A/N: All italicized lyrics belong to Jesse McCartney. The characters and anything else recognizable belong to Jo Rowling. I certainly hope the plot is my own...


I don't want another pretty face
I don't want just anyone to hold
I don't want my love to go to waste
I want you and your beautiful soul.

Harry looked up from his essay and stared miserably at one corner of the common room, where Ginny Weasley was sitting in Seamus Finnigan's lap, head thrown back, laughing at a joke he had made.

It wasn't that she was beautiful, per se, he reflected as he watched her stealthily. She was just…fascinating. Her hair, once a rather unattractive orangey hue, had deepened to rich red, the color of rosewood, with deeper gold, brown, and red hues. Twinkling eyes, dark brown, invited you to share a joke with her. And her sweet smile made Harry desperately want to be the one who made her smile like that.

And it wasn't just him who had noticed, either. Over the summer, from her fifth year to her sixth year, she had matured from a shy little girl to a confident young woman. Quite suddenly, too.

She had gone from Michael Corner, to Dean Thomas, to Justin Finch-Fletchley, to Seamus Finnigan, all within the year. It wasn't that she was a flirt. It was just that a boy would ask her, and she didn't want to disappoint anyone…

Except him. Because she didn't know that every day he saw her with someone else, she disappointed him.

She didn't see him anymore. And now, he would have no one but her.

"Harry, you all right?"

Harry jerked to attention and saw Ron's good-natured, freckled face above him, currently wearing a worried expression.

"I don't know," Harry muttered, half to himself. "Am I all right?"

"Well, you look a bit peaky, mate," Ron informed him. "Relax! Exams are over! We're graduating in a few days!" He glanced around furtively, then leaned in and said, "We…you know…defeated Him! What could be better?"

More than you know, Ron…more than you know…

Suddenly, Hermione appeared beside Ron, slipping her arm around his waist. She quickly retracted it when she saw Harry. Both of them blushed a ridiculous shade of red.

Harry forced a grin. "Don't worry about me," he said, hoping he sounded casual and off-hand. "I have to finish this essay anyway. Snape'll kill me if I don't have it done, you know he will. He still hasn't forgiven me for not doing well in Legilimency last night, so he gave me this essay to write."

"You still have to do that?" Ron frowned. "Why? Is it really…er, still necessary?"

Harry shrugged. "Professor Dumbledore said that I've progressed so much, it would be a shame to stop."

"Right. Well, we should probably leave you to it. See you later, mate." Ron gave Harry a clap on the shoulder as he started to walk away with Hermione.

For a moment, Harry tensed, desperately wanting to shout to them, ask them not to leave him. But after all, could he blame them? Lately, he hadn't been much fun to be around, and Ron and Hermione rather liked to spend more time together now. Granted, all they did was fight, but they always seemed happier fighting with each other than just talking to him.

"Why the long face, Harry?"

Harry glanced up with a start and saw Ginny Weasley standing over him, an expression of concern on her face.

I know that you are something special
To you I'd be always faithful
I want to be what you always needed
Then I hope you'll see the heart in me.

"Oh, y'know," he said lightly, making his voice sound jolly. It only sounded strained. "Just a small essay Snape wanted me to do, nothing big."

Ginny sat beside him and propped her chin on her hand. "That's not it, and we both know it. What's the real problem? You used to talk to me about this sort of thing."

He had, too. After Sirius had passed beyond the veil, and Ron and Hermione started seeing each other a bit differently, Harry had turned to Ginny, who had readily offered him a listening ear. That was last year, though. Then, the summer before this year, his seventh year, Harry found he couldn't talk to her anymore. It wasn't her fault in any way. No, it was his changing feelings that made it so difficult. She had shown him by her actions that she was one of a kind. Slowly, he had withdrawn inside himself, and Ginny moved on.

"I don't know," he finally replied. Ginny jumped; she obviously had not realized he would respond. "It's just…I've accomplished what I've meant to do my whole life. I mean, killed You-Know-Who. And now I'm graduating. What will I do now?"

"Aren't you going to become an Auror?" Ginny queried curiously.

"I dunno. That's a dangerous job, and — well, there's not so much need of it anymore, is there? Besides, I'd rather like to wait on that. Like I said, it's dangerous, and I don't want to have saved our lives, only to lose mine immediately upon leaving school."

"So what's left?" Ginny prodded, leaning towards him. Harry swallowed, blinked, and averted his eyes.

"Well, there's always Quidditch. And McLaggan is retiring from his post as D.A.D.A. teacher this year. Dumbledore offered the job to Snape, but Snape turned it down, said his place was meant to be as the Potions teacher. So Dumbledore's said he'd like it if I took it."

Ginny's eyes lit up. "That would be wicked! You'd be my teacher!"

"Exactly," Harry answered glumly. "I don't think I'd get any respect."

Ginny shrugged. "It's your choice, of course. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for Quidditch."

Harry raised his eyebrows and glanced out the window, where the sky was rapidly darkening. "Now? And won't Seamus miss you?"

Ginny grinned mischievously and waved a hand lazily. "Seamus and I broke up a couple of weeks ago. We're just friends. Come on, Potter. You and me, just like old times."

That's what I'm afraid of, Harry thought moodily. But outwardly, he grinned cheerfully and said, "Sure, Ginny. Just let me get the Firebolt."

Stupid, he cursed himself as he grabbed it out of his trunk. This'll just – just complicate things. Why couldn't you have said you had to finish your essay?

Because, another more reasonable voice inside him answered, tonight you'll know. You're leaving in two days. Can you really leave this school without knowing how she feels about you?

He couldn't. That much he knew.

Early stars were sparkling like gems on the dark fabric of the sky when Harry walked out to the Quidditch pitch. Last time I'll fly here, he thought wistfully. I'll miss it.

Ginny was already there. When she saw him, she grinned wickedly and hurtled into the air. "Catch me if you can, Potter!"

You're the one I wanna chase
You're the one I wanna hold
I won't let another minute go to waste
I want you and your beautiful soul

Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled despite himself, and kicked off from the ground.

In the air, nothing really mattered to Harry anymore. He felt…free, lighter and more relaxed than he had in months. He could just forget about his essay, his friends, his life, as he soared through the air, preoccupied only by the whistling of the wind, the whizzing motion of his broom…

And the chase.

She was like the Snitch, small and precious, so hard for him to catch.

But maybe — just maybe — he could. Anything was possible up here.

"You asked for it, Ginny," he murmured impishly, and sped off after her.

He found himself laughing as he caught up to her. They were now neck and neck, a mere yard above the ground. She glanced over at him, a thrilled smile lighting her features.

Harry's own smile faded as, suddenly, his life came rushing back at him. Abruptly, he halted his broom and jumped off.

"What are you doing?" Ginny hissed, angry. "What's wrong with you?"

All Harry could do was shrug, look away so she wouldn't see his pain, and say, "I just recalled that essay. Better get back to it."

Before he could run, however, Ginny grabbed his arm. And exploded.

"What's your problem?" she shrieked. "Don't say there isn't one, because there is! You've been pushing us all away this year! Last year wasn't as bad, but this year it's intolerable! Ron and Hermione spend so much time together because they're afraid of you, Harry! Afraid of what you've become! And they're hurt." Ginny's eyes shone with tears. Harry found himself transfixed, unable to move, as a single teardrop rolled down her cheek.

"And you're hurting me too, Harry. We used to talk so much, and do you know how happy that made me, to know that the one man I've ever loved needs me for something?" Ginny started pacing furiously.

"What?" Harry gasped, replaying the words in his head.

You might need time to think it over
But I'm just fine moving forward
I'll ease your mind, if you give me the chance
I'll never make you cry, c'mon let's try

"Oh, you heard me right! Don't even act innocent! You know I love you and I always have." Ginny was so caught up in her fury she didn't even seem to realize what she was saying. "Then you started pushing me away. So I moved on, trying to forget you, but I can't, Harry, I just can't! Maybe you'll just want to pretend this never happened. But remember I was the one who helped you out of your misery, and if you can't remember that — well, remember this!"

And with that, Ginny grabbed Harry's face and gave him a resounding kiss on the lips.

Everything happened so fast, Harry barely had time to process any of it.

There was one thing he was aware of: The world seemed a whole lot brighter like this…

Ginny stepped back, triumph etched on her features. Then her face crumpled. She started to run away from him.

"Ginny."

The girl turned back and stared at Harry through teary eyes. He opened his arms.

"Let me repay some of the love you've given me."

A sob burst from her, and she returned to his arms. "Oh, Harry, you don't know how this last year has killed me…" she wailed as he stroked her hair.

"But I do, Ginny. Sweetie, I've been in love with you for two years now. That's why I couldn't talk to you anymore. It just hurt too much."

She glanced up at him, sniffling. She wasn't beautiful now: her eyes and face almost matched her hair, and her nose was running a bit.

To Harry, she was perfect.

"Really?" she whispered hopefully.

In response, Harry leaned over and kissed her himself, slowly and sweetly, wrapping his arms around her to keep her safe.

Am I crazy for wanting you
Baby, do you think you could want me too?
I don't want to waste your time
Do you see things the way I do?
I just want to know that you feel it too
There is nothing left to hide

Harry felt dizzy and light-headed, but didn't really care. This was the happiest madness he'd ever encountered. Ginny loved him. Ginny loved him. No more hiding how he felt, no more sinking into shadows…from now on, he would be open and loving, because he knew that someone loved him back.

That someone had the most beautiful soul he'd ever encountered.

~*~

"Professor!" Harry shouted to Dumbledore the next day, glee lighting his face. "Is that D.A.D.A. post still open?"

Fin.