“I’m glad you’re alright, Harry. You worried me.” Ginny was sitting underneath a tree in the forest behind the Burrow playing with the grass as she watched Harry throw sticks. It had been a week since Harry, Ron, and Hermione had destroyed the Horcruxes and Ginny had been home from St. Mungo’s for a few days.
They had avoided talking about this for as long as they could, but they were all alone for the first time in a week. Harry had explained everything about what had happened to everyone, but Ginny could tell that he didn’t want to talk about it with her. She knew that he didn’t want to relive the moment of confusion they’d shared or the fear they’d both held about something happening. She understood that he had to go soon and she also knew he didn’t want to hear her insist that she go as well. She watched Harry pick up another stick.
He examined it in his hand and then looked up at Ginny. “Me, too,” he said lightly before throwing the stick. They both fell silent for a moment, Harry watching the stick fly through the air and Ginny gazing at him.
“Harry, don’t fool yourself. You know I’m going with you and you know that you can’t stop me,” Ginny told him. She gave him the look he knew so well; the blazing look that saw right through him. He stared right back, locking their eyes. She saw a single tear run down his cheek and lightened her gaze before standing and walking to him. She put a hand on each side of his face and guided it to hers to rest their foreheads together.
“I hate it when you’re like that.”
She chuckled at his statement and wiped the streak left on his cheek from his tear with her thumb. She leaned in and put their lips together softly. Reaching up, she grabbed him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her head into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist to pull them closer and buried his face in her hair.
“I know I’m difficult. But Harry, if something happened to you and I could’ve done something about it, I would kill myself. Besides, you may hate it, but you love me. And, do you want to know a little secret?” She whispered the last sentence. Harry grunted. “I love you more,” she told him. She kissed him again, this time deeper and full of need and want and passion. He kissed her back, revealing the same feelings and he pulled away when she started to take his shirt off.
“What are you-“ he started to ask but was cut off by the sight of her removing her own shirt. “Are you sure?”
She smiled in response and grabbed him into another kiss. “Positive,” she whispered into his ear.
**********
Afterwards, they lay on the blanket that Harry had conjured, holding one another. Ginny’s face was lying on Harry’s chest and she was tracing circles around the tattoo of a Hungarian Horntail on his chest. Harry was running his hands through her hair and looking up at the sky. Ginny sat up and pulled her knees to her chest. Harry cocked his head and sat up as well, putting his hand on her knee.
“I get it,” she whispered, her eyes shining.
Harry smiled. “ It's my favorite memory of you. When,” he cleared his throat and lost his smile, “when I left you, I went home and had to put myself through pain. I had to do it because I knew I had hurt you so badly. I did it magically, not the muggle way. I did it with my wand and put a permanent sticking charm on it so I could keep my favorite memory of you with me at all times. Next time Romilda Vane asks you if it is true that I have a hippogriff tattooed across my chest, you can honestly tell her that it is a Hungarian Horntail. But Ron’s pigmy puff will remain a lie.”
Ginny was so stunned and so touched that smiling wouldn’t even express her feelings. She stared into his eyes with a look of true love for what seemed an eternity. She grabbed his hand and led it to a very low spot on her hip. “Me, too; of my favorite Noble Harry moment.”
Harry looked down to where his hand was now touching Ginny. It was a tiny tattoo of the Triwizard Cup. A slow, bewildered, look crept upon his face and gazed into her stare.
**********
“We are alone!” Ron shouted as he pulled Hermione into his bedroom and closed the door. He walked over to his bed and sat down, pulling Hermione onto his lap. They kissed.
Hermione smiled into the kiss and then pulled away, giggling.
“What?” Ron asked, unable to hide the permanent smile attached to his face.
She shook her head. “I honestly never knew if this would ever happen.” She gestured her hand toward the two of them. Getting up from the bed, she started walking around the room, smiling still, but nervously wringing her hands as she did so.
Ron cocked his head to one side. “How’d you mean, love?”
Hermione took a deep breath. “I…I think I fell for you at the end of our third year when you got hurt because of Sirius. Harry and I had to use the Time-Turner to go back in time and we left you behind in the hospital wing. It was only three hours, if I remember correctly, but I missed you so much. During our fourth year you never asked me to the Yule Ball. I didn’t even fancy Viktor! And then in our fifth year, it seemed we were so focused on Harry and last year with Lavender Brown. I just…I knew I would always be in love with you but I never figured we would end up together! I figured that if, in some wild circumstance you loved me back, you would never say it.”
She had stopped walking and was now standing in front a very surprised Ron who was still sitting on the edge of the bed.
Ron gulped. “Me? Second year-the basilisk attacked you and my world crashed. I didn’t know why I was so upset. You were my friend, but I was really upset. I put it together when you got better. Since then, I try to focus on things about you that annoy me. That way, I could fight with you and nobody would expect a thing. Viktor and then McLaggen, Harry was my last string. I never thought it would happen either, really. I’m guessing, someone up there,” he pointed upward, “likes me.”
Hermione smiled. “Well, whoever it is, they like me, too.”
Ron grabbed her thighs and pulled her to stand between his open legs. They were face to face with him sitting and her standing. “They bloody well do! Only a fine fair lady could be blessed with such a handsome bloke like me,” he whispered.
She rolled her eyes and looked away. “Merlin, Ronald, I hate that you must always feel the need to ruin a perfect moment!”
Ron smiled and pulled her even closer. “No matter-hate it all you want. We both know that you love me.”
Hermione said nothing in response but she couldn’t help but grin. Ron kissed her sweetly and then pulled her into a hug. She grabbed his hand and led him out of the door and down the stairs.
“Where are we headed?” Ron asked.
“To the kitchen to help your mother with supper, of course. We can’t lock ourselves in your bedroom all night. It is disrespectful,” she explained.
Mrs. Weasley was getting the dishes out of the cupboard when they reached the kitchen. She smiled at them and Hermione instantly went to help. Ron was walking toward the table to sit down when the door opened and in walked Harry and Ginny. Harry started toward the table and Ginny went to help Hermione and Mrs. Weasley with the meal.
“Where’ve you two been off to?” Ron asked, leaning back in his seat and putting his feet on the table. Mrs. Weasley walked over and slapped his foot, gave him a look of death, and went back to pouring drinks.
“We just went for a walk in the forest,” Ginny explained as she stirred the container of iced tea.
“Ginny, sit down! You’ve just arrived home from St. Mungo’s and I will not have you going back again! Sit down and let Hermione and I finish up. Harry, will you take my stubborn daughter into the front room to rest? She is just getting her energy back and you two go for a walk in the woods? Merlin...” Mrs. Weasley was muttering to herself as Harry got up and grabbed Ginny’s hand, leading her into the front room to sit on the sofa.
“Oh, really, Mrs. Weasley, a walk is perfect for getting her energy back! It gets her out of the house and yet it is still close and she was with Harry. I’m sure there is nothing to worry about,” Hermione said.
“You are probably right, Hermione. Yes, yes, you are. I just get so worried about her health, her being the youngest and the only girl-“
“CAN WE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT ME AS IF I’M AN OBJECT?” Ginny shouted from the front room after over-hearing Hermione and Mrs. Weasley’s conversation.
“She’s right, you know. How would you like it if you were stuck in St. Mungo’s for a couple weeks and then still restricted from everything even after you got home?” Harry asked as he walked back into the kitchen to grab two glasses of water. The room hummed in agreement and Harry walked back to the sofa with the waters.
“Thank you,” Ginny told him when they heard conversation return to other subjects in the kitchen.
Harry smiled and kissed her forehead. “Anytime, love, anytime.”
“Can we not…Can you not discuss…err…anything with Ron or Hermione?” Ginny asked nervously.
“What d’ you mean exactly?”
Ginny cleared her throat. “I know that you tell them most of everything and I was wondering if we could keep this to ourselves. I don’t plan on telling anybody that I just turned seventeen and I lost my virginity to Harry Potter. Can we just…err…please?”
Harry smiled. “Whatever you want, Gin. You know I don’t mind keeping it between us. I mean, how would it sound, me going up to your brother and telling him, ‘Hey, mate, I’ve just shagged your sister and we both lost our virginities in the process,’? A bit uncomfortable, don’t you think?”
Ginny’s face relaxed and she kissed him. “A bit. But could you imagine my mother’s response? ‘Ginny! How could you use the energy when you need to be resting? Well, I trust you were safe?’”
Harry laughed. “And Hermione,” he raised his voice to imitate his friend, “‘Oh, Merlin, you two! Well, don’t go off telling Ron about this because I just don’t want him to expect anything!’”
They kissed again. Then Ginny pulled away. Her face was screwed up and the worry had returned to her eyes.
“Harry?”
“What is it, love?”
“We weren’t, though, Harry. We weren’t safe!”
Harry calmed her down and then placed a palm on each side of her face, holding their foreheads together just as she had done earlier that evening. “Don’t fret, Gin! It’s alright! It will be alright! Go into the bathroom and perform a birth control charm that I’m sure your mother taught you long ago.”
Ginny took a deep breath and got up from the sofa to do as he instructed. She had memorized the charm years ago and it was simple to perform. Afterwards, she felt better as well as calmer and she walked back to the front room to find Harry in the same spot as she’d left him. He smiled at her and she kissed him when she sat back down next to him.
“Better?”
“Much.”
Mrs. Weasley called from the kitchen that it was time for supper and a quiet ‘pop’ showed that Mr. Weasley had arrived. Harry and Ginny got up from their seat and held hands as they walked toward the kitchen. Standing in front of the door, Harry stopped and pulled Ginny into him for a deep, quick kiss.
“I love you,” he said into her ear.
She smiled. “I love you.”
Together, they walked into the kitchen and took their seats at the table. The rest of dinner, they only hoped that no one saw the flush in Harry’s cheeks or the plastered grin on Ginny’s face.
**********
“Why are you packing, Harry?” Ginny asked as she waltzed into Harry’s room the next morning. A bag was on his bed and he was filling it with closely chosen pieces of clothing.
“I’m leaving,” he told her flatly without looking at her.
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Alright, I’ll go pack my things.”
Harry stopped messing with his clothes and looked up at Ginny as she started to leave the room.
“No.”
Ginny stopped walking but stayed facing the door with her back to Harry.
“No, Ginny, you’re not coming.” Harry sighed.
Ginny shook her head in anger and turned to face him. “Yes, I am. I thought we discussed this last night. Don’t you remember? I am very well going and there isn’t a thing you can do to stop me.”
“Damn it, Ginny! I bloody hate it when you get like this! You know, sometimes…sometimes I hate that I love you! I HATE THAT I AM SO BLOODY IN LOVE WITH YOU, GINNY!” Harry took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat when he saw the look on her face. “D’ you ever wonder why I don’t want you to go? If I didn’t love you as much as I do then it wouldn’t hurt so damn much that you have to be so freaking stubborn! I’ve lost everything, Ginny, bloody everything!” He stared at her and took no notice to the crack in his voice when he stated, “I can’t lose you, too.”
Ginny glared at him and ran a hand through her long, red hair. “Please don’t ask me to stay, Harry.”
Harry closed the distance between them and put his hands around her neck to kiss her hard. “Please don’t ask to come with me, Ginny.”
Ginny lowered her head and stared at the floor. “I can’t stay put while you risk your life. I can’t believe you are asking me to.”
Harry lifted her chin up to look at him. “Yeah, well, I can’t believe you are asking me to put the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with, into danger.”
At the Same Time
“’MIONE!” Ron called from his room. Hermione opened the door and walked in.
“What is it, Ronald?”
“Are you finished packing, then?”
Hermione nodded. “I finished a couple minutes ago, why?”
“Are we going to leave early and go to Number 12 to visit your parents and Harry’s aunt?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I think Harry might have told them yesterday afternoon that we would come visit before we left.”
“Have you seen Ginny?”
“Err…Earlier this morning, ‘bout thirty minutes ago, she headed down to the kitchen for a pastry. I think she was going to Harry’s room after. Why?”
“We can’t put it all on Harry to tell her we are leaving and she can’t come. I mean, she won’t take it easy and it isn’t fair for us to dump it on Harry to tell her. We should go help him.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
They walked to Harry’s room swiftly and weren’t surprised to see them holding each other in the middle of the room. Hermione and Ron could both hear Harry whispering something to Ginny and then they distinctly heard her mumble something back. They watched as Harry and Ginny went back and forth a few times. Ron had no trouble hearing Ginny tell Harry that she couldn’t believe he would ask her to stay. He listened to Harry respond, explaining that he couldn’t believe Ginny would ask him to put her in danger.
“Well believe it, the both of you, because Harry did ask you to stay, Ginny! And Ginny did ask you to let her go, even if it means putting herself in danger, Harry,” Ron spoke matter-of-factly as he stepped into the room, ignoring Hermione’s slap on his arm. “The point is, we must make a decision. Either Ginny comes or stays, which I prefer the second one.”
“As do I! Ginny, you mustn’t come with us! You are my best friend and the last thing I want is for you to be hurt! Go back to school, Ginny, and be our Hogwarts spy. You can tell us everything that is going on! We need someone like that!” Hermione exclaimed.
“I know I’m your best friend, ‘Mione. Likewise with me. But I don’t see Harry stopping Ron from going or vice-versa and they are best friends! I’m not stopping you from going, either, now am I? Why is it so important that I stay?”
“Ginny, it’s different with you. You know very much that I am not insulting you when I say this, but, Ginny, you’ve never done this before. ‘Mione and I have always backed Harry up and stayed by his side through everything! You haven’t and it isn’t just figuring out the next task in the Triwizard Tournament or going to find the Sorcerer’s Stone this time! This is it, this is fighting Voldemort, full strength! We all love you to death and you are our only hope at coming home to a friend. D’ you understand what I’m getting at?” Ron asked.
Ginny never softened the blazing look she was giving her brother, but she did understand. She sighed and turned on her heel before stomping out of the room and slamming the door behind her.
The trio quietly stared at the closed door. Harry ran a hand through his hair. He hated that he’d hurt her again. But he would never be able to live with himself if something happened to her. He hoped that someday she would understand that he needed to know that there was something to look foreword to coming home to. He didn’t realize that he was subconsciously rubbing his chest again. The door pounded open and Ginny came running toward him with her blazing look. She jumped on him and wrapped her legs around him, burying her face in his neck. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her.
“Someday I will, Harry, but right now I can’t. I just want you with me, I want you safe with me,” she cried into his neck and he tightened his grip, closing his eyes and burying his own face into her neck. Neither noticed Ron and Hermione slip out of the room and close the door behind them.
A/N: There you go! Sorry there was so much fluff, but you’ll soon realize why it had to be that way! Thanks for reading, now REVIEW!! Tell me if you hate it, tell me if you love it! I need to know what to improve and change! Thanks so much!
Manda*