Harry shielded his eyes from the sun, but could just make out Ginny’s silhouette against the sun as she walked quickly towards the garden. Her red hair was glowing in the morning sunlight. Harry wasted no time and ran after her, slowing down as she stopped near the garden swing, slumping down into it, putting her head in her hands.

It broke his heart to watch her so completely consumed. He sat down quietly next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. She turned abruptly towards him, throwing her arms around his neck tightly and breathing rapidly.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and rubbed his other hand up and down her back, trying to get her to relax. Hyperventilating would only make her feel worse and he knew she needed to calm down. He could feel she had finally broken down, tears streaming down her face, soaking into his shirt.

After a few minutes he could feel her nuzzle her face into his neck, her damp skin rubbing against him. He kissed her on the crown of her head, but didn’t say anything. They sat there quietly, Ginny sitting on Harry’s lap, her legs stretched out across the swing.

When she had calmed down, she sat up, letting go of Harry and looking at him. Her expression was a mix of sorrow and disappointment, but neither seemed directed at Harry. She sighed and turned away from him, wiping the tears off of her face and looking across the garden. He reached out and took one of her hands in his and leaned back against the swing, moving it slightly.

She reached her free hand out to steady herself on the swing and gave Harry a half smile. He used his momentum to keep the swing moving at a slow pace and she pulled closer to him. ‘Is this your idea of a distraction?’

Harry laughed. ‘Well, I’m not really sure how else to help, so this seemed like an interesting idea.’

She shook her head. ‘I can see now why you wouldn’t want to come here – we’re all completely mad!’

He squeezed her hand. ‘Not all of you. And who can blame any of us? I mean, these past few years have been bracing at best.’

She nodded but looked absently across the garden. ‘I don’t know Harry – I’m not a fan of excuses. Mum is right, Ron and I are coping better than George, and we should have more patience, but I just couldn’t let him hurt you.’

Harry looked at her sadly. ‘Ginny, you don’t have to worry about me – I don’t know that George would have done anything.’

Ginny shook her head, ‘Harry, you don’t understand.’ She got up abruptly, forcing Harry to stop the swing quickly. ‘He’s been really off.’

She sighed in a frustrated manner. ‘I don’t think I’m explaining this well. He isn’t just upset – you know, like me or even Ron. He’s furious – all of the time.’

Harry looked up at her from the swing. ‘Well, can you blame him? I mean, if I had given myself up sooner, just think how many…’

He couldn’t finish the sentence and Ginny stood in front of him, her arms crossed. ‘I don’t want you to even think about saying what I think you’re going to say Harry. I don’t. What happened, happened and we can’t change it nor would I want to.’

She turned away from him. ‘I know how awful that sounds. I mean, to trade one life for how many? I don’t know – I just don’t want to think about it…’

He stood up slowly. ‘Ginny, I’m sorry; we probably shouldn’t be talking about this.’

She turned towards him. ‘Why? Is there a better time? Will there ever be a better time? We might as well, Harry.’

He didn’t think arguing with her at the moment would get him anywhere, but he knew he wasn’t ready to talk about this. He didn’t have the strength. He cared about Ginny, he wanted her to know, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell her. The internal struggle would have continued had Ginny not reached out and placed a reassuring hand on Harry’s arm, forcing him to focus quickly.

‘I’m sorry – I don’t mean to pry Harry…I think there are things we could or should talk about, but I can see you may not be ready and that’s okay, really.’ She sounded genuine and Harry felt very grateful for it.

'I’m sorry Ginny, I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about everything that happened. I’ve barely sorted it out in my own mind to be honest.’ He smiled at her sheepishly. He felt like his words sounded hollow, unfounded, but his experiences against Voldemort and his own death, were not something to idly discuss.

She frowned at him. ‘I shouldn’t have brought it up like that Harry, I’m sorry. That isn’t what I meant. I know we’ll talk about this if and when you want to.’

Harry reached out and pulled her towards him. ‘I promise I’ll open up, I’m just not there yet, you know?’

She welcomed his embrace, hugging him. ‘Sure Harry, everything doesn’t have to be now, we have loads of time, right?’

He laughed a little. ‘I hope so!’

The both laughed as they slowly pulled away from one another, he looked at her seriously. ‘Are you okay to go back inside? We can spend the rest of the day out here, or even some where else if you want.’

He wasn’t certain if his timing was poor, but she looked towards the house, her eyes saddening at the mere mention of going back. ‘I can’t look at him right now. I just can’t.’

Harry looked at her concerned. ‘Ginny, he’s your brother, if he needs time that’s one thing, but what he did to you last night was…’ He felt his temper flaring. ‘It was out of control and brutal!’

She turned towards him with a surprised look. ‘Harry! I’m fine, really!’

He shook his head. ‘He threw you through a door! How can you even pretend like you’re fine!’

She started to argue but he put his hand up. ‘And don’t think I haven’t noticed you wincing all morning every time I touch you – whatever he did, if he even looks at you funny…’

She smiled softly at him, waiting patiently for him to stop. He gave her a curious look and she said quietly, ‘Harry, really, I mean, honestly, I’m okay. After the last year at Hogwarts, getting thrown through a door is an easy ache to get over.’

He narrowed his eyes and retorted smartly, ‘Strangely that doesn’t make me feel any better about it.’

He could feel his body stiffen, his jaw setting and his fists clenching. Ginny walked over to him and took one of his hands with both of hers, pulling his fingers out of their tightened position. ‘It is really sweet of you to be so protective, but I’m not sure how fair it is for you to want to protect me and then not allow me to do the same for you.’

She had the sweetest smile on her face and Harry leaned down and kissed her, feeling the anger melt away. He pulled her close, being careful not to grip her left arm too tightly. Every time he kissed her it felt amazing, her lips had the most intoxicating flavour. She grabbed his shirt around the collar to pull him lower, deepening their kiss. He slid his hands off of her arms and wrapped them tightly around her waist, lifting her up off the ground and backed his way towards the swing. He could feel her eyes shot open and felt her hands grip him more tightly for balance. He couldn’t help himself and could feel a laugh crossing his lips as she pulled away from him, pouting slightly. ‘Are you laughing at me?’

He smiled and pulled her towards him, reaching up with his lips to catch hers. ‘Never!’

She didn’t argue as he pulled her across the swing, her body lying on top of his, her hair falling around his face and their lips joined for what felt like an eternity.

The exhaustion and lack of sleep for both of them finally took hold as Ginny pulled away from him, resting her head on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair but couldn’t think of anything to say. Every moment he spent with her made him feel whole.

He didn’t want to break their perfect moment, but this was the second time she’d mentioned her last year at Hogwarts and he was concerned about what horrors she had gone through without him. Or what he may have made worse by his behaviour. He spoke quietly, ‘Ginny, I don’t want to push you, and this is amazing.’

He could feel her shift her position, propping herself up with one arm and pushing off of his chest with the other so she could look him in the eyes. He kept his gaze steady and continued softly, ‘What happened last year?’

Her smile faded slowly. ‘Harry – it isn’t imp–’

He didn’t let her finish, sitting up abruptly, forcing her to shift her weight further. ‘It is – its important to me. You’re important to me. And if some one did something to you, I want to know.’

She sighed. ‘It won’t change anything.’ She looked at him sadly, touching his cheek with her hand. ‘Its okay Harry – I’m tough, I can take a lot, and it was worth it to give the Carrows something to really get upset about.’

Harry didn’t want her to divert his attention. ‘I saw how bad Neville looked when we got to Hogwarts, before the battle – I can only assume you were…’

He couldn’t bring himself to say it and she pulled herself closer to him. ‘Harry, don’t do this to yourself. Its over. I’m fine, Neville’s fine, even Luna’s fine.’ She laughed. ‘Well, Luna’s as fine as she can be.’

He couldn’t look at her, he knew she would have gotten in trouble because of him, but he couldn’t imagine the worst. She was watching him closely, repeating herself, ‘Please, Harry, its okay.’

He shook his head. ‘I want to know – I need to know.’

He was pleading with her and he pulled her towards him, saying softly, ‘Please.’

She wrapped her arms around him. ‘I won’t even ask you not to get upset, because something tells me you can’t control that.’

He shook his head slightly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his lap. ‘No, I can’t.’

She started quietly, ‘It was bad, awful. I never really fully understood why those curses were considered unforgivable, but to experience them was worse than anything I’d ever imagined.’

Her eyes seemed to lose focus, as if she were recalling a memory from long ago. ‘The first few times we were caught, me, Neville or Luna, or even Seamus, it wasn’t that bad. Nothing like Umbridge, no scars, but we all saw a lot of Madame Pomfrey.’

She didn’t say anything for a few minutes, but Harry wasn’t going to let her get away without saying something more. She sighed. ‘After the Carrows took over the detentions, then we learned very quickly, should we get caught, well, the price would be slightly more severe.

‘One time Luna and I had been trying to get into the Room of Requirement and we were out a little later than we should have been. We both ran, but they managed to find a way to corner us. I didn’t think anything of their threat of detention, and I was a bit defiant, as I sometimes can be.’

Harry smiled, though she continued more slowly, ‘When we got to detention, I paid for that defiance. Dearly. And so did poor Luna. They had us practice unforgivable curses on each other. Initially, Luna and I were able to do it without doing any harm to each other, but the Carrows knew what we were doing, and they brought in the inquisitorial squad. Even without Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were still as mean and vicious as ever. They knocked Luna out cold fairly quickly, but they knew you and I were friends, if not something more, I was lucky, I guess, a few broken ribs and a lot of bruises. But it only got worse from there.’

Her hands had tightened, clenching the fabric of Harry’s shirt. He wasn’t certain how upset she was getting, but Harry was suddenly feeling no sorrow that Crabbe had been consumed by his own curse. She continued more quietly, ‘I’m not sure how much more detail you need, but that was the year, just repeat every few weeks, if not more frequently. We got into a lot of trouble, the old DA, but we didn’t stop, not until the school was virtually emptied. Then we just didn’t have the numbers. Though based on all of the descriptions I’ve heard, it sounds like Neville did some damage after I never came back from Easter break and poor Luna got kidnapped.’

Harry breathed out a little loudly and Ginny pulled herself away from him a little, to get a better look at him. ‘That’s really it, Harry.’

He didn’t argue with her, but leaned forward, kissing her forehead as gently as he could. ‘If I had known you’d have been terrorised while I was gone…’ He couldn’t have taken her with him, but he wasn’t certain what would have been better, he finished lamely, ‘I’m sorry.’

She shook her head. ‘Don’t be Harry. Every time we did what we did, it was in hopes of helping you do what ultimately needed to be done.’

He sighed. ‘That actually makes me feel worse – knowing you were basically being punished for being associated with me.’

She pressed her hand firmly on his chest. ‘Harry, you know Snape stopped it when he could, punishing us with ‘detention’ with Hagrid, but even he couldn’t stay under the Carrows’ radar. They knew we’d done wrong and believed that Voldemort would want to see us punished, and punished brutally.’

He nodded. ‘I know, I know he did what he could, but…’ He was afraid to finish.

He looked up at her, her brown eyes reflecting a sense of remorse. She was so strong, stronger than he sometimes realised. She smiled down at him. ‘Don’t worry about it Harry, its over.’

He nodded mutely, then reached up to push a tuft of hair out of her face and behind her ear. He leaned up and kissed her fully on the lips, hoping he was relaying his feelings through that kiss. He could feel her lean down, placing all her weight on him.

He ran his fingers through her hair, gently pulling her face closer to his. They both slowed their kissing, breaking away from each other and breathing deeply. He didn’t want to let her get away and she appeared to feel the same way, brushing her lips across his cheek and whispering in his ear. ‘You’re being delectably sweet – but something tells me you didn’t touch your breakfast.’

He started to argue, but she kissed him again, her hair tickling his face as she pulled on his lower lip before placing various kisses across his cheek and running her hands down his chest to rest on his stomach, which had been making slightly audible sounds for some time.

She lingered over him before sitting up slightly; though Harry could barely see her, his mind reeling and his senses going into over-drive. She had never kissed him like that before and he hoped this wouldn’t be a rare occurrence. She pulled her weight off of him, sitting up on the bench. He got up quickly and pulled close to her. He leaned in and turned her chin up to him, kissing her again, more deeply. He lost his balance and felt himself falling on top of her, but grabbed the back of the swing with one hand to steady himself while Ginny had wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself.

They both broke away, Ginny laughing at Harry’s enthusiasm. ‘I think we probably should do this in less precarious places.’

He smiled at her as he slowly got up, reaching his hand out to help her up. She looked at him affably and placed her hand in his. He spontaneously yanked her up towards him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her again. He didn’t recall what it was like not having his arms around her and was loathe to experience it now. The morning was warming up slowly and he guessed that even though he wasn’t feeling cold, she probably was. He slowly pulled his lips away from hers, looking down at her still closed eyes. The sunlight was hitting her perfectly and the smile on her lips was enticing.

Harry felt himself drawn to kiss her again and again, but she opened her eyes and gave him a half smile. ‘Thank you Harry. I do feel better now.’

He hadn’t released her from his embrace but replied shyly, ‘Well, whenever you need cheering up, or support, or anything, I’ll be right here waiting for.’

She leaned up, kissing him softly on the lips. ‘You don’t know how comforting that is to hear.’

Harry was holding her hands firmly in his, wishing to pull her closer, but his stomach betrayed him yet again and Ginny laughed as she poked him. ‘It sounds like some of your basic urges aren’t going to get delayed any further!’

He laughed and followed as she walked towards the back door. He held her hand firmly, intertwining his fingers through hers. He opened the door, looking in first before letting Ginny enter ahead of him. He was surprised to see no one in the kitchen.

In a house as busy as the Burrow, it was unusual to have no one around. Harry wondered how long they had been outside, but Ginny pulled him gently towards the table, where there was still some food waiting for them.

They sat down next to one another, Harry reached across the table pouring water for both of them and handing her a plate. She shook her head slightly but he placed the plate in front of her. ‘You hardly ate anything last night and I know you didn’t eat anything this morning.’

He gave her his best no-nonsense look and she grinned at him. ‘Fine, but I’m really not hungry, Harry.’

He placed a couple of pieces of toast on both their plates then walked to the stove to put the kettle on. She smiled at him. ‘You know Harry, you could try that with magic.’

He smiled. ‘I don’t mind doing things with a little more effort…’

He let his thoughts wander, knowing she’d most likely know what he meant. That morning had been bliss, but looking at her now; her eyes tired, her expression reflecting a mix of frustration and resignation to her fate, he still wasn’t certain they stood on firm ground. She didn’t recoil from him, and when they were together, her eyes were soft and inviting, but as he looked at her now, she had a distant look upon her face.

‘What are you thinking about?’ she said quietly, her eyes concentrating on the toast before her.

He gave the kettle one last look before returning to the table. ‘About us.’

He said it simply enough but she seemed to be surprised he’d said it. She looked away from him. ‘And here I thought things were clearer.’

Harry sighed. ‘Ginny, I’m just worried – I don’t want to go off track. I just want to be ‘okay’ with you. If not better!’

She turned her head back towards him, smiling. ‘I’m not trying to give you a hard time, Harry. I just need to think about things, as do you.’

He reached out for her hand. ‘When you get that glass-eyed look I get really nervous, like there’s some big bloke waiting around the corner to whisk you away.’

He tried to sound light-hearted, but she only half-smiled. ‘No, Harry, no one is waiting for me.’

Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but Harry could tell she had tried hard not to emphasize the words ‘no one.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘I’m sure there’s at least one person waiting for you.’

She didn’t respond. The kettle began to whistle and Harry hurried over to it, pouring two cups and bringing them over to the table. The warmth from the tea was comforting and he was happy to see Ginny drinking the tea slowly.

They sat quietly for some time, both lost in their own thoughts. Harry had devoured his toast, but was relieved to see Ginny at least eat one piece before going back to staring off into oblivion.

He watched her quietly. She had wiped her hands on a nearby napkin and continued sipping her tea. She hadn’t noticed Harry watching her and began fiddling with her hair, trying to flatten it slightly as they both looked dishevelled after being outside.

She must have felt his gaze on her as she turned towards him smiling, but not saying anything. He leaned in and said quietly. ‘Will we be heading out then? If nothing else, we can always just get out of here for a little while.’

She smiled at him, but he could tell she had already declined his offer. ‘Harry, something tells me I won’t be expected to go to the shop today. And based on that, I also don’t think I should be heading out either. Mum sounded pretty…insistent about that.’

Harry nodded and sighed. ‘Hmm, er, well, how do you want to spend the rest of the day then?’

He must have been looking suggestively because she started to laugh. ‘Harry! Really, we can’t do that all day!’

She gestured towards the door as she placed a hand over his and squeezed it. He smiled at her. ‘Wait, no, that isn’t entirely what I meant! I mean, yeah…’ He could feel the heat rising on his face. ‘Kissing you is…’

She stopped him, putting her fingers over his lips and laughing. ‘Please, Harry, I’m not sure I can handle any more of this explanation!’

He took her fingers and kissed them softly, stopping her laughter instantly. He leaned in closer, kissing her cheek, whispering, ‘You know, sometimes, I’m not that great with words.’

Ginny impatiently took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, stopping Harry from thinking straight for a few minutes. They both broke apart slowly, Ginny kissing him softly on the cheek. ‘May be you’re right, we could do this all day.’

She was about to lean in and kiss him again, but footsteps announced some one’s arrival into the kitchen and they both pulled away, looking towards the door.

Hermione and Ron entered quietly, Hermione saying, ‘We were wondering what happened to you.’

Ron interjected far too loudly, ‘But it seems like you’ve been ‘busy’ all this time. Thanks for leaving us with that mess.’

Harry noticed Ginny’s hand stiffen and he squeezed it gently, saying, ‘Sorry Ron, we all have our priorities.’

Harry could feel Ginny watching the exchange between Ron and himself closely.

Ron and Hermione still stood in the doorway, Ron leaning forward. ‘Is that a fact? The priority I saw didn’t seem to have a lot of talking involved.’

Ginny’s eyes flashed as she looked Ron in the face. ‘How dare you spy on us!’

Ron replied with the same inflection, ‘I wanted to make sure you were okay – my mistake, huh?’

Ginny shot back, ‘Very much so. Certainly not your first either.’

Hermione put her hands up trying to break the confrontation that was erupting. ‘Ginny, Ron didn’t mean that we were watching; we’re not voyeurs. We were just worried. And you and Harry both left here and…well, we just wanted to make sure you were okay.’

Ginny didn’t seem convinced, but looked away from Ron. Harry turned to Ron. ‘You know Ron, you’d do yourself a big favour if you just got used to seeing us together. You’re not going to see less of it.’

Ron rolled his eyes. ‘Look, I’m not saying I’m not okay with you two being together, and its been made clear no one is asking for my approval.’

Ginny laughed and shook her head as Ron continued, ‘Come on! We were having a serious argument and you just up and left!’

Ginny turned back to Ron. ‘Right, we were making loads of progress, too. Mum didn’t want to hear it. Dad seemed to get it a bit. But until they catch George, we’re just stuck.’

Harry leaned over kissing her cheek. ‘We’re not stuck, just tell me where you want to go and we’ll go.’

She smiled at him but shook her head. ‘Harry – you know I can’t.’

Harry didn’t want to let it go, but knew Ginny wasn’t going to change her mind instantly.

Hermione spoke softly, ‘I don’t think waiting is the answer either. We were lucky last night. Ginny, you were really brilliant.’

Harry nodded his approval, saying quietly, ‘Yeah, my knight in shining armour, right?’

Ginny’s smile faded as she spoke, ‘Hermione is right, we can’t just wait around for him to take another crack at you, Harry. We can’t keep putting you in harm’s way.’

Harry looked at her seriously. ‘No, I’m not leaving you here.’ He added hurriedly, ‘None of you. I know you think he’s acting out because I’m here, but I don’t want to risk my leaving and of being no help. Besides – wasn’t some one trying to tell me we’re all better off together?’

Ron laughed as Hermione waved her hands. ‘Wait a minute – you’re not blaming me are you, Harry?’

She was laughing too, as Harry responded, ‘Sorry, I’m staying. That’s it.’

Ginny looked sadly over at Hermione and Ron, but neither of them seemed to have any argument to mount.

Harry smiled broadly. ‘That’s settled then. What’s next?’

Hermione shook her head. ‘Harry, are you sure?’

He didn’t hesitate. ‘Absolutely.’

Ron shrugged. ‘I don’t know what’s next. George and Percy are at the shop, they may stay at his flat in London, but mum wants them back here for dinner. More waiting.’

Hermione and Ron both sat down at the table, looking questioningly at one another. Harry looked at all of them in turn. ‘Wait, then what have you been doing when I wasn’t here?’

Ron laughed. ‘You’re looking at it, mate! One of us mooning over you.’ He looked pointedly at Ginny, who rolled her eyes. ‘And the other two just enjoying each others’ company.’

Ron reached over and took Hermione’s hand in his, and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed a little, leaning closer to Ron.

Harry laughed. ‘Wait – so its okay for you to snog Hermione, but when I snog your sister, then it isn’t okay?’

Ron grinned. ‘I’m so glad you figured that out!’

Harry shook his head. ‘I leave you alone for a bit and you’re all mad! Though that doesn’t make me any less fond of you lot.’

Ginny sighed. ‘If I don’t have to go to the shop then I’m sure mum will be by to give us chores to do.’

Ron grimaced. ‘I’m not sure how much more cleaning I can do!’

Hermione rolled her eyes. ‘Oh Ron, you were using magic! If you studied more you’d – ‘

Before she could finish Ron pulled her towards him, kissing her fully on the mouth, stopping any argument she might think to mount. She was pressing firmly on his chest, but he didn’t show any signs of noticing. She finally relinquished her fight, placing her hands on his upper arms and enjoying an intimate moment with her boyfriend.

Harry looked at Ginny curiously and she leaned over to him, whispering, ‘They’ve been like this all the time. Arguing and then snogging – I think it’s a system they’ve created.’

Harry laughed quietly. ‘Well, as long as they’re making up after the arguing I think they’re good!’

Ginny sighed. ‘At least I don’t have to sit in their presence alone.’

She gave him a reassuring look and he shifted in his chair uncomfortably. Ginny watched him for a second, giving him a questioning look. He stretched his arms up. ‘These chairs aren’t that comfortable.’

Ron and Hermione had finally come up for air, holding onto each other tightly. Ron muttered under his breath, ‘I’m pretty comfortable where I am.’

He leaned in and started to kiss Hermione’s cheek and jawbone as she flushed fully, whispering softly, ‘Ron –‘

But again she could mount no argument as Ron was keeping her mind occupied by keeping her lips occupied. Ron pulled her closer, pulling her off of her chair and onto his lap, letting his hands travel up her back and into her hair.

Ginny looked away pointedly, rolling her eyes and whispering to Harry, ‘May be we should leave them alone?’

Harry nodded and got up, following Ginny out of the kitchen into the sitting room. The Burrow always had a homey feel and this room was the paramount example of this. The sofas and chairs were well worn, but had a welcoming feel to them.

Ginny dropped into a nearby sofa and Harry sat down beside her, stretching his arm across the back of the sofa behind where Ginny was sitting. After watching Ron and Hermione snog like crazy, Harry suddenly had the urge not to kiss Ginny all over.

Ginny was watching him closely and poked him in the side. ‘What are you smiling about?’

Harry laughed. ‘I just realised that if Ron keeps snogging Hermione like that in front of us I’m not sure I’ll be able to feel well enough to snog you!’

She laughed, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning towards him. She whispered in a coquettish voice, ‘Are you saying watching my brother snog his girlfriend makes me less appealing?’

Harry had to catch himself for a second before laughing. ‘Not by a long shot!’

He leaned over and kissed her softly on the cheek. ‘I can assure you, you never get less appealing. I just hope I don’t look like that when I’m snogging you!’

They both laughed and Harry could feel Ginny shift her weight, resting her head against his shoulder. Neither of them said anything, Harry felt the weight of his eye-lids and could feel his eyes shutting, despite his desire to stay awake. He set his hand on her hip and inhaled her scent. He thought he would just shut his eyes for a second but felt his head leaning back and the world going very dark but still very warm.