“Will you two stop bickering?” Mrs. Weasley scolded Ron and Ginny, “There is a lot to be done today and I do not have the tolerance for petty arguments!”
“Sorry, Mum,” Ginny said, picking up some clean dishes and attempting to put them in their correct places. She suddenly felt out of place in the kitchen as she realized she didn’t know where anything belonged.
“I can’t believe Bill and Fleur are getting married tomorrow,” Ron said, sitting down at the kitchen table.
“Ron, what do you think you are doing? There is no time for sitting! Go outside and help Harry string lights! Be productive!” Mrs. Weasley yelled again.
Ron mumbled some things to himself as he pushed open the kitchen door and breathed in the sweet, fresh air.
Harry, of course, was not doing what he was supposed to. Instead of stringing lights, he was sitting at a recently constructed picnic table, picking the petals off flowers.
“I can see you’re enjoying yourself,” Ron said sarcastically, still frowning.
Harry didn’t say anything.
“Harry, is there something wrong?” Ron asked, slightly concerned.
“No, not really. I just keep thinking about everything that has to get done. You know”find all the horcruxes, destroy them. And then I have to defeat Voldemort. It’s just…I don’t know…I--”
“You don’t know if you can do it without Dumbledore?” Ron said as he watched Harry’s expression.
Dumbledore hadn’t exactly been who he was going to say. But instead of changing the subject to Ginny, he just nodded his head and looked across the yard to where a tent had been set up. Ginny was standing on her tip-toes, reaching as high as she could to try and place a string of flowers around the edge of the tent.
Harry watched her struggle for a few minutes, before he left Ron sitting alone on the picnic table.
He strolled across the yard as casually as he could and approached Ginny from the front. She saw him coming, but pretended not to as she tucked her hair behind her ear awkwardly.
“You look like you could use some help,” Harry said.
Ginny and Harry hadn’t really spoken that much since their little talk. They said a few words here and there, but they had yet to have a meaningful conversation. Hermione had gotten annoyed with the two of them yet again, trying to convince them both to push aside their fears and just admit that they wanted to be together. Both Harry and Ginny chose to ignore her advice.
Ginny looked at Harry, their eyes locking, as she handed him a string of flowers. Without using any magic, he reached up and secured the string along the edge.
“Any more?” He asked.
“Erm, no,” Ginny said. The two of them stood in silence, both looking down at their feet.
“How is everything?” Harry asked desperately.
“Good.”
She suddenly turned around and strode away. Harry, who could not have been more aggravated with himself, kicked the ground and walked back towards Ron, who had been watching the whole catastrophe from the picnic table.
Harry and Ron sat at the picnic table for a long time, and not a single word left their lips.
After a while, Harry felt a pair of hands grasp his shoulders. He spun around to see Lupin staring at him, Bill on his other side.
“Harry, how are you?” Lupin asked.
“Could be better,” he replied honestly. He turned to shake hands with Bill, who was just finishing a hug with Ron.
“Harry, now you and I need to have a talk later,” Bill said.
“About what?” Harry asked.
“I think you know,” Bill winked at him and strode over to Ginny, who was running across the tent to leap into his arms.
Ginny and Bill talked quietly for a few minutes as Harry and Ron attempted to string some more lights. After Ginny had gone back inside, Bill strode over to Harry and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him off towards the fields on the other side of the Weasley house.
“Where are we going?” Harry asked, obviously confused.
After walking for a bit longer, Bill stopped and turned to face Harry. “So what is the whole deal with you and my favorite sister?”
“Your only sister,” Harry corrected, avoiding the question.
Bill’s eyes stayed focused on Harry, waiting for an answer.
“I don’t know. I honestly”I don’t know anymore. I’m just so scared she’ll get hurt,” he looked down at the grass, as Bill placed his arm on Harry’s shoulder.
“If there is one person you need to hear this from, it is me. Before I met Fleur, I was happy. I was happy with my job and the way things were working out. I mean, I’ve always had this family and their love had always been enough. So when I met Fleur, and realized how happy I really could be”I just can’t imagine living without that feeling anymore. Being scared comes with being in love.”
“I’m not afraid of being in a relationship,” Harry said softly.
“Then what is it that you’re afraid of?”
“Of losing her! Voldemort is just going to kill her the second he finds out we’re together!”
“What makes you think Ginny wouldn’t be safe and well-protected?”
“Bill, we are talking about Voldemort here. He can kill anyone.”
“He hasn’t killed you yet.”
“It’s been luck! And Dumbledore! And now with Dumbledore gone, no one is safe. If Ginny and I are together, she’ll end up getting hurt. Emotionally and physically. I wouldn’t be able to be there for her like I would want to be. It wouldn’t be fair.” Harry looked solemnly at Bill.
“In the end, the decision is yours, Harry. Not mine, not Ron’s, not Hermione’s. But I do hope you understand this”sometimes, the easy way out isn’t always so easy. And having love in your life can make all the difference in the world.”
And with that, Bill turned and walked away, leaving Harry even more confused than before.
Harry felt as if he was a broken record. He felt as if he kept having to repeat over and over again that he didn’t want Ginny to get hurt. Why does no one understand?
******
Ginny was sitting at a table under the huge white tent that had been set up in the Weasley’s back yard. She was slowly drumming her fingers against the edge of the table, staring at Harry who was twirling his wand around in his hand.
She was trying to replay everything that Harry had said to her in the past few weeks, trying to place herself in his shoes. In a sense, she really did understand why Harry was behaving the way he was. He was, after all, under an extreme amount of pressure. She also understood that Harry didn’t want to lose Ginny like he had lost everyone else, that he wanted to protect her and keep her safe.
The truth was, Ginny didn’t really care. All she knew was that she loved Harry and was willing to do almost anything to be with him.
But after watching him for some time, she couldn’t think of anything that would change his mind. Her frustration began to grow as she realized there was really nothing she could do. Ginny stood up slowly, and began to walk towards him, hoping that one last plea would do the trick.
Harry spotted Ginny and instinctively ran his fingers through his hair.
“If you don’t want to be with me, that’s fine,” Ginny said, her pain showing in her voice. “But I do hope you understand that I am not going to wait for you. It’s now or never.”
Harry stared at her, his eyes completely focused on hers. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Well, of course Harry wanted to be with Ginny…he just wanted it to be after Voldemort was defeated, when everyone would be safe.
“Harry, now or never. What do you say?” Ginny was positive she had him. So positive that she was preparing to leap into his arms the moment he gave in.
Harry though, continued to stare at her, thoughts racing through his mind. He stood up tall, placed his hands on her shoulders, and opened his mouth to speak. No words came out.
Ginny suddenly realized Harry wasn’t going to give in. Tears began to fill her eyes as he looked at her longingly.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Ginny said, the tears slowly leaving her eyes.
“Ginny…” Harry stared at her, not knowing what to say.
But before his words could find him, she glanced at him one last time, before running into the house and out of sight.
“Bloody hell,” Harry said, as he turned around and headed slowly back towards the house.
A/N: Please leave me your thoughts and feelings, favorite parts, and criticisms by leaving a review!
Together We Can by free_hugs
Chapter Notes: A/N: I absolutely adore this chapter for so many reasons--it totally sets everything up :)