Harry and Ginny held hands as they walked through the streets of Hogsmeade. Looking through windows, they stepped into shops every once in a while to buy something. They were walking past Zonko’s when they saw a pair of ginger-haired twins putting up a sign in the front window.
“Fred, George!” Ginny called out, thrilled to see her brothers.
“Ginny, Harry!” Fred said, “You kids are behaving now, aren’t you?”
Harry let out a false laugh and let Ginny’s hand fall back to her side. “So what have you two been up to?”
“We’ve just bought Zonko’s,” George said, pointing to the sign. “‘Now selling Weasley products’,”
“Filch’ll definitely ban our products,” Fred pointed out.
“Meaning they’ll be flying off the shelves!” George finished enthusiastically.
“Why don’t you have a look inside?” Fred opened the door, revealing many people already in line to pay for their purchases.
“Harry, you know we’ll always be giving you a discount.”
“What about me? Not even for your own sister?”
“Don’t worry, Ginny. You have a deal too,” Fred said. “Flesh and blood pay double.”
George was chuckling and poked some more fun at his younger sister, but Harry was no longer listening to the conversation. He had spotted Lavender Brown wandering around the love potions aisle. She seemed to be stocking up on them. Harry remembered what Hermione had told him about what she had seen Lavender do to Ron’s drink and the suspicious box of chocolates.
Ginny called out Harry’s name. “What are you looking at?”
He blinked and Lavender was no longer there but heading towards the door, with her potions safely kept inside a bag. “Did you see Lavender, over there, by the love potions?”
“Yeah, why?” Ginny asked.
“Never mind,” Harry said, shaking his head. “C’mon, let’s back to school grounds. I don’t really feel like shopping anymore.”
Harry and Ginny walked across school grounds. There were many people sitting outside just chatting with friends but he really wanted to be alone with Ginny. He found a huge tree and recognized it right away. With a pang, he remembered seeing the tree in Snape’s memory; it was the one his father and his friends once sat around. He and Ginny sat down, leaning against it, and Harry started to think. With Ginny leaning on his shoulder, there was nowhere else he wanted to be, but his thoughts were brought back to the tree. His father, Sirius, Lupin, Peter Pettigrew… they were all in some way affected by Voldemort. He had already lost three people he had loved, would he lose more?
“Harry?”
“Hmm?”
“What are you thinking about?” Ginny sighed and looked up into Harry’s bright green eyes.
“Ginny, I need to tell you something. I’m worried.”
“Harry, you’re not worried about,” Ginny brought up the courage to say, “Voldemort, are you? You told me this summer that you and Dumbledore destroyed his Horcruxes. All there is left is to kill him, right?”
He wondered how Ginny could be so naïve. “Ginny, Voldemort doesn’t play clean!” Harry said a little too loudly. Several people turned and looked.
“I can take care of myself. I know what I got myself into the moment I let you kiss me last year.”
“I don’t want to lose you, Ginny,” Harry said softly. Harry couldn’t bear to lose another person in his life. The thought of losing her caused a lump to form in his throat.
Ginny’s eyes were glossy, but the tears never spilled. “Whatever happens to either of us, at least you will know that I love you.” Harry gave her waist a squeeze and her cheek a kiss. She smiled. “Just promise me that if I die you won’t turn to Hermione.”
Harry jerked out of surprise to hear her joke after he had just told her something that had been worrying him for quite a while.
“Because she belongs with Ron.”
Harry and Ginny returned to the common room around dusk, finding Ron sitting by the fireplace, looking like a wreck.
“Go away, you two,” Ron said grouchily. “I don’t want to talk anymore. I don’t want to live anymore.”
“Ron, I”we know what’s going on,” Ginny said comfortingly.
“No, you don’t,” Ron said briskly. “She hates me. She hates every bloody thing about me.”
Whatever had gone on between Ron and Hermione over the past five hours did not seem to have been a good thing.
“What did you do?” Harry asked. It seemed impossible that this could happen.
“I “ I don’t even remember anymore. All I know is that she isn’t going to talk to me again. She hates me. Every bloody””
Ginny got up and disappeared up the stairs that led to the girls’ dormitories.
“Hermione, it’s me, Ginny. Please unlock the door.” Ginny stood there waiting for another three minutes. She sighed and pointed her wand at the knob. “Alohamora!”
She turned the knob and slowly walked in. There was a heap of blanketing moving up and down. “There’s no point in hiding. I’m no Squib. Why don’t you tell me what’s happened?”
“It doesn’t “ huh “ matter. I’m not talking “ huh “ to him “ huh “ ever again,” Hermione managed to say while hiccupping.
“Hermione, Ron really wants to talk to you again,” Ginny told her, watching her wince at the sound of her brother’s name.
“I’ve had enough of him. Everything that comes out of his mouth only makes me “ ugh!” She buried herself in the blankets some more.
“I know you still love him,” Ginny said gently. Hermione listened to Ginny lecture her, breathing heavily. “You can’t lie to yourself.”
Hours later, Lavender Brown walked into her dormitory. Hermione seemed fast asleep, so she quietly got ready for bed. She noticed the room had little scraps of paper on the floor. Being the gossip queen she was, she tried to read it but the paper was way too torn up. “Reparo,” she whispered.
By the light of the lamplight, she read the letter, completely thrilled that her chance for winning back Ron was regained.
Only In My Dreams by Ice Cream Eater
Chapter Notes: This chapter is quite different than my others as it is mostly Harry/Ginny and I had some trouble, but I hope y'all like it.