The Long Walk

From the end of Chapter Twenty-Four, “Sectumsempra,� in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

“... he grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated ...�


Harry stepped through the portrait hole and reached back to take Ginny’s hand. The door closing behind them cut off the crescendo of conversation in the common room. He looked at her; the fierceness was replaced by a wide-eyed look, but those eyes met his and she smiled. He kept her hand, and as they walked away he heard the Fat Lady sigh. “I told you so,� she said, apparently to the other portraits nearby. Some of them snickered.

They walked down the hall. Harry kept looking at Ginny and whenever he did she turned to look at him. Oblivious, bumping into other students, they found themselves outside on the steps leading from the entrance. People were staring. At the bottom Harry stopped. He looked around at the lawn in front and the castle behind.

“How did we get here?� he said, turning to Ginny with a glazed look. He took her other hand and faced her. “I don’t remember walking here. I don’t remember anything but what happened in the– the–“

“That’s all I remember, too,� she said. “I think I floated here.�

Harry leaned towards her, wanting nothing more than to kiss her again, but Ginny backed away and pulled him along the path. “Let’s walk for a while,� she whispered.

They wandered down the lawn to the trees in the direction of Hagrid’s hut. Harry was only aware of Ginny next to him, of the skin on her hand when she squeezed his, of a soft breeze causing her bright red hair to move in small puffs.

They moved into the trees. Ginny pulled Harry behind a large one so that they were hidden from the castle and from anyone watching from the lawn. She took his face in her hands and said, “I’ve been waiting four years for this, you know,� and kissed him. Harry felt himself disappearing from the world. Bells rang somewhere. Her presence against him was all that existed.

“It’s been only this year for me,� Harry said as they stood holding hands. “All of a sudden, one day I saw you with Dean and I wanted to kill him. I don’t know why. One day you were just Ron’s sister and the next day it was almost too much to be near you.�

“Huh, Ron.� She tossed her head in a cloud of red. “He’ll get used to it. Well, anyway, he’s got to mind his own business. They all do. All my brothers. Except Bill. He has become easier to deal with.� She frowned, “He’s got Phlegm to worry about now, not his little baby sister.�

Harry liked Fleur, but he knew how Ginny felt about her, so he said nothing. He said nothing about Ron, either. Ron might take some convincing, but how could Ron help but like what was happening? Now, though, he was not going to worry about it. Now was only Ginny.

They walked on under the trees, which grew more thickly here. They were closer to the hut and there were no other people around. Walking hand in hand they came to a low stone wall and strolled along, swinging their hands together and laughing as Ginny told him about the Quidditch match. He smiled at her description of how nervous Ron was at first. His goalkeeping was so bad that Ravenclaw had led by a hundred to nothing, and the “Weasley is our king� chant had been taken up by almost the whole stadium except the Gryffindor section. But then Katie had scored, and when the chants were momentarily quieted, someone had called out, “For Harry, for Harry, for Harry!.�

“I don’t know who it was,,� said Ginny. “It might have been Luna. Anyway, we all looked at each other and we decided that we were NOT going to lose this match. So we all started screaming ‘For Harry! For Harry!’ and the next thing we knew we were back in it. And then, then I...� She blushed a little and looked down.

“And then you caught the Snitch and we won the Cup,� laughed Harry. “Ginny, you won the Quidditch Cup for us! I couldn’t believe it when I came through the portrait hole. I was sure we were going to finish last, and instead we’re the champions!� He paused..

“What?� asked Ginny, as Harry continued to look at her without saying anything.

“Well, I’m just wondering if I’ll ever have a day like this again in my entire life. My team wins the Quidditch Cup and Ginny throws herself into my arms. I can’t think of two things I wanted more. And the day’s not over yet.�

They both laughed, and, looking into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, Harry kissed her again.

There was a rustling noise, and then the loud snap of a breaking twig. They looked around. Standing just a few feet away on the other side of the low wall was a large, winged horse with an eagle’s head.

“Buckbeak!� said Harry, startled. The stone wall was part of the enclosure where Hagrid kept the creature since it had returned from Grimauld Place. The hippogryff looked at Harry, and then at Ginny, with unblinking yellow eyes. Its beak, long and sharp, opened slightly and let out a small crackling cry.

Harry pushed Ginny back. “Move away,� he said quietly. “Don’t worry, he knows me.�

“I’m not worried,� she said. “But I’ve never been this close.�

Harry glanced at Ginny. She was carefully moving back. Harry looked at Buckbeak and bowed low, then slowly raised his head. The creature looked at him for a moment, and bowed in turn, its beak touching the ground. Then, to Harry’s amazement, it turned, looked at Ginny, and bowed again. As the eagle head raised up, Ginny bowed back, just as Harry had. Harry was astonished. Hagrid had said that hippogryffs always waited for a bow before returning it. He stared open-mouthed at Ginny. She reached out her hand and he walked over and took it.

“That was amazing,� Harry said. “I never saw him do that before. I never saw him bow to anyone first.�

“It wasn’t me, Harry,� Ginny said. “It was you. It was because I was with you.�

“But I’ve been with Ron and Hermione before when we saw Buckbeak, and he always waited for them to bow.�

Ginny looked at him sideways, and the fierce expression came over her face again. “Let’s go,� she said.

Harry looked back at the hippogryff. Buckbeak had moved away and was pushing his beak into the ground. The head tossed and a small rodent disappeared down its throat. “Ugh,� said Ginny as they walked away.

They turned back towards the lawn, but in a different direction, and they came within a hundred yards or so of Hagrid’s hut. They could see the front door through the trees. It opened and Hagrid stepped out. He did not notice them at first, but Fang did, and started barking. Hagrid looked up. Harry waved, and Hagrid momentarily stared, then broke into a wide grin and waved back. He grabbed Fang, who was about to bound after them to give one of his enthusiastic, moist greetings, and pulled him into the hut. As Hagrid shut the door, he looked back and grinned again.

Harry shook his head. “Was he waiting for this to happen, too? Is there anyone who didn’t know?�

Ginny laughed and took both of his hands. “Maybe neither one of us is good at hiding what we really want. Come on, let’s go up to the lake. I know a beautiful place to sit.�

They turned back out of the trees, and Harry once again had the feeling that he did not know who he was or where he was or how he had got there. All he knew was the girl walking a little in front of him, whose hair was flowing down her back, brilliant flame dazzling against the red-gold Quidditch robe. They finally came to the lake, and Ginny turned toward a giant beech tree standing back several yards from the water. There were a few couples and groups of students walking, but the tree was alone. They sat beneath it, their backs against the trunk, holding hands and looking out over the lake and the hills beyond. The sun was bright, only a few puffy while clouds in the sky.

Harry turned to her. “Ginny, I have to tell you something, about..about what happened with Cho Chang.�

She looked at him and shook her head. “Harry, whatever it was doesn’t matter. We were both seeing other people.�

“No, that’s not it. I know it doesn’t matter.’ He smiled and kissed her hand and then her lips. “Nothing matters. What I’m talking about is, that when I went out with Cho we had a fight, and that’s why we broke up. We fought because, well, because of Hermione.�

What do you mean?� asked Ginny. “You were never going out with Hermione.�

“I thought Cho knew that, too. But we were in Hogsmeade together and I had to go see Hermione about something.“

“I know.� Ginny smiled at him. “You met Rita Skeeter and gave her that interview that Luna’s father printed. Hermione’s brilliant.� She laughed and touched Harry’s face. He took her hand.

“Yes,� he said. “She’s more than brilliant. And that’s just it. I talk a lot to Hermione. A lot. She thinks of things we need to know and likes to look for them, in the library, I mean. I spend a lot of time with her. So..� Harry hesitated; Ginny was so close to him and was smiling even more.

“Don’t you get it?� she said, laughing. “Hermione’s like my sister. I wish she was my sister. She’s been talking about you and me for three years. I think she knew I wanted to be with you even before that. I know that you and she and Ron are totally together. The whole school knows that.� She took his face in her hands again. “Harry, people are in awe of the three of you.� She laughed. “Even some Slytherins.�

Harry looked down and grunted, then shook his head. He would not let this afternoon be ruined by anything, least of all thinking about Malfoy and what had gotten him into detention. He looked up at Ginny. The sun was getting lower and sunlight was coming under the canopy of the beech tree, shining through her hair. He looked at her hair, at her, and could hardly breath. “You are so beautiful,� he said. He put his arms around her and they kissed. He pulled her tighter and they rolled onto the ground. Harry never wanted to let her go, wanted for Ginny never to let him go.

“Harry! Harry!� Ginny gasped. They broke apart. Harry sat up quickly and straightened his eyeglasses.

“I..I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.. I’m sorry.� Harry could hardly talk. He did not know what had come over him. Ginny leaned on her hand, looking down at the grass.

“It’s OK,� she whispered. She looked up and smiled. “It’s OK. Here, come here.� She sat up, leaned back against the tree, drew him to her, and put his head in her lap. “It was just a little, well, overwhelming. I’m sorry.� She peered down at him. Harry looked up at the most beautiful girl in the world. Ginny stroked his hair and his face.

Then Ginny moved her hand up to Harry’s forehead and slowly ran her finger over his scar. Harry gave an involuntary twitch, and closed his eyes. No one had ever touched his scar like that. Her finger was warm. He felt only warmth and softness. She moved her finger back and forth, brushing over the scar again and again. “It’s so smooth,� she whispered. Harry opened his eyes and saw her looking into them with the fiercest expression he had ever seen. Without taking her eyes from his, she leaned down. Her hair fell across his face. He sensed her more than he saw her: the smell of sweat, hair, Ginny. She leaned further and kissed his scar. Harry wound his fingers into her hair and held her there.

When the sun was setting and dusk was falling, and Harry and Ginny had been sitting under the beech tree for what seemed like part of a lifetime, Harry stood up. He held Ginny’s hands as she rose and took her in his arms. As they stood there holding each other, Harry realized that something inside him had changed, was not there, a feeling was gone. The emptiness he had had inside ever since Sirius had died was not there any more. He looked over Ginny’s shoulder at the lake, at the darkening valley, and knew that he was happy again for the first time in a year. He looked at her, her face golden, her hair golden-red, in the setting sun.

“Ginny,� he began to say. She put her hand on his lips.

“I know,� she said. “I knew and I’ll always know.�

Arms around each other’s waist, they walked up the hill to the castle.