Bill and Phlegm (I mean Fleur’s) wedding day, The Burrow: 1:30 p.m.
It was half an hour until my older brother’s wedding, and I still hadn’t done my hair or put makeup on. Fleur had been trying to get me inside for hours so that I could primp and get ready, but Mum had me up since six a.m. helping her with last minute preparations for the wedding. (In other words, I had been running around for the past seven hours with the primary purpose of keeping Mum from having a mental breakdown.)
In that time, the twins arrived at The Burrow, handily providing me with the best hangover potion ever. I have been headache and nausea free since. Soon after Fred and George got there, Charlie showed up with a girl that none of us had ever met. She apparently worked with dragons as well, and they had been going out for six months, unbeknownst to anyone in the family. I was sure Mum or Dad would interrogate her later. Everyone important to us was in my backyard at that very moment, except Prat Percy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
I finally had my hair pinned up in a bun with loose curls framing my face. It looked quite nice, I must say. My dress was a gentle golden color that looked lovely with my hair color and did not detract attention from the bride. I thought Fleur would have made her bridesmaids look over the top, but the dresses were elegant and simple. I dabbed on a bit of blush on the apples of my cheeks, swished some mascara over my lashes and quickly headed downstairs because I heard the string quartet tuning their instruments.
When I got to the kitchen, I realized that I had left my bouquet of summer flowers in my bedroom. Before I turned around to get them, however, the kitchen door swung open. I turned around to see who it was and got the biggest shock of my life.
The three people who I least expected to see but wanted to see more than anything in the world were standing mere feet in front of me. They grinned at me, and I smiled ecstatically back. I ran towards Harry, and he held out his arms for me. I threw my hands around his neck, clinging on tightly, and he wrapped his arms around me.
“Ginny,” he whispered into my ear in a voice that I had longed to hear for weeks. He said my name so that only I would hear him. I tightened my grip. I didn’t ever want to let go.
“What, your big brother doesn’t get a hug then?” said Ron.
“Leave them alone, Ronald,” said Hermione.
I laughed and let go of Harry so that I could hug my brother. He had grown taller since the end of school, if that was possible.
After I hugged Hermione, I said, “What are you guys doing here? I thought you were out of the country!”
“Yeah, that was all Hermione,” said Ron. “She got so mad at me when I sent you that letter. She didn’t want the Death Eaters intercepting it, so she sent you another one that would mislead them.”
“Don’t blame it on me, Ron. It’s not my fault you’re a blithering idiot!” shouted Hermione.
Ron was about to retaliate, but I said, “Will you two stop your bickering? The wedding is about to start.”
“Oh yeah! The wedding!” said Ron. Right on cue, the music started to play, which was our signal to get outside. A crowd had gathered since I’d last been out there. On the left hand of the aisle there was a group of people who all had flaming red hair (obviously the Weasley side), and on the right there were a bunch of people with long blonde hair.
Mum was in a fit over the excitement of Ron and everyone coming home. She rushed over to us and fussed about the state of Ron’s collar.
“Ronnie, I’m so glad you’re home. And you too, Harry and Hermione. You’re all going to walk down the isle any minute now. Thank Merlin you showed up, Ron, because without you Ginny would have had to walk down there all by herself!”
I looked at Harry and rolled my eyes at him. The smile that he gave me was enough to make my insides melt.
The quartet started to play the bridal song and Mum ordered everyone to get in their places as she took her seat in the front row. I grabbed hold of Ron’s arm and gave it a quick squeeze. He bent over and kissed me on my forehead and said, “I’m so happy to see you.” As daft as he could be sometimes, he certainly had his moments.
Just behind us, Hermione held onto Harry’s arm. I was glad that Mum had decided against pairing Harry and me up for this event because I wanted to avoid the awkwardness of the whole situation.
When we got to the altar, I stood diagonally across from Harry. As Fleur and Bill said their vows, I noticed that he was looking at me rather than my older brother and his soon-to-be wife. I felt my cheeks turn red, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not look away from his beautiful green eyes. With the second “I do”, the ceremony was over, and I was released from Harry’s fervent gaze.
During the party that followed the ceremony, much of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s time was occupied by my relatives or members of the Order. I wanted to be near to them in order to be reassured of their presence, but they were always surrounded by a handful of people, and I didn’t want to feel like an outsider in their conversations. As if Hermione could hear my thoughts from across the dance floor, I saw her sneak away from one group to come over to the table where I was sitting.
“Hey!” she said happily.
“Hi! I’m so glad you could make it. You have no idea how worried everyone was,” I said.
“I’m glad too. Sorry for my letter, but I wanted to be extra cautious. It’s no use taking chances like that when there are mass murderers lurking about.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just relieved that you lot are ok. I don’t know what I am going to do when the real trouble begins,” I said seriously. I paused and then said nonchalantly, “So how has Harry been? Preoccupied with future plans?”
Hermione hesitated with her response. “He’s been fine,”she said. I raised an eyebrow at her and she said, “Alright, he’s been miserable.”
“Listen, Hermione. I tried to talk to Harry about this last term, but he wouldn’t listen. I want to come with you.”
“I wish you could, but Harry would never allow it.”
“He doesn’t have authority over any of us! So I’m coming. Whether he likes it or not,” I said with a tone of finality.
Hermione looked exasperated. I felt childish for adding my issues to her own. Instead of rebutting against me, she cleverly changed subjects, and I let her.
“Can you keep a secret?” she asked.
Thinking back to my first year at Hogwarts, I easily answered that question.
“Obviously.”
“Right,” said Hermione, understanding my blunt response, “Well, I have something that I’ve been dying to tell you...”
“What is it?”
“Ron kissed me,” she said, a faint blush creeping onto her cheekbones.
“WHAT!?”
“Shhhh, keep your voice down.”
“I can’t believe it finally happened! I’ve seen it coming for years. Who else knows?”
“No one! That’s why it’s a secret! We don’t want anyone to know in case You-Know-Who uses it against us.”
“What’s this about You-Know-Who?” Mum said from behind us.
“Nothing, Mrs. Weasley.”
“Well, stop talking about such ominous things and enjoy the party.”
The party raged on, and soon the guests were leaving. Harry had successfully avoided me for the whole evening, and now he was nowhere to be found. Hermione, Ron, and I were outside drinking Butterbeer and looking up at the stars. We all seemed to know that this was the last time we would be seeing each other for a while, and we were soaking in each other’s company. I wanted that moment to last forever because I knew that there was a possibility that I would never see my best friend and brother again. But I forced myself not to dwell on that thought.
I wanted to say something to convey how I felt, but looking at the two people beside me, I knew without words that they understood me; they were feeling the same way too.
After a while, Hermione got up and walked inside, and Ron and I soon followed. Before I started to go upstairs, Ron said, “Ginny, we’re leaving tomorrow morning. I just wanted to say goodbye now because I might not have a chance to before we leave. And I also wanted to say that if it were my choice, you’d be coming with us. I’m sorry that we have to leave you behind.”
If it were under any other circumstances, I would have fought back and told him that I was coming with them. But instead I pulled my brother into a hug and said, “Thanks, Ron. I love you. And be careful.”
“I love you, too. Goodnight, Ginny.”
Later, I was eased out of sleep by the notion that someone was looking in at me from the doorway. I opened my eyes, and sure enough, Harry’s green eyes were staring at me. When he registered the fact that I saw him there, he began to walk away.
“Harry, wait! Come back!” I whispered loudly. I was trying not to disturb Hermione, who was sleeping in the bed next to mine. When he didn’t come back, I jumped out of bed to find him. He was sitting at the kitchen table with his head in his hands.
“Come on, let’s go for a walk,” I said.
He got up and followed me outside. We walked without talking for a while and soon we found ourselves on the field where we used to play Quidditch on summer holidays. We sat down on the cold grass.
“Harry, I’m glad you came to the wedding.”
“You are?”
“Yeah.”
“I had a good time.”
“Me too. Except for the part where you avoided me for the entire evening.”
He chuckled and said, “Yeah, sorry about that. I just didn’t know what would have happened if I got too close to you.”
My stomach lurched. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I’m beginning to think that it was stupid to break up with you.”
“It was stupid,” I said truthfully.
“Do you forgive me?” He looked at me and I could see the sadness in his eyes.
“It depends.”
“On what?” he asked.
“Take me with you.”
“Ginny“ I can’t.”
I leaned in and kissed him. It had been so long since I had felt his lips against mine. I never wanted it to end. I ran my fingers through his unruly black hair, and he put his hands on my back to pull me closer to him.
When we finally broke apart, I said breathlessly, “Take me with you.”
He cupped my face in his hands and said, “I don’t know what would hurt more: if I left you here and had to be without you or if I took you with me and something happened.”
“I know what would hurt me more,” I said. “Please, Harry. Don’t let me sit here and worry about you.”
“It’s a big decision to make.”
“Let me help you make it.”
I kissed him again, this time with even more longing and passion. It was a desperate attempt to get him to make the right choice. When he pulled away, he lay down, and I rested my head against his chest.
“I’m taking you with me,” Harry said.
I lifted my head up and kissed his cheek.
“Thank you.”
I fell asleep lying beside Harry that night, our fingers intertwined, and my heart content. When I woke up the next morning, Harry was gone, his words from the night before scattered in the breeze. He didn’t even leave a note. Harry, Ron, and Hermione just disappeared.
Without You by goldnsnitch79
Chapter Notes: Please Review!!