A/N The characters contained herein are not mine (darn it). Enjoy!
That night again found Harry awake and looking out the window, thinking this time not of Sirius, but of the events of the day. He had finally told Ron and Hermione about the Prophecy, and while it was one of the hardest things he had to do, telling his friends that it was his destiny to kill or be killed, he felt better for having shared it with them. Hermione had hugged Harry and cried, aching for her friend, for what he had already faced and what lay before him. Ron had gone quiet for a while. Then solemnly hugged Harry and promised to help and support him however he could. Ginny had sat next to Harry the entire time, her prescence a comfort, her warm brown eyes filled with compassion and unshed tears.
Harry was distracted from his thoughts by a movement in the courtyard below. Ginny walking in the moonlight. He smiled and hurried quietly out the door and down to her.
"Why Miss Weasley... We really need to quit meeting like this." Harry said with a mischevious grin.
Ginny giggled. "Well Mr. Potter, I do believe you are getting fresh with me!" She grinned laying a hand across her chest dramatically.
"Well, I'm certainly trying." said Harry wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on the top of her head.
"Ginny... I wanted to thank you for being there with me today, helping me to tell them. I don't think I could've done it without you there."
"I'm glad I could help Harry. I mean, Merlin knows you've always been there for me. That's what friends are for after all." Ginny looked up at Harry from under her lashes to gauge his reaction. Despite all that had happened she still wasn't sure exactly where they stood. He'd yet to tell her how he felt about her, and she didn't want to ruin what was happening between them by assuming too much.
"Friends?" said Harry pulling away from Ginny. Was that how Ginny thought of him, as just a friend? Was she trying to tell him that now? And he had kissed her like a prat. "Gin...look" said Harry stepping back. "I'm uh...sorry about that ya know... kiss this morning. I mean... you just said it. We're friends and I shouldn't have."
Despite the fact that she was the one who'd brought up the âFâ word to begin with, Ginny was suddenly, fiercely angry. How dare he apologize for kissing her?
"Harry James Potter stop right there. If you think that I let my 'friends' kiss me like that then you have another thing coming. And if you kiss Hermione like that...." Ginny's ears had turned bright red and her eyes glinted dangerously. Growling low in her throat, Ginny turned her back on a speechless and thoroughly confused Harry, and flounced over to the ivy covered wall and began to climb.
"Ginny wait! Where are you going? That's really dangerous Gin. Get back down here!"
"Sod off Harry!" said Ginny angrily.
"Prongs... I didn't think it possible, but he is even worse at this than you were."
"Hey! I was very suave I'll have you know. I got the best looking girl in our year after all."
"Yeah, and it only took you seven years."
"When you two boys are done playing, Harry needs us." said Lily with a hint of exasperation.
"C'mon Ginny come back down. That ivy doesn't look very strong."
"Leave me alone Harry. I don't want to talk to you and the ivy is fine. How do you think I got down here in the first place?"
No sooner had the words left her mouth, however, when the ivy began to pull from the wall, and, with a startled screech, Ginny began to fall. Not for nothing though was Harry the youngest seeker Gryffindor had seen in a century. He practically flew across the courtyard, diving and catching Ginny in his arms.
" Omigosh Gin! Are you ok? You're not hurt are you?" said Harry as he gently laid her down and checked her arms and legs for injuries.
"I'm fine Harry. Thanks to you."
"Good. Don't you dare EVER do that to me again Ginny Weasley. You scared the HELL out of me. I've lost too many people already and I will not lose you too. And another thing..."
Ginny did the only thing she could do under the circumstances. Pulled Harry over into the bushes with her and kissed him senseless. Harry had just decided that this had to be what heaven was like and maybe getting killed by Voldemort wouldn't be that bad after all when he felt himself being yanked off Ginny and forcefully slammed against the wall.
"You're my best mate Harry, so I'm gonna give you about three seconds to tell me what the bloody hell you were doing in the bushes with my sister." Ron growled out menacingly.
"I think that'd be obvious you great prat!" Ginny shouted trying to pull Ron off of Harry.
"I heard her scream. Why did she scream?" Ron had his wand out now, pointed at Harry's throat, completely oblivious to both Ginny and Hermione's efforts to calm him down.
"She fell, Ron. She was trying to climb up the ivy and she fell and I caught her" Harry shoved Ron away getting angry himself now. "And as for what we were doing in the bushes, it's none of your damn business."
"She's my sister so it bloody well is my business!" Ron shouted back.
"Yeah? Well I love her and I'm gonna kiss her wherever and whenever I want as often as she'll let me!"
"Wait..." said Ginny totally forgetting Ron and Hermione were there. "You love me?"
Harry looked down at her and smiled as Hermione and Ron exchanged a conspiratorial grin and backed slowly away.
"How can I not Gin? You're sweet and you're beautiful and stubborn enough to deal with even my blackest moods. Of course I love you."
At that Ginny threw herself at Harry who held her tenderly and gently kissed her.
"Hello...we're still here." said Ron loudly.
"Hush Ronald" said Hermione, her eyes misting with tears of happiness for two of her best friends.
Harry pulled away from Ginny and put a protective arm around her shoulders. "I meant what I said Ron. I love Ginny and you're just going to have to get used to that."
Ron smiled. "About damn time you noticed her."
"Wait... I thought you...but...Why did you slam me up against the wall if you don't care about us being together?" Harry said baffled.
"Well" Ron said grinning. "You were making such a muck of it, Hermione and I thought you could use a hand."
"You were spying on us?" said Ginny indignantly.
"No" said Ron hastily. "See we were up in Hermione's room and..."
"Wait a second" Harry interrupted. "What were you doing in Hermione's room in the middle of the night?
Hermione started blushing and mumbled something about homework. Ron, meanwhile, raised his chin defiantly and put his arm around Hermione as if daring anyone to say anything.
"About damn time you noticed her" said Harry as he and Ron exchanged identical smug grins.
"They're going to be impossible now, you know that?" Ginny said to Hermione.
"Oh I think we'll manage." said Hermione, smiling.
"Mate you should have seen the look on your face when I had you against the wall. All I could do not to laugh."
"Shut up Ron." said Harry grinning sheepishly.
Laughing and joking, the four walked together back into the house not knowing what the future held, but secure in the knowledge that they'd face it together.
"Oh James, our baby. He's all grown up and in-love." Lily sniffed as James handed her a hankie.
"There, there love. He's not completely grown up yet and as long as he needs us, we'll be here."
"Yeah, cheer up Lils. Ginny is a great girl and she'll keep Harry in line and give him the love and support he needs to face Voldemort, which means less work for us and more time to give Wormtail a few well deserved nightmares."
Lily laughed in spite of herself. "You really are terrible Sirius."
"I know." Sirius grinned.
"Last one to make Wormtail wet the bed is a rotten egg" James said impishly.
Laughing, the three faded quietly into the night.
A/N Please Review