Conflict by grangergurl
Chapter Notes: A big thanks to Lily Luna Lupin, I love Severus Snape, BellaMurte, mugglegurl, Lil Red, and sirius_rocks for the great help!
Disclaimer: We all know that J.K. Rowling's characters are my playthings, and there is mention of something from 'The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King' by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Sorry for the short chapter, I'll try to make the next one longer!
Ginny walked into what looked like a forest. Oak and redwood trees were everywhere, and there were bushes and shrubs along the forest floor. Ginny swore that she heard birds singing. Looking upward, she saw the sun poking through the trees. She walked a little ways into the forest when she saw a clearing. She walked through the brush, and came upon a mini-meadow. Near the middle was a large oak bed with a sage green cover. She couldn’t resist-she ran her fingers along the vine pattern, pausing at each rose and lily. After admiring the cream canopy, she turned to Harry with tears in her eyes. “It’s just like in my dream. How did you know?” Harry blushed.
“I’m a fairly talented Legilimens. Please forgive me, Gin.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “Forgive you? Are you kidding? Harry! Look at this!” She hugged him and sobbed into his shoulder. “Thank you so much.”
Harry pulled away from his wife, and grabbing her hand, led her away from the bed. He stopped at a redwood tree that was larger then the rest. Pulling her to the other side of the tree, he revealed his next surprise.
Ginny gasped as she saw the stairway in the hollowed tree. There were rails with vines entwined all the way up, with little white flowers placed here and there. Her mind immediately snapped to her bedspread, and she smiled. She pulled her mind back to the stairway and began stepping up the wide stairs. She tripped, and saw a sage green carpet leading all the way up, reminding her of a red carpet in a king’s palace. Beaming, she continued on.
She came out in another clearing, but she heard the faint sound of running water. Following her instincts, she rushed towards the sound. What she saw made tears sting her eyes.
There was a lagoon with a shimmering crystal-blue waterfall. She curiously peeped behind the waterfall and saw a dirt floor with a toilet in the corner. She assumed that the small pond at the bottom of the waterfall served as a bath, and the waterfall was a shower. She again turned to Harry, and his smile confirmed her belief.
With much regret, Ginny left the lagoon, only to discover another redwood tree with an identical staircase. Running this time, she took two stairs at a time. Like the other staircase, her foot hit grass. She glanced up and saw a small bed, just Joshua’s size. The bedspread was a plain sage green, and Ginny noticed a balcony in the corner. She pulled herself out its door and gasped as she saw the ocean’s waves crashing below. Now worried, she turned to a surprisingly calm Harry. “Don’t worry…it’s charmed so nobody can fall out.” Ginny sighed in relief.
Walking back into the room, she was strongly reminded of a room in a Muggle movie that Hermione had described to her. It was called ‘God of the Rings’ or something.
Ginny floated back down the stairs and was hit with a suspicion. “Harry, where are the walls? There were walls in Joshua’s room, but it would take potentially powerful magic to make it a whole forest!” Harry just smiled.
“Ah, Ginny, you forget that I have Hermione on my side.” Ginny laughed.
If what she had already found wasn’t enough, she came to a cliff overlooking the same ocean in Joshua’s room. The cliff was a ways from her bed, but not very far. She supposed that the same charm had been cast on it, so she didn’t worry when she saw the romantic dinner that lay waiting for her near the edge of the cliff.
Walking over to the oaken table, she admired the candles that were lit. The wax that had melted down the sides had formed a rose, and she inhaled the sweet sea breeze. Harry took the seat opposite her, and they stared at each other for several minutes before beginning on their Veal Marsala.
After their romantic dinner, Harry had one more surprise. He led Ginny back to the bed, and brought her to the chest at the end. Opening the oaken lid (which had the intricately carved designs of the trapdoor-fairies, unicorns, and elves), Harry revealed yet another sweeping staircase with the sage green rug and vines in the rails.
Right before the couple hit the bottom, Harry whirled Ginny around to face him. “Ginny, I love you. You know that, right?”
“Oh, Harry. Of course I know that, and I love you, too.”
After pulling Ginny into his embrace and kissing her, Harry turned Ginny back down the stairs. Ginny gasped when she reached the bottom.
Her feet hit warm sand, and she found herself on the bottom of the cliff that they had eaten on. Harry’s hand entwined into Ginny’s fragile fingers, and they both enjoyed a walk along the beach.
~* MUCH later*~
Upon arriving back to the basement, Harry covered the trapdoor with the sheet once more. He led her back up the stairs, and pulled her into the living room of the Burrow.
“Momma! Daddy! Where were you? I was,” Joshua took a breath, “waitin’ for you.”
Joshua yawned and reached his arms up towards Ginny.
She picked him up, and, after explaining everything, went back into the basement.
By the time they came into the forest, Joshua was asleep and all was dark. Well…not everything. The stars shone brightly above, and there were candles in the trees. This was to Ginny’s pleasure, though. She was almost afraid of walking into the forest in the dark…
Upon putting Joshua into his new bed, Ginny retired to her own meadow. After the long day of news, tears and fears, Ginny felt a small glimmer of hope, and there was peace throughout the night.