A/N: sorry it has taken soooo long to get this chapter up. I had a little break but now I'm back on track. Recap so far: Ron and Hermione got it together, Ginny kidnapped and held in Shrieking Shack by Lucius Malfoy, then Harry told her the Prophecy when he realised it was probably time. Enjoy! :-)
Lost in each other
The next few days were very strange for Harry and Ginny. Everywhere they went, a teacher seemed to pop up and follow them for a bit, then they’d disappear and someone else would be there. It was because of this odd behaviour by the staff that the students had started to talk about the young couple and many thought that they had done something seriously wrong, which was why they were being watched so carefully.
It was particularly embarrassing one Monday afternoon, when Harry went to meet Ginny outside of her Charms classroom. She was the last one out, and no one was around, so Harry kissed her rather more passionately than he usually would, before cheekily squeezing her behind, in what he thought was a discreet manner.
But he was wrong.
“Keep your hands to yourself in the corridors please, Mr Potter,” came the brisk voice of Professor McGonagall from behind them.
“Oh “ er “ sorry, Professor,” mumbled Harry, feeling himself going red.
Ginny snorted and pulled him away down the corridor, until they got to the Room of Requirement. They walked past it three times, then dashed in, out of sight. Ginny promptly burst into fits of the giggles.
“Good one, Harry,” she said, with just enough breath.
“Honestly!” he replied. “They’re everywhere! Hey, look at this.”
He had just realised their surroundings. The room had obviously known that they’d wanted privacy, because it had given them a tiny, but cosy little space, with just a small two-seater sofa and a nice rug on the floor.
“Good thing no teachers ever come in here,” said Ginny. “We can finally be alone.”
They snuggled up on the sofa together, and Harry started to wonder whether Ginny realised why everyone was following them.
“You do understand why it has to be like this, don’t you, Gin?” he asked her.
“Yes - they’re trying to protect you,” she said simply.
“No “ don’t you see? This has been happening ever since you were kidnapped. I’ve been under threat my whole life, but now that someone else has actually been harmed because of it, Dumbledore’s got all the teachers to look out for you. They’re trying to protect you.”
“Oh,” she said quietly, “I suppose you’re right. I hadn’t really thought of that. But why are the Death Eaters so interested that I’m going out with you? I mean, you care for Ron and Hermione, but neither of them have been kidnapped.”
“I’m not sure,” Harry told her. “Maybe it’s just not as obvious that I care for Ron and Hermione or something. I guess it’s a bit different though, isn’t it?”
“How do you mean?” asked Ginny.
“Well, it’s not like I go round snogging them is it? And I don’t exactly tell them I love them all that often either.”
“How might you say it to someone if you did want to tell them you loved them?” asked Ginny, fluttering her eyelashes melodramatically.
“Well, I suppose ‘I love you’, or something like that,” he joked.
“That wasn’t very emotional.”
“I love you,” said Harry in his deepest, most manly voice. “That do?”
Ginny just giggled again and Harry felt like his insides were melting as she looked up at him and said:
“I love you too.”
* * *
That evening at dinner, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table, when Ginny shushed them. She pointed to her ear, then behind her, signalling that they should listen.
“I hear that they were caught doing you-know-what in the boys’ dormitory,” came the loud whisper of a third year girl.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” said another. “They’re all over each other normally.”
“Don’t you think it’s quite sweet though?” said a third voice. “I mean, they’re obviously crazy about each other. I think you two are just jealous because you wish Harry Potter loved you.”
“Whatever,” said the first girl. “If you ask me, he’s just desperate to get back at Cho Chang after last year.”
At this point, both Harry and Ginny stood up. Harry grabbed Ginny’s hand and marched over to the next table.
“For your information,” Harry said to the three girls, his temper on the edge, “this isn’t just some lame attempt to get back at Cho. The only girl I ever want to be with is Ginny.”
“And if you think that I’m stupid enough to fall for a guy who’s only using me then you are very wrong,” added Ginny.
“Oh, and just so you know,” said Harry, “in future, if you’re going to talk about people, try to do it when they’re not sitting at the next table, blatantly eavesdropping.”
The three girls, who were now looking terrified of the two angry older students, nodded fearfully.
“Let’s go,” said Ginny, and they left the hall together.
* * *
Over the next few weeks, Harry and Ginny spent more and more time in the Room of Requirement. It was the only place in the whole castle where they new that they could be properly alone, without a teacher watching their every move. Every time they went in it was slightly different. Once, when they were particularly hungry, it gave them a buffet of delicious food; and the next time, when they were particularly tired, it gave them a luscious double bed.
Harry and Ginny discussed everything in that room, from friends to family to feelings, and they shared almost all of their thoughts with one another. Harry found himself coping with things a lot better now that he had Ginny to talk to, because she would talk them through with him in a way that didn’t get him angry or annoyed, and she would comfort him when he just needed to be loved. As well as being the perfect girlfriend for him, she was also like the comforting mother he had once lost, and the chatty sister he had never had, not to mention a best friend.
One Friday morning before Easter, Harry left his dormitory for the Common Room, and immediately saw that giveaway head of red hair resting on the arm of the sofa. He sneaked up behind her and covered her eyes with his hands, then he swung round and kissed her. Ginny jumped, and Harry was shocked to find that she didn’t kiss him back, but started to struggle and push him away. Harry leant back, surprised at this strange reaction, and saw that Ginny’s face was contorted with an immense rage that he has never seen in her before.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she screamed.
Harry just stuttered, overly confused and not knowing what to say. He had kissed her before whilst covering her eyes, and she had told him that she liked it.
“God, Potter, what are you trying to do to me?” she yelled, and she stood up and stormed out of the room before he even had a chance to ask her why.
Ron, who had just reached the bottom of the stairs, was looking at Harry with disgust.
“What did you do to her?” he asked, but before Harry could explain that he had no idea what was going on, Ron had followed Ginny out of the portrait hole.
Thoughts started to run through Harry’s head at top speed. Why did Ginny not want him to kiss her? The last time he had seen her was… when was it? He remembered sitting with her at dinner yesterday evening, but he couldn’t remember what he had done between then and going to bed. But she was fine with him at dinner, and he could have sworn that he had kissed her when he’d arrived.
Wanting to find out what on earth had happened to make her so angry with him, Harry sprinted all the way through the castle, and a few minutes later he arrived at the Great Hall. But Ginny wasn’t at breakfast that morning; neither was Ron; or Hermione as a matter of fact. Still confused, Harry grabbed a piece of toast from the Gryffindor table and went back to the Entrance Hall, planning to look for Ginny.
Trying to think where she might have gone, he set off for the Room of Requirement, but just as he was almost there he realised that he was five minutes late for Advanced Charms. He ran all the way there and burst in, out of breath, to the stares of all of his classmates. He sat down at the only desk left near the back of the class, and tried to catch Ron’s eye, hoping to ask him why everyone was acting so strangely. But Ron wouldn’t meet his gaze, and neither him nor Hermione spoke to him throughout the entire lesson.
By the time it got to lunch Harry was desperate for some information, and he was half-relieved, half apprehensive to see Ginny sitting alone at the table in the Great Hall. He walked quickly over to her, wondering what on earth he should say, but knowing that he had to say something.
“Er, Ginny, are you cross with me about something?” he asked tentatively.
She looked up,and Harry saw that not only was she angry, but her eyes were full of hurt and bitter coldness.
“How can you look at me with so cooly, with so much conviction?” she said harshly. “How can you even dare to speak to me?”
Harry only gaped, staring hopelessy into her deep brown eyes “ the eyes which he had fallen in love with “ as if pleading with them to once again regard him as someone they could trust.
“But, Ginny, I don’t understand “ “
“Just leave me alone, Harry,” she said. “I don’t want to talk to you, I don’t want to look at you, I don’t want to love you “ not any more.”
And she got up and left, leaving Harry standing in the middle of the hall, surrounded by people, and yet feeling more alone than he had ever felt in his life.
* * *
Harry couldn’t find Ginny anywhere for the rest of that day, and Ron and Hermione were avoiding him so much that there was no way he could have asked them what was happening.
But nothing could have made the situation worse than what greeted Hogwarts the next morning.
As Harry sat alone eating his breakfast, a large tawny owl landed in front of him with the Daily Prophet attached to it’s leg. Harry paid the owl, then unfolded the paper to be faced with his own face, only from about two years previously.
‘MY LOVE LIFE: Harry Potter’s heart revealed,’ read the headline. Panicking, he started to read:
‘Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, has recently been sighted with a younger girl almost constantly by his side. The Prophet can now exclusively reveal that the couple were deeply devoted to each other, up until two days previously, when their relationship was ended by none other than the boy-hero himself. The girl in question, a Miss Ginevra Weasley, has been heard to say that she “doesn’t want to love him any more.” We can only hope that her life is not too ruined now by this appalling event that she is unable to complete her OWLs, which are coming up this school year…’
Harry put down the paper and looked around him. All over the hall, people were craning round in their seats to stare at him, pointing and whispering just as they had done when he had first arrived at Hogwarts. He stood up and promptly left the hall with only one thing on his mind “ he had to find Ginny. He went once again to the one place he expected her to be.
Arriving at the door to the Room of Requirement, he stopped for a moment, trying to prepare himself. What if she never took him back? He didn’t even know what to apologise for, because he didn’t know why she was in such a stress. He knew that he wanted her back, but why did she have to be so unbelievably badtempered with him? She could at least have told him what was wrong rather than just storming off like that.
He reached for the handle and turned it slowly. Entering the room, he saw Ginny sitting alone on the edge of a small double bed. Her hair was tossled and her eyes were red, and her shoulders shook with silent tears. Harry hesitated “ having to deal with crying girls was not his speciality.
Ginny looked up and noticed him standing there, but she only gave him a look of loathing before turning to face the other way, as if she didn’t want to have to look into the eyes she knew she loved.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re so upset, or do I have to guess?” asked Harry.
She turned her head.
“Why I’m upset?” she said, her voice rising with every word. “Why I’m upset? Are you trying to pretend you don’t know?”
“I “ I don’t,” Harry mumbled, thoroughly confused.
Ginny stood up and walked over to him. Harry felt an unimaginable amount of pain seeing her argue with him like this, when all he wanted was to know why she hated him so much.
“Just tell me why, Harry,” she said, her hurt voice almost a whisper. “Why?”
“Why what?” he asked.
“Oh don’t play those stupid games with me,” she spat. “Why did you break up with me, for God’s sake? After all we’ve been through! After all of that and you suddenly decide you’ve had enough of me! You can’t just pick and choose when you want me, Harry! I HAVE EMOTIONS OF MY OWN YOU KNOW!”
She was yelling now and her normally fair complexion was blushed red with anger. Harry was at a complete loss for words. He had no idea what she was on about, or why she felt all of this.
“Ginny, I “ I never said I didn’t want to be with you,” he said carefully. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So you’re denying it now, are you?” she screamed. “What do you think this is some kind of sick game? Seriously Harry, you “ you “ “
Suddenly Ginny’s emotions seemed to have gotten the better of her, and she broke down, her words no longer comprehensible. Harry just stood there, gobsmacked. Without knowing any better, he tenderly put his hand on her shoulder, but she shook him off as if he were a fatal disease.
“I can’t believe you went to the papers,” she whispered, trying to take control of herself. “That was just the last straw."
“What?” said Harry. He had thought that maybe this was just one of those girl things that could never be explained, but now he was entirely bewildered. “I don’t know where the Prophet got that story! I have no idea why they think that we broke up two days ago, because I never dumped you!”
“I CAN NOT BELIEVE MY EARS!” Ginny shouted. “How can you possibly deny dumping me? It was right here, in this very room!”
Harry thought as hard as he could, although he couldn’t really see the point. He didn’t remember ever coming to this room that night, let alone breaking up with Ginny. He could only think of one explaination, although it was an extremely long shot. It had not been him at all.
“Ok, this is probably the last thing you want to hear from me right now,” he began, “but is there any chance that it wasn’t me who told you all of that? Because you’ve got to believe me, Gin “ I have had no thoughts to break up with you. You’re the only thing keeping me going at the moment.”
“You “ what?” she stuttered.
“Do you trust me?” asked Harry.
“What? Why would I trust you now?” she answered.
“Come on, Ginny. You’ve got to trust me “ please,” Harry begged.
“Well “ I “ I don’t know,” she said unsurely.
Harry looked into her eyes and pleaded with them to believe him.
“Why should I trust you?” said Ginny, at long last.
“Because “ “ Harry didn’t actually know, “- because I love you and I hate not knowing why you loathe me so much at the moment.”
Ginny hesitated.
“What’s your point, Harry,” she said, trying to keep up her unsympathetic pretence.
“Well, I reckon that it wasn’t me who was here, but someone else,” he told her.
Ginny was the one looking baffled now.
“What do you mean?”
“What if someone took Polyjuice Potion to look like me, then came here and broke it off with you?” he said. “It’s not like we don’t have enemies who would do that.”
“I’m not buying it,” she retorted. “Why would anyone bother?”
“I don’t really know,” said Harry. “It was probably Malfoy trying to make us both miserable or something.”
“Well, I don't know Harry, it seems a bit unlikely…”
Harry looked at her for a bit, hoping for some sort of an apology.
“So… am I forgiven?” he asked after a while. “I mean, I didn’t actually do anything wrong.”
Ginny regarded him, looking confused.
"It's just - how am I supposed to know whether it's you or not? Now I'll always be paranoid."
Harry suddenly had an idea. He pulled the Marauders' Map out of his pocket.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said, with his wand's tip touching the parchment. He held it out to Ginny. "Look - Harry Potter - it has to be me; the map never lies."
This seemed to decide it for Ginny.
"Sorry," she muttered.
Harry was so happy that he pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head.
"Am I forgiven for being so horrible?" she asked.
“Are you kidding? Any guy who treated you like that deserves to be yelled at."
Ginny smiled and squeezed him a little tighter.
"We need to tell Dumbledore though, and find out what’s going on,” he told her.
“Right,” replied Ginny.
They sat down on the bed together and Harry swore to himself that he would never take Ginny for granted.
“Damn! Look at the time!” said Ginny a few minutes later. They had been too lost in each other to notice that they were meant to be in lessons. “We’d better run - who do you have now?”
Harry swore. He had Snape.
“You could tell him you were in the Hospital Wing or something,” Ginny suggested.
“Like he’ll care,” said Harry. “Oh well, I had better be going. You never know, we might just end up in detention together.”
A/N: please R/R if you have time! I always reply to them.