Ron and Hermione departed with a crack and Harry looked over at Ginny, wondering if he’d have the resolve to leave her and come back to Grimmauld Place. Ginny was looking straight at Harry, he felt like she knew what he was thinking and sure enough she completed his thoughts out loud, ‘Don’t even think about it, Harry. We do have a lot to talk about and I hope you don’t think your ‘hiding’ is going to make things better. Go pack something and let’s get moving.’
He started to argue but the look in her eyes was enough to stop him dead in his tracks, ‘I’m not hiding…but alright, I’m going, I’ll be right back.’
Giving her one last glance before leaving, Harry hurried out of the room, running into Kreacher in the hallway. The old elf spoke solemnly, ‘Ah, Master Harry, are you heading out then?’
Harry nodded, ‘Yes Kreacher, Ginny needs me, so I have to go.’
As he said it he realised how good it made him feel to be needed. Kreacher nodded, ‘Mistress Ginerva seems troubled, Master Harry.’
Harry looked at Kreacher quizzically, never realising how astute house elves could be, but Kreacher merely walked on, ‘Should you need anything Master Harry, just call and I will be there.’ And with that he retired into the kitchen.
Harry took the stairs two at a time as he rushed into what was now his room. He grabbed his rucksack from the floor and grabbed what clean clothes he could find. Since he’d never really unpacked, most of the things he needed would be in the bag already. He pulled the package he’d bought out earlier and looked at it. He wasn’t certain if he should give this to Ginny now. There was still so much that needed to be said between them, what would she think of such a display? She hadn’t literally pushed him away, so he was optimistic that things could be mended. He stuffed it into the bottom of his bag hoping he’d find the right time to give it to her.
He grabbed his jacket and pulled it on before hurrying back down the stairs. Ginny was still waiting for him, her expression indiscernible. He smiled at her, reaching his hand out to take hers, ‘You ready?’
She nodded and pulled close to him as he Apparated them both back to Diagon Alley. Harry still wondered if he’d ever get used to the feeling Apparating left with him. He landed soundly enough, Ginny still holding onto him, her arms around his waist and her eyes shut.
He squeezed her arm, ‘We’re here – and I don’t think my Apparating is that bad that you need to close your eyes.’
She smiled, ‘It wasn’t that bad, I just don’t particularly like the feeling I get when I Side-Along Apparate, makes me feel a little dizzy.’
He nodded, ‘I don’t think I’ll ever quite get used to it.’
She pulled away from him, though he slid his hand down her arm to take her hand as she walked forward towards the Weasleys’ shop. He slowed her rapid pace down by gently tugging on her arm, stopping her abruptly. She looked at him quizzically, but he only replied, ‘We don’t have to rush, we can just, you know, take our time.’
She shook her head in mock exasperation, ‘Harry, I need to get there to close the shop up and make sure the place is safe, then Mum will be expecting us. I’m sure Ron and Hermione will have told her you’re coming.’
Harry sighed a little, ‘As much as I enjoy time with your family,’ he pulled closer to her and whispered softly, ‘I’d much rather be spending the time to get to know you as well as I once did.’ He tried to kiss her but she pulled away, looking at him incredulously.
Her eyes were bright and Harry knew he’d said or done something to upset her again. She looked at him for a second, then turned and walked up the street, not sparing another glance back.
Harry stood for a second dumbfounded. He thought back to what Hermione had said and hurried after her, jogging to catch up. ‘Ginny, ‘he said quietly, ‘Come on, you can’t just walk away like that.’
She turned on him, her eyes blazing, ‘Is that a fact? Would you like to watch me?’
She started to turn and walk again when he grabbed her arm, ‘No, I absolutely don’t want to – but I would like you to tell me what’s going on.’
She didn’t say anything at first, but pulled her arm out of his grip, ‘Look, we can walk and talk can’t we?’
He nodded, ‘I know I haven’t been the best boyfriend –’
Before he could finish she broke in, ‘You’re not my boyfriend at all Harry. You broke it off, how lucky for you to forget.’
Harry knew they were in it now, he took a deep breath, ‘Ginny, please – the least you can do is hear me out – I mean, hearing me out isn’t going to cost you anything.’
She didn’t respond but just walked towards the store, with Harry following close behind.
Harry figured this was his only chance to break in, ‘I’m sorry – I know I made a mistake, I never meant to hurt you. And if you think for even a second, that I wasn’t thinking about you, or wishing I could be with you while I was gone, you’re wrong. There isn’t anyone I thought more about!’
They had reached the store and she still didn’t turn to look at him. He wasn’t certain what words would get her attention, ‘I kept wishing I could be with you –‘
Ginny whispered, ‘Just stop.’ Her voice broke a little, ‘Harry – I’m glad you’re here again – watching you run off and leave me because you thought I’d be more safe – brilliant.’ Her tone grew increasingly sarcastic, ‘seeing you die, yeah, that was the highlight of my summer.’
Harry didn’t know what to say, but he thought it best to let her rail at him for a bit. She crossed the store and stood behind the counter. Narrowing her eyes, she continued, ‘You always have to play the hero – so what happens now – when are you going to run off and try to save some one else? When are you going to run off and lose interest in…’ she seemed to be struggling with something, her voice breaking, ‘Harry – I care about you, I care about us – but there can’t be any us if you won’t be around.’
Harry was stunned; he didn’t know how to respond. He wished he could just kiss her and make it better. But he knew that would never work. He still wasn’t sure if she was done fuming, but her eyes no longer had that look of repulsion. He walked over to her, being careful not to do anything that might upset her further. He looked at her for a brief moment, taking her in, before responding quietly, ‘Ginny, look at me.’
She sighed visibly and put her hands on the counter, slowly raising her head. He placed his hands in front of hers, their fingers touching, ‘I’m right here, I’m with you, I’m not going anywhere. And I won’t go anywhere.’ He stumbled for words, ‘That’s what I’m trying to get at. I’m done doing things without you, it was the hardest thing; being away from the one person that has ever been the only real source of joy and happiness in my life.’ His eyes strayed away from her face, focusing on her thin, delicate fingers that he was touching.
Harry slowly looked up, not certain what to expect, but Ginny’s resolve was not to be tested. Her facial expression didn’t change, but her eyes seemed softer, ‘Harry – answer this – why didn’t you take my side? Before the final battle, you treated me like I was just some kid!’
Harry reached further across the counter taking her hands and pulling her forward, closer to him, ‘Ginny, I’m sorry, I really am. But I couldn’t bear the thought of you being in harm’s way. I never meant to make you feel childish.’
She didn’t look him in the eye, but curled her fingers around his hands. He took one of her hands and kissed the palm, ‘I am on your side. You know how I feel about you, about us. I just want you to be safe, and if I can do that for you, then I will.’
She still didn’t seem convinced, but she didn’t argue. She slowly pulled her hands away from his, ‘The sooner I get this done the better.’ She gestured to the paperwork then pointed to a stool at the end of the counter, ‘I’m not sure you can really help me, and this discussion isn’t helping me concentrate much.’
He smiled and went over to the stool, pulling it over to where she was behind the counter, her eyebrows raised, ‘That isn’t quite what I meant, Harry.’
‘Well, I can be a non-verbal distraction, right?’ he said while dropping his rucksack on the floor near the counter. He placed his hands on her shoulders and began to massage her back, ‘I think I prefer this sort of distraction, don’t you?’
She didn’t say anything, her eyes closed; she seemed to be enjoying the attention too much to argue. He worked his hands across her back, enjoying the fragrance of her hair and the feeling of her body under his touch. Kneading the muscles in her back and shoulders, he could feel the tension dissipate and her body relax against his. He moved closer still, brushing her hair away from her neck and kissing her softly on the nape of her neck. She clearly shuddered, her hands instinctively reaching for his. ‘Harry!’ was the only clear exclamation she could give before pulling herself away from him, her eyes not showing any anger, but slight irritation. ‘No non-verbal distractions as well, please!’
He knew she wasn’t cross, but sighed and pulled the stool slightly away from her, sitting down somewhat sulkily, ‘You know, we’re not going to have time for this at the Burrow?’
She gave him a side-long look, ‘Harry, even if we have talked this out a bit, that doesn’t make up for a year apart. Things we should probably both know about one another.’
Harry’s mind stopped dead in its tracks, had she found some one else? How stupid of him to think someone as pretty and popular as Ginny to go without any attention for an entire year!
His eyes must have betrayed him because she looked up at him curiously, ‘Spit it out – what are you thinking?’
He blushed a little, ‘Well, I…I don’t know. It just dawned on me that, may be you weren’t alone all those months.’
His voice had trailed off but she clearly caught every word, ‘Harry James Potter – sometimes I don’t know what goes on in your head! Why would you say such a thing?’
He looked at her surprised, ‘Oh come on – look at you – beautiful and popular – like you’re going to wait around for me! Bloody hell, I’m not sure I’d wait around for me!’
She laughed and reached out placing a hand on his arm, ‘Harry, half of the magical world would wait for you.’
‘Yeah,’ he said closing his hand over hers, ‘but will you?’
She didn’t look at him, fixing her eyes on a point on the counter. She was clearly thinking and Harry was fairly certain his chances weren’t improving based upon that. She looked at him, her eyes unflinching, ‘What do you think I’ve been doing the last few years?’
Harry blanched for a second and then stammered, ‘Well, I…I mean, a lot has been going on. And not just between us but…’ She had totally thrown him; he wasn’t sure what the right answer was.
She kept her eyes steady, ‘I didn’t realise that was quite so insignificant, I might need a little more than a passing interest from you, Harry.’
‘I don’t just have a ‘passing interest’ in you – or us for that matter.’ Harry was stung by her words and any smile that he had, faded. He knew his face reflected his feelings, ‘I thought we…well, I guess I was wrong.’
He was afraid to elaborate and her facial expression stoic, ‘I’m sorry Harry – a lot has happened this past year. You’re here now, and seem interested; I just don’t want to be picking up the pieces of my heart again this time next year.’
Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He knew his temper might get the better of him, but he wasn’t going to let her toss their relationship away because she didn’t want to risk anything. ‘I only ‘seem’ interested? I didn’t realise I was giving you such mixed signals.’
Ginny sighed, ‘Look Harry, I think we can both agree we care about one another, but I really don’t feel like fighting with you about this right now.’
‘No, I think we should – if not fight, then discuss why you think I’m a totally unreliable boyfriend!’ Harry was feeling increasingly angry and hurt, his voice growing louder as he spoke.
‘Do you think you’re even capable of discussing anything right now? I don’t fancy getting screamed at.’ She set her hands on her hips, ‘And, Harry, don’t think that’ll convince me of anything either.’
A hole in the pit of his stomach was expanding; his mouth had gone very dry. He shook his head, saying very quietly, ‘I am capable of discussion – but if you’ve already made up your mind, what’s there left to say?’
‘If that’s how you see it then I guess there isn’t anything to discuss,’ she replied forcefully. She turned away from him, going back to the paperwork.
Harry couldn’t believe her. He grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. ‘Ginny, I am not letting you throw away the most amazing thing in my life because you are afraid – of what? Of me? Of us? This isn’t too good to be true. And it isn’t always going to be perfect. I bet it won’t be some of the time – but it is worth fighting for!’
He could see he had gotten her attention, but she still didn’t seem convinced, though she was clearly thinking, ‘Look, I’m not saying that today, right now, we have to get back to where we were. But you have to at least give me the chance to prove that this is something worth having,’ he reached out and squeezed her hand.
She was looking at their joined hands, clearly thinking what to say. She finally looked up, her eyes betraying nothing of what she was thinking. Harry didn’t like this new ability of hiding her feelings from him.
‘And since you’ve waited for me, I am more than willing to wait for you for as long as it takes.’ Harry wasn’t going to let her deny him his right to try to make this work.
She nodded, but didn’t seem to want to say more. ‘Harry, I really need to finish this, then we have to get back home.’
He didn’t want to push, but leaned over kissing her softly on the cheek and sitting down on the stool watching her delicate hands run across the paperwork until she finished some time later, a strange, unfamiliar look on her face. ‘Are you ready?’
He nodded and they headed out the door, Ginny locking up as they left. Harry Apparated them back to the Burrow, the house brightly lit from afar.