she walked toward the kitchen. “I really wouldn’t feel comfortable explaining it to you. But maybe there’s a book we can get you. In fact, there’s a lovely little book shop down the street, why don’t you go have a look?”

“Cut it out,” George snapped, his expression suddenly serious. “I could easily tell Mum where you are. Would you rather deal with her?”

“You wouldn’t,” Ginny replied, whirling around to face George.

“Of course I would Ginny!” George retorted. “We’ve spent nearly three years wondering where the hell you were and you think I would just leave without any answers?”

“Does it really matter what I’ve been doing?” Ginny said. “All that matters is that you know I’m here. We should just move on and focus on the future. Forget the past.”

“You can’t possibly expect us to forget about the last three years,” George replied gently. “You’re going to have to face the past sooner or later.”

Ginny nodded slightly, her face scrunched up in frustration. She walked over to the couch and sat down, resting her chin on her hands. George sat down next to her and they sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Lily play on the floor.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Ginny said, keeping her eyes focused on her daughter.

“I’m not going to stall, Ginny,” George said. “Why did you leave?”

“I was tired of fighting,” Ginny replied, her voice surprisingly soft and vulnerable. “Harry and I weren’t really together and I couldn’t go back to Hogwarts and face more people staring at me. I needed space and unfortunately, I had to leave the Wizarding world to get it.”

“And along the way you just happened to have a child?” George asked, holding back a smile.

“Yes. Sort of...” Ginny said quickly. “I had a short relationship with a man I met one day in London and that rather brief encounter resulted in Lily.”

“Right,” George replied doubtfully. “Ginny, I’ve done the math. Unless Lily was born a bit too early, you had to have ‘met’ this man the day you left. Maybe I’m thinking too highly of you, but I really doubt that’s the case.”

Ginny stood up quickly, startling Lily who had started to drift off on the floor. She reached down and pulled Lily into her arms, rocking her slowly back and forth.

“Why don’t I put Lily down for a nap?” George asked. “That way you can have some time to think about your story and get it right.”

Ginny nodded silently and handed Lily to George. He smiled down at his sleeping niece and walked toward the bedroom, singing softly to Lily. As soon as he was in the bedroom, Ginny walked into the kitchen and grabbed her wand off the counter. She felt vulnerable without her wand now that she was finally around another member of the Wizarding world, even if that someone was her brother. Twirling her wand in her fingers, she thought about what she was going to tell George. It wasn’t a surprise that he didn’t buy her story about the stranger in London, but she wasn’t sure she could tell him the truth. The truth was what she had been running from and now that she was being forced to face it, she wasn’t sure she could handle it.

“Well,” George said, coming into the kitchen and interrupting her thoughts. “Have you got your story straight by now?”

“I suppose,” Ginny replied stiffly, slipping her wand into her pocket. “I’m just not sure I want to share it with you right now.”

“Oh Merlin,” George said exasperatedly. “Do I really have to walk you through this? I know who Lily’s father is. A blind monkey would know who Lily’s father is.”

“If you know who her father is, then why have you bothered asking me?” Ginny said angrily.

“I wanted to give you a chance to tell your side of the story,” George replied, his eyes flashing. “Ginny, please just tell me a little. We’ve spent all this time worrying and searching for you and you’re just refusing to talk? It’s not right.”

“Fine,” Ginny sighed. “I have a daughter and you know exactly who her father is. So what else do you need to know? Do you really need to know exactly how Lily was created, because I can’t stomach that.”

“Harry is her father,” George said softly.

“What?” Ginny said and then sighed, knowing George was not going to let this go, “Yes Harry is Lily’s father. What else do you need to know?” Ginny walked over to the pantry and began rummaging through it, muttering angrily under her breath.

“I don’t really need to know how it happened,” George said. “We can deal with why it happened later, but I want to know why you left. And what you’ve been doing for the past three years. I’m your brother Ginny; I want to know about your life!”

Ginny softened slightly at his words, and shut the pantry. She turned around to look at him and considered telling him everything, why she left and why she had remained hidden. But a little voice in her head urged her to wait. She knew that Harry deserved to know everything first, and while she loved George, she owed Harry that much.

Shaking her head slowly Ginny responded, “I’m sorry George, but I can’t tell you why I left. At least, not yet. Harry deserves to know everything first. I’m sorry, but I won’t change my mind.”

“But you promise to tell Harry everything?” George asked.

“I promise,” Ginny replied smiling. “When the time is right, I’ll tell him everything.”

“What about Mum?” George asked. “What are you going to tell Mum?”

“Oh Merlin,” Ginny groaned. “I forgot about Mum! Well I won’t worry about that for awhile. I don't have to worry about that anytime soon.”

“Anytime soon?” George repeated. “Ginny, you are planning on coming home aren’t you?”

“Well sure, eventually,” Ginny replied. “I just have to think about it, that’s all. I have a life here George! I can’t just up and leave because you want me to, at least not right away.”

“You need to think about it?” George repeated, following Ginny. “What’s there to think about? People are expecting you to come home now that we’ve found you!”

“What do you mean, people are expecting me?” Ginny asked slowly. “Who else knows I’m here, George?”

“No one,” George said quickly, looking away and backing out of the kitchen. “I misspoke, it was a mistake.”

“George!” Ginny growled angrily, pulling her wand out of her pocket and pointing it at George threateningly. “Please don’t make me hex you, George. Tell me who else knows I’m here.”

George hesitated and looked down at the ground nervously before replying, “I’m not the one who found you, Ginny. Harry did.”