August 1, 1997 – The Burrow

Ginny looked on with the other wedding guests as Bill and Fleur danced for first time as husband and wife. While others were complimenting her dress, her beauty, and her gracefulness on the floor, Ginny was looking at both their faces. There was such tender adoration between the dancers; it radiated off of them and onto the other guests. Other couples soon started to flock to the dance floor hand in hand moving softly to the music.


She kept her gaze on her brother and her new sister-in-law, following them with her eyes as they glided in their own little world. Ginny couldn’t help it. The sight before her was so sweet that it felt like she was intruding on a very private moment. Bill looked so happy and relaxed dancing with his new bride. It was a relief to see her older brother so content, considering the horror he experienced a few months ago at Hogwarts.


Fleur, who was always beautiful, looked even more radiant as she smiled up at Bill. There were no doubts of Fleur’s love for her brother. One arm was draped around his neck while her free hand fingered his face with the pad of her finger. They didn’t once take their eyes off each other, taking advantage of the closeness by stealing more than a few kisses.


Ginny continued to watch as the couple danced, their foreheads touching affectionately, and their lips mouthing the words ‘I love you’ to each other. She realized that the more she watched them dance, the more her heart started to break. It didn’t seem fair; her brother didn’t have a particular destiny looming over his head marring his future with uncertainty. Fleur wasn’t constantly questioning if she would have a future with Bill. They had found their forever.


That’s not true, Ginny. She almost lost him. Don’t forget their future together was almost cut short. A small voice reminded her.


Yes, but she didn’t lose him, did she? Look at them. Nothing will ever tear them apart.


You don’t know that.


Ginny sighed at the small argument taking place in her head. She tried to picture herself in a white dress dancing with Harry, but the picture never came. She held on to the hope for their future, but some days the constant pressures of war made it difficult to hold on to that dream.


The dance floor was now a blur as tears began to obscure her vision. Ginny quickly wiped them away, refusing to let them fall.


The song ended and changed to a fast, more upbeat tune. Before she could stop him, Fred had her hand, and dragged her onto the dance floor. He was always great at taking her mind off of the sadness and seemed to have radar when it came to her moods. Whether or not he knew who she was thinking of, he always had a way of cheering her up. Ginny allowed herself to get caught up in the music, enjoying the distraction of the fast tempo and the sight of her brother doing “The Robot�.


Several more fast songs played and Ginny allowed herself some more fun dancing with Lee Jordan, George, Neville and even Luna. But just when she had totally disengaged herself from her thoughts of Harry, another slow song came and Ginny was reminded once again of how lonely she felt. She started to make her way to one of the tables when Neville grabbed her hand.


“Ginny, er do you want to dance?� Neville asked. “I promise I won’t step on your feet.�


She smiled at him before declining his offer, hoping a smile would soften the blow.


“Sorry Neville, my feet are a bit tired,� Ginny lied. “But thanks for asking.�


“Sure.�


Looking crestfallen, Neville nodded his head, let go of her hand and started to walk away.


She quickly scanned the crowd hoping to find Luna and sure enough she found her sitting at a nearby table drinking a butterbeer. Ginny gently grabbed his arm to get his attention. “I’m sure Luna would like to dance with you.�


Neville gave her a small smile before heading toward their friend.


Ginny hated lying to Neville, but he wouldn’t understand her reasons for not wanting to dance. It seemed silly, but after seeing the way Bill and Fleur looked on dance floor, she was certain she only wanted to slow dance with Harry. It was one of the many things they didn’t get the chance to do in the twenty days that they were together.


She scanned the tables to find him sitting alone struggling with the collar of his dress robes. Although he was in disguise as just another Weasley, there was no mistaking the uncomfortable expression on his face…it was all Harry.


Ginny walked slowly toward the table, not really sure why she was approaching him. They hadn’t talked or been alone since their kiss was interrupted. She could have killed Ron that day, but all the energy she had was put into that one blissful kiss with Harry.


Every time she closed her eyes, she could still taste him and feel the warmth of his hands running along her back, pulling her closer to him. The moment his lips made contact with hers nothing else mattered except the love and passion she had for him being put into that one long kiss. But it all stopped because of her stupid, over-protective brother.


She looked over at the dance floor to see if Ron was properly distracted. Sure enough he and his hands were pleasantly occupied thanks to Hermione. It was now or never.


“Come with me, Harry,� she asked, holding out her hand.


“Where are we going?�


“Somewhere else.�


He looked around, probably making sure they weren’t being seen before taking her hand.


“Okay.�


She led him out of the canvas walls of the marquee down to the old oak trees overlooking the pond. The soft slow music could still be heard, but faintly.


“Dance with me Harry.�


“Like this?� he asked, gesturing to himself, still polyjuiced as an unknown Weasley cousin.


“Well actually, you’re starting to turn back to yourself.�


She could see his eyes changing to their bright green, his face thinning, the short red hair changing to his messy black, and his body returning to the tall, skinny frame she loved so much.


“See that’s better.� She closed the distance between them, gently draping her arms around his neck.


“Ginny, we can’t,� he said, making to remove her arms from around his neck. Ginny almost thought she heard a hint of pain in his voice.


“Why, because Ron said so? Harry, he isn’t here, I am. Dance with me.�


Harry placed his arms around her waist resting his hands on the small of her back. His embrace was awkward at first, but the more they swayed to the music, the more relaxed he became. They danced in silence allowing their bodies to do the talking for them.


They revolved in their tiny circle not once taking their eyes off each other. Every now and again she noticed his gaze would drift to her lips and back to her eyes. Soon after she started to do the same, slowly closing the distance between them until their foreheads touched and their lips were only centimeters apart.


Ginny closed her eyes savoring the moment alone with him. She thought back to the days before everything got so complicated. Back to when their only main concern was being caught snogging in an empty classroom or in the Common Room with Harry’s hands under her shirt. It felt like a lifetime ago walking through the corridors of Hogwarts hand in hand enjoying life without the suffocating weight of a war threatening to tear them apart.


She opened her eyes to still find him staring down at her lips. She moved her head a little closer, but much to her disappointment Harry pulled back slightly.


“Ginny, I can’t.�


“Why?�


“Because if I kiss you. I don’t think I will be able to stop.�


“Who says you have to stop?�


“Ginny.�


“Shh Harry. Just hold me and dance.�


Ginny tightened her embrace as if this would help the moment last longer. Harry kindly obliged with equal urgency. She thought their bodies might fuse together. They continued to move to the music. At one point she thought Harry was going to kiss her. Instead his lips lightly brushed kisses along her cheek and down her neck causing gooseflesh to erupt on her skin.


“Ginny,� he said softly, trailing the kisses back up her neck. “We really shouldn’t be doing this.�


Harry’s kisses returned to her cheek making her heart race.


“I know, because then we wouldn’t be able to stop.� She turned her head and his lips were now on hers.


There was no time for teasing as both their mouths opened to deepen the kiss, allowing the blazing passion to overtake their self restraint. Harry’s hands ran up and down her back drawing her closer to him, while she kept her hands in his hair. Ginny poured everything she had into her kiss, realizing it may be the last kiss she will get to have with him for a while.


By the time they broke for air the song was over. They stood holding each other, their foreheads touching affectionately.


“Ginny, when this war is over, when Voldemort is…� Harry swallowed thickly “…gone we will start over and have a life. We’ll go on a proper date. Just you and me anywhere you want to go. I promise we’ll have forever to ourselves.�


“Kiss on it.�


Harry kissed her one last time.


They both made their way back to the marquee, though Harry gave her a ten second head start. An hour later Death Eaters stormed the wedding and the last she saw of Harry, Ron and Hermione was of them turning on the spot and disappearing into nothingness.

One year later

Ginny woke up slowly as the early morning sun beamed in from a crack in her curtains. She blinked as the brightness of the room assaulted her eyes as it always did when the sun woke her up. A light breeze filled her room ruffling the papers and other paraphernalia on her desk. She took a deep breath allowing the fresh morning air to clear her muddled head. Turning over on her back, she looked up at the ceiling of her room scrutinizing the faded wallpaper along the walls.


Creaking sounds could be heard through the ceiling, as other members of her family got ready to start the day. Rather than rushing to fight for the bathroom, Ginny decided to stay in bed just a little longer. She inhaled once more the clean morning air mixed in with the smells of breakfast.


Ginny glanced over to the opposite wall where her calendar hung at the month of August. It had been three months since the end of the war.


Had it really only been three months? Ginny asked herself.


She couldn’t quite believe how fast time had gone by, so many changes had happened in those short months. No longer was there a heaviness of fear hovering over like a dark cloud waiting to consume without warning. Instead there was a silent peace as families began to heal, governments began to change, and futures started to rebuild.


Ginny thought back to the first couple of weeks after the funerals, especially the first week back at The Burrow. Ron, Hermione, Harry and George had moved back in almost immediately after Fred’s funeral. Each person had dealt with their grief in their own unique way.


Her Dad had stayed in his shed tinkering with his Muggle contraptions for hours at a time, only coming out to the kitchen to get something to eat or drink, his puffy red-rimmed eyes had given him away. Her Mum had poured her anguish into cleaning every surface of The Burrow until the place was unrecognizable.


To escape the suffocating tension of The Burrow, she, Harry, Ron and Hermione had been forced out of the house to go for walks to the surrounding village.


Mealtimes had been a quiet affair, far removed from her many memories of noisy, boisterous times of fighting over dishes and second helpings. The only sounds that permeated the room had been the clatter of cutlery, mixed with the dull tones of chewing and swallowing.


As the weeks had turned into months, everyone had started to slowly heal. The tension that had gripped The Burrow so tightly had gradually started to unclench. Her father had started to spend more time in the house with her mother and less time alone in his shed. Ginny had noticed that they even started to smile at each other again.


The quartet had started spending fewer days out on walks and more time hanging out in the house playing Wizarding chess or outside playing Two-Aside Quidditch.


George, it seemed, had taken the longest to come around. He had remained in his room, only coming out at mealtimes. Faithfully every morning after breakfast, Ginny asked him if he had wanted to join them on their outings, but he had always said no. For weeks his room had been the quietest of all the rooms in the house, so unlike what Ginny was used to. She had been so worried about him until about two weeks ago when she had heard a crash followed closely by a loud explosion from the direction of his room. George had come out coughing in a cloud of smoke and covered from head to toe in pink dust. His face stretched in the first genuine smile she had seen in almost three months.


Ginny smiled to herself as she remembered that day. It was so great to have George back.


When it came to her and Harry, time had slowed down enough for them to start to enjoy each other again. There had been no cause for an awkward reunion between them, or a struggle to get to know one another again. Instead, they had immediately clung to each other becoming their very own support system.


Ginny couldn’t help but think about how great Harry had been at Fred’s funeral. Harry had never left her side the entire time. He hadn’t hovered, or constantly asked if she was okay. On the contrary, he had just been there picking up the pieces as she fell apart that day. She had done the same for him at Remus and Dora’s funeral. Ginny had held him as he cried silently on her shoulder, rubbing his back and never once leaving his side.


In their time alone together, mostly in the evenings after dinner, they would escape to the pond. At first it had been just an excuse to get out of the house away from the intensity of a quiet meal, but soon it turned into a routine. They would both sit and listen to each other talk and cry about how much they had missed those they had lost in the War. Those first quiet moments had been what they both had needed to move on toward healing.


Steadily their trips to the pond had become a more pleasurable experience, holding each other, talking about anything and everything until the sun went down. It had been the perfect way to pass the time curled up in each other’s arms kissing. Just the other night Harry had his warm hands up her shirt, his lips trailing…


“Wake up, Weasley, it’s your birthday!� George yelled, as he pounded on her door, snapping her out of her thoughts.


“In a minute!� Ginny yelled back to the door, hearing George’s footfalls as he went down the stairs.


Savoring the thoughts until later, Ginny finally got up out of bed, put on her dressing gown and made her way to the wonderful smells of breakfast.


---


Ginny loved her birthday and always looked forward to it. She hadn’t expected her family to make a big deal out of it this year considering the recent events, but her mum had insisted on a small party with a big meal. Rather than argue with her, Ginny had let her mum plan the festivities which seemed to cheer her up.


She really couldn’t have asked for a better birthday party. The meal was delicious as usual and the overall chaotic atmosphere was a welcome addition. All her brothers were there; even Charlie made the trip from Romania. Harry, Ron and Hermione were there, of course and Percy brought his new girlfriend Audrey, who also worked for the Ministry. Bill and Fleur also and so did Angelina Johnson, staying especially close to George. Ginny noticed he looked very relaxed in her company.


George had only recently brought Angelina around to the Burrow. It had been a great sight to see the two of them so comfortable with each other, talking and laughing. They hadn’t really shown any outward signs of affection other than the comfortable features on their faces. Ginny figured it was only a matter of time before they started dating.


She glanced over past George and Angelina, to see Harry staring at her. There was a hungry look in his eyes as he crossed the room toward her, but her mum got to her first.


“Ginny dear, why don’t you open your presents first and then we can all have some cake?� Molly said, leading Ginny to the sitting room with all the rest of her presents.


Everyone followed Ginny and Molly to the sitting room making themselves comfortable.


She sat down on the sofa and slowly started to open the package Molly had handed to her.


“Ginny, tear into it. It’s not a bomb,� George joked.


“If it’s from you, it probably is,� Ginny retorted with a smirk, deliberately unwrapping the first package as slow as possible.


Ginny enjoyed all the gifts she got, including a set of new school books from Percy and Audrey. A deluxe box of Skiving Snack boxes from George and Angelina. The usual box of Chocolate Frogs from Ron, and a silver charm bracelet from Hermione. Harry got her a new pair of Chaser gloves. The dragon hide gloves from Charlie, and Bill and Fleur got her a brand new stationery set complete with parchment and quills that self-ink.


“This last one is from us,� Molly said, handing her the last of her presents.


Ginny felt the weight of the package on her lap and began, once again to slowly unwrap it. She pulled the torn wrapping paper away and stared in awe at the present in her hands. It was a beautiful cherry wood finish mantle clock with delicate intricate carvings along the top and its sides. She felt her jaw drop as she examined the precious heirloom. It must have cost her parents a fortune.


“It belonged to my mother.� Molly said, her eyes gleaming with tears. “It was given to her when she came of age. She gave it to me when I turned seventeen, and now I’m giving it to you.�


Placing the precious clock on the small table in front of her, Ginny crossed the room and hugged her parents.


“Thanks.�


“Cake!� everyone shouted, breaking the tender moment.


Ginny was on her way to the kitchen to help her mum cut the cake and serve it when she felt a warm hand in hers pulling her away toward the back door.


“Come with me.� Harry whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her neck.


“Where are we going?�


“Somewhere else.�


“But Harry we’re about to…�


“Please, Ginny,� he asked, the hungry look in his eyes returned.


She could feel a blush creep up her neck and flood her face. Deep inside her she knew where this was going.


“Okay,� she answered, allowing him to lead her out the back door.


He led her by the hand through the back garden, past the rose bushes to the old oak trees near the pond.


“Dance with me, Ginny?� Harry urged, taking both her hands and draping them around his neck. He slowly trailed his hands along her ribs, past her waist, finally resting them on the small of her back.


“Yes of course, but Harry there isn’t any music,� she teased, but that didn’t stop her from swaying on the spot with him.


“We’ll make our own,� his response low and husky, as they continued to revolve in their circle.


Harry really didn’t have to ask. She had wanted to have another dance with him for some time now. As overwrought as that first dance was a year ago, it was still a cherished moment that had carried her throughout the rest of her year without him.


But this dance was different from the way he held her to the look in his eyes.


Looking up at his face, she could see no lines furrowing his brow, no thin-lipped smile or tightness in his jaw. In its place there was only peace that flooded his features. A tender smile, that reached his bright green eyes, graced his lips as he looked into her eyes.


Ginny trailed her hands from his neck along his shoulders taking note of how his muscles relaxed at her touch. No longer were they hunched from the weight of an unfinished task or unknown future. Instead there was a lightness to his touch and such fluid ease in his movements, not at all what she remembered a year ago.


“You’re not as tense as you were the last time we danced.� Ginny lightly joked, as she placed her hands back around his neck.


“Neither are you,� Harry said as he kissed a spot below her ear, making her giggle.


“I wasn’t tense,� she argued in mock indignation. “Just determined to make sure you wouldn’t forget about me.�


“I could never forget you, or the promise I made to you.�


“I would hope not. We kissed on it, after all.� Ginny reminded him, before resting her head on his shoulder as they continued to move to unheard music.


The mention of their promise made her smile. They hadn’t discussed the details of their promise since it was made a year ago. There really hadn’t been any need to talk about it as their relationship fell right into place the moment the war had ended. Harry had kept his promise, without words, to have a forever with her, to live their lives absent from the darkness that once threatened to separate them.


“How have you liked forever so far?� Harry whispered.


It was a simple question, one that shouldn’t have caused an abrupt lump in Ginny’s throat. Thinking about the alternative, a life without him or his love, made Ginny’s heart hurt and her eyes fill with tears. Ginny kept her head on his shoulder not wanting him to see her cry.


It had been the same ache in her chest she had experienced when she had witnessed Hagrid carrying Harry, motionless and presumed dead in his arms, out in front of the castle for all to see. At that moment all her hopes and dreams of having a future with Harry had been crushed at the sight of his still body.


But the pain had receded the minute Harry had pulled off his Invisibility Cloak revealing that he was whole, alive and hers to love, forever.


She quickly swept the tears away before answering him.


“I love it, because you’re in it, Harry.� Ginny answered, looking up at him, giving him a watery smile. “And how have you liked forever so far?�


Harry smiled at her and gently wiped away her tears with his thumb.


“It’s perfect, because you’re it.�


Ginny’s heart swelled at Harry’s confession. She reached up to kiss him and their lips met in a sweet, slow kiss that caused a small explosion inside her belly.


“I love you, Ginny.�


“I love you, Harry.�


Ginny kissed him before resting her head back on his shoulder and revolving in their circle.


Closing her eyes, Ginny finally saw the picture she had been waiting for since their last dance, a picture of herself in a white dress dancing with Harry on their wedding day. Though marriage was far from her mind, it was the hope of a future with him that had now become a reality. A future that was now within their grasp waiting to be fulfilled.