After that bracing visit to the hospital, Harry had spent the next few days resting and sleeping, thanks to a very powerful potion Mrs. Weasley had given him. He was, apparently, suffering from a side-effect of taking so many potions in such a short period of time, and the healers believed sleeping it off would be the best option.
Harry was surprised to find Bill and Fleur at the Burrow when they had come back from the hospital. Bill had carried him to the sitting room when he hit the floor so unceremoniously.
Harry had very little time alone with Ginny once Bill and Fleur had arrived. He wanted to broach the topic of her birthday, but Ginny was rushing around getting ready for school and hadn’t the time to spend more than a passing moment with him.
On one of the rare days where Bill and Fleur were out and Ginny’s parents were both otherwise occupied, Harry found himself, happily, alone with Ginny. She had been tending him as best as she could, but he still felt very guilty for bothering her. She had gotten her letter from Hogwarts and had been named captain of the Quidditch team.
She had sat down across from him and they had gone over various strategies about how best to approach the Gryffindor Quidditch team and their ability to win the House cup. Harry knew how competitive Ginny was, and smiled at how she was feverishly writing notes and taking his ideas to heart.
He had been feeling very weak and had tried a few times to broach the subject of the hospital, but Ginny had said next to nothing. He had tried to apologise, but she had dismissed it, saying she understood.
On that afternoon, Harry had reached a hand out to Ginny, beckoning her to sit next to him and she did so reluctantly. He wrapped an arm weakly around her shoulders and said, ‘Ginny, your birthday is coming up and you’re leaving for school soon…’
She nodded and looked up at him. ‘Yeah, I am a little nervous…’
He smiled. ‘About Quidditch, yeah, I got that.’
She shrugged, caressing his arm playfully. ‘It’s a lot of responsibility! And I want to win – like you did when you were captain.’
He nodded. ‘It is an amazing feeling, but there better not be any blokes kissing you after you win other than me.’
She giggled and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Are you planning on being there?’
He nodded. ‘If I can get back onto school grounds, I will.’
She sighed. ‘Harry, you’re working for the Ministry and you’re the biggest Hogwarts’s hero, I think McGonagall will certainly let you back on campus.’
He nodded, enjoying the warmth he felt for being so close to her. She nudged him gently and said, ‘Harry, if you’re going to fall asleep, then what do you need me for?’
He smiled and kissed her gently. ‘I do need you…all the time.’
He kissed her on the cheek and neck before wrapping both his arms tightly around her and pulling her across the couch with him. He could feel her lie next to him, shifting nervously for a moment before he leaned his head forward, falling asleep with his head resting against her shoulder.
He woke up with a start as he could hear a commotion breaking out and Ginny pulled away from him abruptly. His glasses were off-kilter, but he could see Mrs. Weasley railing at Ginny and Ginny was fuming and rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes.
Harry sat up quickly, feeling the room shift and said, ‘Mrs. Weasley, we were just asleep…’
She walked into the sitting room glaring at both of them and said sternly, ‘Ginevra Molly Weasley and Harry James Potter: if I ever find you two in a compromising position like that again I will forbid you to see one another, am I making myself clear?’
Harry was mortified and Ginny stood there dumbly for a moment. They exchanged nervous glances and Ginny said quietly, ‘We weren’t doing anything, mum, just sleeping.’
She shook her head and wagged a finger at them both. ‘I’m not an idiot. I hope you two enjoyed your time alone because this is the absolute end of it until you are off to school.’
She would hear no argument and Harry knew he had finally reached the point of out-staying his welcome. He tried his best to get rest and avoid any more conflict, but he knew that Ginny was feeling the same discomfort he did and he quietly packed his thing a few days later and, unbeknownst to anyone else, went back to Grimmauld Place. He didn’t anticipate anyone noticing his disappearance and found Kreacher was very enthusiastic to have him back home.
Harry had received a few packages from the Ministry about his new job and had opened them finding various forms of identification and charms he’d have to apply to his person to gain entry into the Ministry.
After having a quiet lunch, he got a very loud Patronus from Ginny that said some things that even Kreacher found alarming. Not ten minutes later she came bursting through the grate in the kitchen and railed into him. ‘What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing disappearing like that?’
He put his hands up defencelessly and said, ‘I thought it was time to go…I have to be ready for work next week.’
She glared at him hard and said through gritted teeth. ‘Harry James Potter – I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m telling you now, if this is what you have planned for our future, you’ve got another thing coming.’
He was shocked she’d use such a tone with him and said apologetically, ‘I think your mum really scared the…well, you know, out of me…’
She shook her head and smiled at him softly. ‘Harry, we didn’t do anything wrong…that time…she was upset, with both of us…’
He replied sharply, ‘No, Ginny, if we’re going to be serious, we…I can’t be taking advantage of you like that.’
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. ‘Harry, I’m getting tired of this defeatist attitude of yours.’ She touched the locket and said, ‘I thought we were going to be honest about this…to each other.’
He watched her quietly and sighed. ‘Aren’t we? I’m scared of your mum!’
She laughed. ‘Not good enough, Potter.’
She sat down across from him at the table and looked at the various packages. ‘You’re going to be really busy next week; sure you’ll have time for us before I go?’
He nodded. ‘I’ll get us a Time Turner if I have to; I’m not going to miss your birthday for anything.’
She smiled at him and said quietly, ‘Why didn’t you just leave me a note?’
He couldn’t meet her gaze and said, ‘I didn’t know what to say. I tried a few times and just gave up. I thought you would be glad for a break in nursing me back to health.’
She sighed and furrowed her brow. ‘Harry, did I ever make you feel like you were a burden?’
He studied the table and replied quietly, ‘Not in so many words, no.’
He could feel her glare and didn’t look up. ‘Harry…’ She said his name softly and reached her hands across the table to his. ‘Why are you doing this to yourself? To me?’
He looked up with forlorn eyes and said, ‘This is my fault…everything…with George…your whole family…I made this mess. I don’t deserve your…’
He couldn’t finish the sentence and Ginny squeezed his hands. ‘Harry, no one blames you for this except you. If you want to keep blaming yourself, that’s fine. But there won’t be any place in your life for anyone or anything else but that blame. Are you ready for that?’
She was begging him, he could hear it in her voice, and yet he couldn’t feel anything but grief. The last few days of the battle with Voldemort were starting to catch up with him. He put his head in his hands and could feel the hot tears streaming down his cheeks. She crossed the room quickly and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and cradled his head in her arms. She was whispering something soothing, but Harry hardly heard anything. He wrapped his arms around her and let himself cry. Cry for Fred, cry for Tonks, cry for Lupin…for every life lost.
He composed himself after some time and could see Ginny looking at him imploringly. She wiped his face with her hands and smiled at him. He leaned up and kissed her. She ran her hands down his neck and whispered, ‘Say something, Harry.’
He choked out a few words, ‘I’m sorry…’
She hit him on the arm and replied, ‘Something else!’
He tried to laugh and said, ‘I was just…it’s…it’s been a long summer.’
She rubbed his back soothingly. ‘It’s okay, Harry; it’s over.’
He shook his head. ‘It’s never over…isn’t that what all this meant. If you’re with me…you’re always going to be in danger, your whole family! It’ll always be my fault.’
She leaned forward and ran her thumb down his cheek. ‘Harry, this is life…isn’t it?’
He was feeling overwhelmed and turned away from her. ‘I feel bad you came all the way out here.’
She rested her hands on his knees and squeezed them. ‘Harry, love, talk to me.’
He looked up at her; he hadn’t expected her to call him ‘love’ again. It caught him off guard. He started slowly, ‘I…don’t know what to say…I just feel so…lost.’
She smiled at him and said, ‘I’ll always find you.’
She was so reassuring. He could see her love for him in her eyes and it calmed him. He said shakily, ‘I still see those final moments…right before he killed me. I can still hear the laughter of the Death Eaters. I know it’s over. I mean, I know it is. He can’t come back. They won’t come back to power. But being out there, being in the thick of it, pretending to be dead…’
He shook his head feebly and she rubbed his arm consolingly. He wanted to tell her more, but he was nervous, if he said too much, what would she think? She smiled at him, urging him on and he said, ‘I just…I want to forget and remember, you know?’
She nodded. ‘Yes…it was the most awful thing, I hope, we ever have to live through. I want to…to remember for the people we lost…but I don’t ever, ever want to live through anything like that again.’
He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. ‘I don’t mean to depress you with me, but after what happened, it’s been on my mind again.’
She leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. ‘Are you going to come home?’
He shook his head. ‘I am home.’
She gave him a tired look but didn’t push. He said quickly, ‘Why don’t you stay here?’
She laughed. ‘Yes, Harry, that’s so much better than our falling asleep together.’
He laughed softly. ‘Well, at least stay and have tea with me?’
She smiled and nodded. ‘That does sound nice.’
He didn’t want to talk about the battle again, not with her, not now. Kreacher Apparated back into the room and started preparing tea for them. He gushed about her visit, telling her how happy he was to see her and asked why he hadn’t seen more of her.
Harry tried to refrain from grinning, watching a house elf contend with someone with as fiery a personality as Ginny. She didn’t seem put off at all and nodded and agreed as frequently as she could. He headed out of the room shortly after serving the tea, and Harry smiled at her as she sipped her tea nervously.
He laughed. ‘He’ll leave us alone, stop worrying.’
She shook her head, her hair falling around her face. ‘I’m not worried, but he’s…not a force to be reckoned with.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘I think we both know about that.’
She laughed and replied, ‘Are you insinuating something, Harry?’
He smiled at her but said nothing. She smiled back at him. ‘Fine, I’ll give you that one, Harry.’
He grinned at her and said quietly, ‘Are you sure you don’t want to stay?’
She looked back at him. ‘I have to admit, I would love to…but I think you are mad if you think I will actually take you up on this offer.’
He said quietly, ‘I can hope, right?’
She leaned next to him, squeezing his arm. ‘I hope you never lose that.’
He didn’t want her to leave but could feel her gaze drifting back towards the grate and stood up slowly. ‘Are you going to be okay?’
She nodded and got up. ‘I just want to make sure you’re okay.’
He shook his head. ‘Stop worrying about me. You got me back to good health. Won’t you let me take care of you?’
She smiled innocently. ‘I don’t need taking care of right now.’ She said quickly, ‘I wasn’t the one who got slammed with a serious curse.’
He stretched and replied, ‘Love, you really don’t have to worry about me. I’m all better.’
She gave him a sceptical look. ‘Harry, don’t put on a front for me. You’re still tired.’
He nodded. ‘That’ll go with time I’m sure.’
She stepped towards the grate and he said quickly, ‘Why don’t you come by and have lunch with me tomorrow?’
She sighed and looked as though she were going to decline, but nodded. ‘Yeah, sure…and let me know if you need anything, tonight.’
He smiled at her. ‘I will.’
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. After a few moments he still hadn’t let go and he could feel Ginny laughing at him. She patted his back and said, ‘Harry, you can come with me. Mum doesn’t know you’re not at home.’
He shook his head and took her face in his hands, kissing her deeply. He could feel the surprise on her face, but didn’t stop kissing her. He needed to feel close to her and he didn’t want her to go.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and nudged him with her forehead. She pulled away for a brief moment, saying breathlessly, ‘Harry,’ before he pressed his lips firmly against hers. She didn’t let him consume her and pushed her hands firmly against his chest.
‘Harry!’ She took a step away from him and was breathing quickly. ‘What has gotten into you?’
He didn’t respond but took a step back. She shook her head, exasperated and said, ‘Just stop this…foolishness and come home, now.’
He said quietly, ‘I can’t. I…I need to do this.’
She reached out and hugged him quickly. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
He nodded and tried to kiss her, but she pulled away with a mischievous smile. He said quietly, ‘Good night.’
She threw Floo powder into the grate and disappeared in a burst of green flame. He sighed and sat down for a moment before going back to the mounds of paperwork he needed to finish before reporting to work at the Ministry.