“Damn it!” yelled Ginny, as she walked out, slamming the door to Harry’s flat.
“Ginny! … Ginny!!” Harry called as he ran over to the door, trying to catch her before she left.
He had only been a couple seconds behind her, but it was enough time for Ginny to apparate wherever she’d planned on going to.
Harry swung open his door as he called out again, “Ginny! Come back!”
He let out a deeply saddened sigh as he noticed that Ginny was already gone. Harry cursed to himself as he went back inside his flat. When was he ever going to learn to stop being such a fool, especially when it came to her?
They’d been together for four months; ever since the night that her family threw him the welcome home party at the Burrow. He remembered that night vividly; how she looked, how she smelled, how he was absolutely and completely head over heels for her, and he still was.
It had been such a wonderful four months. Each day was even better than the last. Sure, they had their little squabbles and sometimes even bigger fights, but they’d always been able to make up shortly after their argument. Harry wasn’t quite sure that was going to be the case, this time.
Ginny had come over to Harry’s flat earlier that morning because they were going to spend some quality time with each other. With him being back at the Ministry and on Auror duties constantly, having alone time was a little hard to come by.
They had planned on making breakfast together, and then later that morning, they were going to take a nice, long walk in the park and possibly see a movie at the local muggle cinema.
Harry had started making breakfast before Ginny arrived. He knew that he shouldn’t have begun without her, but he didn’t want them to spend all day in the kitchen. Truth be told, Harry loved to cook, he just wasn’t very good at it. It was actually quite perfect, if you think about it. Ginny didn’t really like to cook, but she was great at it; and Harry, well, he admittedly lacked certain skills but, he had plenty of enthusiasm to make up for that.
When Ginny arrived, she’d found Harry already working his tail off. She let out a low whistle and spoke, “now this is something I could get used to seeing every morning,” and night, for that matter, Ginny finished in thought.
Harry was standing there in nothing but his boxers and a Chudley Cannons tee shirt. He had planned on getting dressed shortly before she’d arrived, but time must have gotten away with him, and so did the eggs, there was a mess everywhere. Needless to say, Ginny had scared the b’jesus out of him when he heard her speak.
“Ginny, you startled me!” Harry exclaimed.
“Well, this will teach you to always be on your toes, even when you look as cute as you do right now.” Ginny chuckled, and Harry suddenly flushed, becoming very aware of how little clothing he was wearing.
She moved into the kitchen, to rescue him from his destruction. “Here, let me do that. You start working on the pancakes.”
“Well, yes ma’am,” Harry said snickering, but quickly standing at attention.
“Don’t make me old before I get there. I’m no ma’am. At least, not yet,” Ginny said as she took the eggs from him.
“Well, I feel a bit…er…exposed, so I’m going to go grab my pants, first.” Harry said, as he headed towards his bedroom.
“Oh!” Ginny called out, “Don’t change on account of me.” She desperately tried to suppress another giggle, but failed.
Harry was fastening the button on his pants as he walked back into the kitchen. “There, that’s much better.”
“Well, now I do like the ‘clothed’ look on you, but I certainly prefer the former choice of apparel,” she said, giggling like a school girl. “Ah well, I guess I’ll have to do with my memories.”
Narrowing his eyes at her, Harry said, “Why, Miss Weasley, do I need to use a memory charm on you?”
“You most certainly will not!” Ginny said, shocked at the thought. “Besides, I’ve seen you in far less clothing than that, and you are, under no circumstances, taking that memory from me.”
“When did you see me in less than boxers and a tee shirt?” Harry asked, trying to recall when she was referring to.
“How soon you forget,” Ginny said as she shook her head. “You remember when we planned on going out to a few weeks ago; and I got off work early, so I apparated over, not realizing you were just getting out of the shower? Yeah…I remember that towel and think of it very fondly,” she said, remembering a rather vulnerable Harry. Ginny smiled at the thought; she was having a great time this morning.
Realization hit Harry and a blush came over his cheeks. “Oh…I’m definitely using a memory charm on you, love.”
“You even try it and I’ll hex you into next year. You know that my bat bogey hexes are quite effective.”
Withdrawing from the battle, temporarily, Harry said, “Ok…fine. No memory charms, no bat bogey hexes.”
Ginny smiled cutely at Harry, “deal.”
They both returned to making their breakfast; he started working on the pancakes, while she finished up with the eggs. Even making a meal together was a wonderful time for them. Things would have continued to go smoothly too, but Harry decided that he needed a bit of payback for Ginny catching him in such little clothing.
Without warning, Harry yelled out, “Clean up on aisle five.”
Ginny only had time to reply with “huh?” when a cloud of white smoke filled the air.
“Harry!” Ginny whined as she came running out of the kitchen, with him close behind her.
Harry had decided to make a bloody mess with the flour and now they were both covered from head to toe. He couldn’t stop laughing at the sight of her; she looked like a ghost.
“Stop laughing at me! You don’t look so hot yourself.” Ginny said astounded at what he’d done. “Just look at me. It’s all over my clothes and in my hair.” She was now whimpering as she tried to clean herself up the hard way. She’d left her wand in the kitchen and she wasn’t about to go back in there and start coughing her head off from all the flour in the air.
Harry had stopped laughing now, as he was in awe of the way she looked. She was even beautiful when she was completely covered in flour. “I am looking at you,” he said, stepping towards her. He pulled her chin up so that he could look into her deep brown eyes. “You never cease to amaze me, Gin. I love you so much.”
She was frozen in place. She loved how he could be silly one minute and completely serious the next. Ginny felt Harry’s lips lightly brush against hers for a moment, and then there it was, the kiss of undying want that she felt every time. Oh, how she became lost in his kisses.
Ginny’s eyes fluttered open as they parted. It took a minute before she could regain the ability to speak again. “Well, I might allow more of those flour fits of yours…just as long as I can get more kisses like that.”
“You can count on it!” Harry grinned cheekily.
“I can count on what? The flour fits or the kisses?”
“Both,” Harry said and he leaned down to kiss her again. They were both hungry for more than food now.
After they’d eaten breakfast, Ginny started clearing away the dishes from the table and then moved into the kitchen to clean up. Harry reached out to stop her from going any further.
“Oh no, Miss Weasley. Even though I love the idea of you taking care of me, this can wait until much later.”
“Who said I was taking care of you?” she said, amused at Harry’s statement.
“Well, you were, weren’t you?”
“Well…yes, but also because I can’t stand seeing a mess, especially one like this. I mean, this flour isn’t going to clean itself.” Ginny said looking at the kitchen distastefully.
“Don’t worry about the kitchen, love. I’ll take care of it.” Harry said as he flicked his wand a few times, muttering cleaning spells. The kitchen would be clean in no time.
“Now,” Harry said as he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her into the sitting room, “I think we need to just relax a bit. Don’t you think so?” As they reached his sofa, he swept her hair off of her right shoulder and around to her left. He leaned down and began to place gentle kisses on her neck and along the line of her jaw.
She moved her head, allowing him more room. Her knees were now growing weak and she softly murmured his name, “Harry-”
Harry felt his chest tighten and he wrapped his arms around her waist. He nuzzled her neck and took in the sweet smell of lavender in her hair, “Gin,” he whispered.
“No. Harry, we have to… stop.” Ginny was sure to lose her control if they kept this up. She pulled away from the warm kisses that had been gracing her skin and smiled apologetically at him. “I’m sorry, love.”
Sighing regretfully, Harry said, “That’s ok. I don’t want to rush into anything. Besides, I can be perfectly content just holding you.”
He sat down on the sofa, resting one arm on the back. Ginny sat down, wedging herself between Harry and the sofa, settling comfortably in his arms. She loved the feel of him by her and sometimes thought, I can’t believe that this has finally happened. I can’t believe we’re here together and happy. Ginny felt Harry’s arm fall around her and she reached up for his hand. Interlocking her fingers with his, she pulled his hand toward her and kissed it sweetly.
They sat quietly, for a few minutes, and then Harry broke the silence. “So, how’s work been going?”
“Oh, it’s fine.” Ginny had been working as a nurse at St. Mungo’s for the past two years with every intention of going through the training to become a healer. But, the longer she put it off, the more she found herself wanting to do something else.
Harry knew something was on her mind. He felt her tense up a little when he asked the question. “Gin, what’s wrong? And don’t say ‘it’s nothing’ because I can tell that you’ve got something on your mind.”
“Well, nothing’s really wrong, it’s just…I’ve been talking to Dad about possibly taking on a job at the Ministry instead of becoming a healer like I had planned.” Ginny had a particular job in mind and although Mr. Weasley didn’t full approve of it, he wasn’t going to stop his daughter, if this was her dream.
Harry was a little surprised. He didn’t know that she had been thinking about changing jobs. “I thought you had always wanted to become a healer?”
“Well, I did, but I don’t think it’s my dream anymore.”
Considering this, Harry asked, “Well, what seems to have perked your interest at the Ministry?”
“I’m considering joining the auror training program in a couple of weeks,” she said, turning to read Harry’s reaction.
A look of concern and worry came across his face. “What? I thought you said that you would never become an auror?”
“No. I didn’t say that I’d never become an auror. I just said that I didn’t really see myself becoming one. But, I’ve grown up since then, and I’ve changed my mind.” Ginny said with a confused expression. She didn’t get it, what was so wrong with her wanting to become an auror?
Harry didn’t like the fact that Ginny now wanted to go into this line of work. The job was tough and dangerous. It’s not that he didn’t think she could do the job; it’s just that he didn’t want to see her get hurt, and being an auror, there was a great chance of that happening.
“But, Gin- are you sure? I mean being an auror is hard work. Not to mention, the long hours and it’s extremely dangerous.” Harry said with a hint of pleading in his voice.
Surprised at his statement, Ginny snapped. “What? You think I can’t take care of myself? For heaven’s sake, Harry, I am completely capable of protecting myself. And who cares if it’s hard work and long hours? I quite think that I’m smart enough to do the job. I mean, they wouldn’t have accepted me into the program if I didn’t meet their qualifications.”
“So, you’ve already signed up for the training program?”
“Well, yes, I had pretty much made my mind up about it.” Ginny said backing away from Harry.
Harry was running out of things to say -- reasons to keep her from going into the training program. “Gin, I really don’t think you should become an auror.”
She was furious now. “Oh?! And why shouldn’t I, Harry? Please? Tell me!” Ginny said as she now stood up from the sofa and began to walk towards the middle of the room.
He knew that he was starting to push her away, and he didn’t want that. He just wanted to be able to protect her, and if she became an auror, there was no guarantee that he could do that.
“Gin, don’t- I’m just afraid that if you do this, I won’t be able to be there, at all times, to protect you.” He’d done it now. He’d gone too far.
Ginny walked over to the dining room and began to gather her coat and scarf. “God, Harry! What the bloody hell did I just say? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need you there to protect me, all the time. I’m stronger than you think I am.” Ginny almost screamed in furry, “UGH!”
“Gin…Ginny, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean that you can’t take care of yourself; it’s just that, I want to be there to protect you. I love you. But, if you become an auror, I’m not guaranteed to be able to be there to do that.” Harry was trying to make her understand, but she was irate. He reached out to touch her arm and she pulled away quickly.
“Don’t touch me, Harry.” Ginny said, releasing an annoyed sigh. “I can’t believe that you think so little of me!”
Hurt by her words, Harry said, “Gin… you know that’s not true.”
“I’m not sure about anything any more.” Ginny said making a mad rush for the door. “Damn it!” she yelled, as she yanked open the door and then quickly slammed it shut behind her.
Harry was just behind her, trying to stop her from going. “Ginny!... Ginny!!” he called out as he swung open the door and looked around. “Ginny! Come back!” But it was too late, she was gone.
Hermione ducked as an object came flying across the room, hitting the wall not two feet away from her. The once hippogriff figurine was now shattered into hundreds of pieces on the floor. Even though she understood that her friend was quite upset, Hermione was beginning to lose her patience. She didn’t mind listening to her vent out her frustrations, but breaking her own belongings was another thing.
“Umph…Ginny!” Hermione whined. “That was one of my favorites. If you must throw things, pick something of Ron’s.” She knelt down and flicked her wand at the broken hippogriff and suddenly, it was like new again.
“Sorry, Hermione, I’m just so frustrated with him. I am sick and tired of him thinking that he has to be there to protect me. I’m not a child. I can manage on my own.” Ginny said as she threw herself down on the sofa.
After her fight with Harry, Ginny had decided to apparate to Ron and Hermione’s flat. When she popped in, she saw Ron in the chair in their sitting room with Hermione sitting across his lap, giving him a good snog. At that moment, this made Ginny even angrier.
She walked into the room and grabbed Hermione’s arm, yanking her off of Ron. She muttered through gritted teeth, “Hermione, I need to talk to you. Now.”
Ron was highly upset that his lips were no longer permanently attached to Hermione’s. “What the bloody hell, Ginny? What’s the matter with you?”
“Oh, it’s not me Ron. It’s that git of a friend of yours. Ask him what’s wrong” she spouted as Hermione pulled her arm out of Ginny’s grip.
Hermione knew it was going to take getting rid of Ron before she’d ever have a chance to calm Ginny down. When it came to him being around whenever Ginny and Harry had a row, Ginny often ended up yelling at Ron because he tended to side with Harry.
“Hang on just a minute, Ginny.” Hermione said as she walked back over towards Ron. “Ron, honey, you might want to go over to Harry’s flat and talk with him. And, find out his side of the story.” She ended in a whisper, so that Ginny wouldn’t hear what she said.
If it was up to Ron, he would’ve stayed there and given Ginny a good piece of his mind. But, he knew that Hermione was right. She often was, especially when it came to Harry and Ginny. He fought to hold his tongue and clenched his jaw. “Fine, I’ll be back soon.”
Ron leaned down and kissed Hermione on the cheek and then turned to give Ginny a very disapproving look before apparating to Harry’s flat.
At the present, Ginny was set on throwing things, which didn’t look good for the rest of Hermione’s knick-knacks. Thankfully, she was starting to lose steam.
“Well, now that you’ve managed to settle down enough to stop throwing my things, would you mind telling me what happened between you two?” Hermione asked as she sat down next to Ginny.
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Everything was going fine this morning. Even the flour bomb in the kitchen was ok. But, then he had to ask me about work. So, I finally did it. I told Harry that I was going into the auror training program.”
“Oh…” she said, realization hitting her, “you finally told him? And what exactly did he- huh? Wait. What flour bomb?” Hermione said stopping in mid question.
Without pausing, Ginny continued, mockingly. “He was like ‘what do mean you want to become an auror? I thought you said you’d never be one?’ And then he goes on to say that he didn’t think I should do it because it was hard work and dangerous, and he couldn’t guarantee to be there to protect me all the time. UGH!! I mean, where does he get off?! He thinks he can do this job and I can’t? Oh, that man has another thing coming.”
“Ginny, you know better than to think that Harry would ever suggest that you didn’t have the ability to become an auror. And I think that you feel guilty for even letting that thought cross your mind.” Hermione said calmly.
Astonished to hear Hermione say that she thought that Ginny felt guilty, didn’t make her any less angry. “Me? Feel guilty for Harry’s thoughts? I don’t think so. Why should I feel guilty?” Ginny continued, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“Well, I think that you feel guilty because you’ve only realized, too late, that Harry was just being protective of you, because he loves you, and not because he doesn’t think that you can do the job. You know as well as I do that he thinks that you could catch the moon. I know I’m right when I say that this just caught him off guard and, he didn’t know exactly how to respond to it. After all, you’d been thinking about this for a while, and you hadn’t told him until now. So why is that Ginny? Tell me.”
Ginny opened her mouth, finding it a little hard to gather an answer. But, before anything could actually come out of her mouth, Hermione had started up again.
“I’ll tell you why, Ginny, dear. You didn’t tell him, until now, because you knew he’d react this way. You knew that he’d try to stop you as much as he could. You’ve heard him talking about his auror duties day in and day out and you’ve heard him talk about how dangerous it was. You knew that he wouldn’t like the idea too much because he wants to keep you safe. And don’t even think of interrupting me to say that you can protect yourself, because I’ve heard that bit before. We all get it.” Hermione said, stopping Ginny from even trying to give her rebuttal. “But, what you need to get through your thick skull is that Harry will do anything and everything, in his power, to protect you. Ginny… he’d give his own life just to know that you were safe.”
Ginny was finally beginning to sober up as she heard the last words Hermione spoke. I’m such an arrogant prat, she thought. She’s right. Merlin, she’s always right. Ginny rolled her eyes at the thought. She hated admitting to Hermione that her stupidity had overcome her, again. “Oh, Merlin, what a fool I’ve been. What a stupid git. Hermione, I’m sorry, I know that you’re right. Why did I let my temper get the best of me?”
“It’s in your nature Ginny. Your temper is always going to get the better of you. But, it’s always what drives you to be the person you are. You just need to learn to balance it all. Besides, I’m not the one you need to be apologizing to. That apology belongs to Harry.”
Turning her head in shame, Ginny spoke in a choked breath. “How am I going to face him? Oh, Merlin, I can’t. Not after the way that I left him. Oh Merlin!” She sat on the sofa, resting her elbows on her legs, with her head buried in her hands.
Hermione looked inquiringly at her friend. “For heaven’s sake Ginny, what did you do?”
“He tried to reach out to me, and I… I pulled away. Oh, Merlin! I told him that I wasn’t sure about anything with him anymore. And then I ran out of his flat, cursing as I went. Oh… Merlin! Hermione, what am I going to do? I’ve ruined it all. What am I going to do?” Ginny was rocking back and forth now, trembling at the thought of how she left Harry.
“It’s ok. It’s going to be ok.” Hermione put her arms around Ginny, hugging her and desperately trying to calm her down. “We’ll work something out.”
They sat on the sofa, rocking together. Hermione even thought she heard Ginny crying a little. She was beginning to worry, because she’d never seen her this upset about anything. She had to do something to help her friend.
Upon apparating to Harry’s flat, Ron immediately spotted his best mate lying on his sofa, just staring into his floo. As he started to speak, he heard music playing, and a woman’s voice following…cause hurtful words are all that we exchanged, but I can’t watch you walk away…I can’t give up on us now…
“Bloody hell, Harry!” Ron said, rolling his eyes, as he walked into the sitting room. “I thought laying around, moping and listening to sappy love songs was for girls. What’s gotten into you?”
“Just go, Ron. I want to be alone.” Harry said, shifting his body and turning his back to Ron.
“Sorry mate, no can do. I’ve been sent into the battle to find out what has happened. And you know I can’t go back to Hermione empty handed. So, what gives? What happened?” He said as he sat down in the chair, across from the sofa.
Sitting up, Harry said, “Let me guess, you’ve run into Ginny.”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Ron answered, rolling his eyes again. “She apparated over to the flat a minute ago, and interrupted Hermione and I at a most inopportune time. Let’s just say, she’s going to get an ear full when I get back.”
“Well… how did she act?” Harry asked, not sure that he really wanted to know the answer to that question.
“She was barking mad, mate. You’ve gotten yourself into a mess of trouble, with whatever it was that you did. So, keep me from asking you a million times over. What happened?”
“She came over this morning, we had breakfast, and everything seemed to be absolutely wonderful. But, as we were sitting there talking, I asked her how work was going and she told me that she was looking into getting a job at the Ministry.”
“Ginny? Looking at getting a job at the Ministry? But, I thought that she despised the idea of working there? What’s got her so interested now?” Harry had caught Ron’s attention by this announcement and was a little shocked that he didn’t already know.
“You mean she… hasn’t said anything to you about it? I would have surely thought that she would have…oh. She’s probably told Hermione, and neither one of them has bothered to clue you in.”
“Stop dancing around the subject and spit it out. From the sound of things, I’m not going to be too happy when I hear what you have to say.” Ron sat on the edge of his chair with anticipation.
“She… she wants to become… an auror.”
Ron quickly stood up from his chair, almost yelling at the top of his lungs. “She WHAT?! Over my dead body is she going to become an auror.”
“Well, you may not have to wait very long, because if you try to stop her, she’ll kill you herself. I mean, she loves me…at least I thought so… and now look how things turned out after I told her that she shouldn’t become an auror. You’re her brother, but you know that this technicality will not stop her from causing you bodily harm.” Harry said, trying to remind Ron that Ginny was a force to be reckoned with.
“I don’t care what that bloody git thinks that she wants. Doesn’t she know that we know what is best for her in this case? She’ll get hurt. Doesn’t she care what we think?”
“No,” Harry replied. “I think she does care what we think. But she wants us to side with her. I should have just sided with her. I’m such a giant arse. How could I have screwed up again?”
“You did the right thing mate, telling her she shouldn’t become an auror. Maybe she’ll come to her senses now.”
“How, is what I did, the right thing? How? Because of my stupidity, I may have lost the only girl that I’ve ever really loved. I may have just lost the woman that I want to marry.” Harry muttered, as his head fell forward.
“Trust me mate, you did the right thing. Just because she doesn’t want to…what did you just say?” Ron’s jaw suddenly dropped, as his eyes grew wide.
Harry squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, breathing slowly before speaking. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately; about asking her to marry me. I know that we haven’t been dating that long, but she completes me. I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life. That’s why, when she said she wanted to become an auror, I panicked. It scared me so much. If I lost her, I wouldn’t be able to… I just couldn’t… Ron, I’ve screwed things up, haven’t I?”
Trying to shake himself out of the state of shock that he was still in, Ron just stared at Harry for a few moments before finally responding to him. “You want… to ask her… to marry you?” is all that he could manage to say.
“Yes, I had been thinking about it; I just hadn’t decided when I would ask her. However, right now, I don’t see it being a major concern, considering that she just walked out on me, angrier than I’ve ever seen her. She even told me that she wasn’t sure about anything, with us, anymore.”
“Listen, mate. You know Hermione; if anyone can get Ginny to think rationally, it’s her. I’m sure that things will work out. It’s just that it may take a little time.” Despite all of his faults, Ron could actually make sense sometimes. With this, Harry knew that he was right.
Harry nodded slowly in understanding and he and Ron sat in silence for a moment. Ron was about to get up to leave, when suddenly Hermione’s face popped up in the floo.
“Harry, are you there?” Hermione called out until she saw Harry.
Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Hermione appear. “Yeah, what is it?”
“Listen, I need to make this quick, I don’t want Ginny to know what I’m doing. She’s in the loo right now. She’s terribly upset at the way that she acted this morning, you know, with the running out and all.”
“She is? But why is she upset about the way she acted? She has every right to be upset with me.” Harry was completely thrown off guard. He didn’t think that she’d be upset with herself, with him, yes, but not with herself.
“Yes, yes, we know. She’s sorry, you’re sorry, we’re all sorry. Now that that’s understood, how do we work this out? Do you just want to come over and talk with her? Ron and I could go out, if that’s what you’d like us to do.” Hermione kept looking over her shoulder every time she thought she heard a noise.
“Yeah, I’ll just…” Harry began to agree, but then an idea occurred to him. “…No. No, wait. I have a better idea.”
“For heaven’s sake Hary, what is it? Ginny will be out of the loo any moment.” She was beginning to panic.
“You go ahead. I’ll fill Ron in and send him back to you with the details.”
“Could you be any more cryptic, Harry? Nevermind. Ok, Ron, hurry back. I’ll try to send Ginny home as soon as I can. Uh oh… I’ve got to go, she’s coming back.”
Ron nodded, “yeah, sure. See you soon, sweetie.”
With a pop, Hermione was gone, leaving Ron and Harry staring at the empty floo.
Ron turned to Harry with a perplexed look. “So, what’s this brilliant idea of yours, mate?”
“Well, it’s a bit complicated, so I’m going to need both yours and Hermione’s help for it to work.” Harry said, as he began to unfold the details of his plans to Ron.