Ginny leant against the doorframe, watching the dawn. The swallows silhouetted high above against the pink sky were diving and spinning, calling to each other. Dropping her gaze, she watched a squirrel scurry across the yard, stopping to sniff at a stray shoe. Ginny regarded it for a moment thoughtfully, recognising it as the shoe Ron had tripped over the day before. She watched the squirrel’s progress, and only turned away when it had disappeared into the hedge. Smiling slightly, Ginny turned to glance around the quiet kitchen… Quiet… Peaceful… It was still strange…
She felt the smile slide off her face as she moved further into the cluttered kitchen, looking around. Snapshots of memories flashed across her mind: Standing around in huddled groups, waiting for news, pale faces masks of terror; the disastrous wedding; leaving for Hogwarts and then returning for Christmas to see the look on her parents faces when they saw the state of her… She shuddered. Bowing her head, she strained to push away the oncoming rush of unpleasant memories that were threatening to invade her. She stood still for several minutes and didn’t open her eyes until she heard light footsteps coming down the stairs.
Instantly, her spirits soared. She looked up as Harry Potter walked into the room. His eyes met hers, and he smiled. Ginny felt her heart sputter as he walked over to her.
“Hey.”
Ginny smiled at the almost anticlimactic greeting. “Hey.”
He reached out and, taking hold of her waist, pulled her closer to him. “Did you sleep well?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Yeah.” She sighed, settling herself into his chest. “You?”
She felt the arms around her stiffen briefly. He swallowed. “I’ve had worse.”
Ginny looked up into his face. At first, all she saw were the startlingly green eyes behind his round glasses, and the lightning shaped scar on his forehead. As she looked closer however, she saw the dark circles beneath his eyes and the lines on his brow. She stretched up on her toes to press her lips to his. “You shouldn’t be upset. I don’t want you to be.” Ginny wished he would smile more. Time, Ginny always thought whenever she wished this. Give him time.
He looked at her, and raised his eyebrows. After bending his head down to kiss her softly, he murmured, “I guess I can’t kick the habit.” He sighed in annoyance and looked away, out of the window over Ginny’s head. “I had the dream again.”
Ginny groaned. “Godric’s Hollow.” It wasn’t a question. Harry nodded and closed his eyes. He rested his forehead against hers, pain flooding his face. She knew how much the dream tortured him. She hoped, seeing as they were a few months on from the Battle now, the dreams that plagued Harry’s sleep would start to disappear. It was true, yes, that he didn’t have as many bad dreams as he used to, nor did he cry out in the night like he once did, but this dream simply refused to go. Ginny couldn’t imagine how hard it must be to dream your parents’ death, over and over again, in the crystal clear clarity that Harry did.
She watched, and waited for him to open his eyes again, for his moment to pass. When he looked at her again, he smiled.
“Enough about me,” He withdrew his arms from around Ginny, and reached into the back pocket of his shorts. As he bent down to kiss her again, he took hold of her hand and placed inside it a square box. “Happy birthday,” he murmured gently, his lips moving against hers. Ginny glanced down at the box.
“You didn’t need to- ” she began, but Harry cut her off.
“Shut up, and open it.”
Grinning, Ginny moved away from Harry to sit down at the table. After briefly examining the square, she tugged at the black ribbon tied neatly around it and undid the bow. Less carefully now, she tore the silver paper away to reveal a green velvet jewellery case.
“I found it at Godric’s Hollow.” Harry had seated himself opposite Ginny and was looking at her, although Ginny knew he wasn’t really seeing her; he was seeing his old house, battle-scarred and ruined. “It was a few weeks ago when I… I went to see what I could… find. I was looking around upstairs, and found a tin in a messed up chest of drawers, in what must’ve been Mum and Dad’s bedroom. It was undamaged, the tin, I mean, so I guessed it must have had some form of shield or protection charm on it. I managed to get into it “ not sure how “ but …” He smiled slightly. “I found that inside.”
Ginny gazed at the box for a moment, then gently prised the lid open. The joint was stiff, and it snapped backwards fiercely as she pushed it up. Within, lying on the silken fabric that lined the inside of the box, was a silver locket. It was small and oval, with a mother of pearl lily set into the face. Ginny picked it up in wonder.
“It’s a bit nicer than the last locket I had.” Harry said quietly. Ginny grinned at Harry, who was smiling ruefully. “Turn it over.” The fine silver chain swayed lightly as she turned it over to look at the engraving on the back. It read:
The doe to my stag
I love you
Ginny turned the locket over again, and gazed at it. She looked up at Harry, who looking suddenly nervous.
“If you don’t like it, I can buy you somethi- ” Ginny had rolled her eyes at the slight panic in his voice.
“It’s beautiful,” Ginny breathed, smiling at the relieved look on Harry’s face.
“I hoped you’d like it. Look inside!” He said eagerly, looking happier than he had done in a long time, and that, Ginny thought gleefully, was a gift in itself. Ginny tore her gaze away from his face to twist the fragile clasp that opened the locket. No doubt enchanted by magic, the tiny windows grew in size, as did the things behind the glass, so they were egg sized, rather than marble sized.
Sat behind the left-hand window, there was a photograph of the two of them sitting outside the Burrow, smiling widely. Harry’s arm was wrapped tightly around Ginny’s shoulders. To the right of this picture, there was a piece of parchment tucked behind the glass, on which it read, “Tap me.” Glancing up at Harry, who nodded encouragingly, she took out her wand and tapped the glass. Instantly, it faded away. Placing it in the centre of her palm, she pulled out the parchment and opened it slowly. She read the parchment through once, blinked, and then read it again.
She could feel Harry watching as she stared at the last sentence. She blinked again and stood up, feeling the nerves that had been fluttering in her stomach since she had opened the parchment melt away instantly. She placed the open locket onto the table, then walked over to stand next to Harry. He looked up at her, and there was a look in his green eyes so tender, it made her heart ache with longing.
She sat down on his lap, and turned so her nose rested on his. After a moment, she laughed and whispered, “You are a such a girl!” Then, she was kissing him, deeply, fiercely, passionately, and he was kissing her back, his strong hands holding her closer to him. She never wanted to stop, never wanted to move, not ever.
When they reluctantly drew apart, they simply looked at each other. For a long time, they stared into each other’s eyes.
“I love you, Harry.”
“I love you more.”
Ginny laughed. “Not possible,” she said, as she leant to bury her face in his shoulder.
~
The doe to my stag
That sums you up perfectly, Ginny Weasley.
I still think it’s strange that I saved your life, you know. You looked so pale, so still… Even then, I dreaded being too late. Imagine if that was now… Merlin, I’d be such a mess.
I remember the first time you told me you loved me, as clear as anything. That’s why I put that picture in. It was taken just after you said it. You looked so beautiful that day. You will always be beautiful.
You looked me straight in the eye. You said, “I’ve had to wait too long to say this. I should’ve said it - I wanted to say it - on your seventeenth birthday, but I knew you were going… I didn’t want to make it more painful for us than it already was. But now… Now there is nothing standing in our way.”
You took a breath.
“I love you. A lot.”
Now, it’s your seventeenth, and I want to do for you what you couldn’t do for me.
Ginny, I love you too. I told you just how much that day, and you know how much I love you now. And yes, in answer to the question you asked yourself last night when you thought I was asleep. This is it. Our done deal.