Title: Young Love
Author: KaliRaven
Pairing: H/G
Rating: G
Summary: Harry and Ginny's relationship unfolds
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling, the Goddess, and the song Young Love belongs to the Judds.
Author's note: I used to listen to this song with my best friend and dream about falling in love…I thought it would be a cute fic (ignoring the fact, of course, that I can't get a date at all….grumbles at the male population)

She was sittin' cross-legged on the hood of a Ford
Filing down her nails with an emory board
Talkin' to her friend about people they knew
And all of the things that young girls do

Ginny Weasley could remember that summer clearer than anything in her life. She was just fifteen, and she never could have known that it was going to be the summer that would change her life forever. After all, who expects their life to change when they're fifteen?
It was a beautiful summer. Her mother had finally relented and let her and Hermione go to Diagon Alley, just the two of them. Ron would join them later, of course, after he got off work, but for the morning it was the two friends having fun. Ron and Harry were coming later that day, and they were staying with Sirius and Remus for the weekend. She and Hermione had become good friends sometime during her fourth year, and it was almost like having a sister. Of course, if Ron ever got his head out of his arse and looked at what was in front of him, she would be a sister, but Ginny suspected that was a ways off yet.
Hermione had driven to London and for the time they were parked on the street outside the Leaky Cauldron, watching the Muggles and enjoying the morning sun. Ginny definitely liked Muggle watching. If there was one thing about wizards, it was that they didn't seem to be overly concerned with working out. Most of them were awfully, well, skinny. Except for some of Charlie and Bill's friends (who were, Hermione pointed out, older, not to mention working in physically actively professions), but her brothers never let her talk to them. Stupid over-protective gits.

When she said you see that guy in the baseball cap
I'd like to spend some time with a boy like that
And Betty said she'd seen him at the hardware store
I think his name is Billy but I'm not sure

She saw him coming out of the tube station across the way. Giggling, she'd pointed him out to Hermione. Now that was what wizards should look like. Of course he was a Muggle, but still. It was almost enough to make her say Harry who?
Seriously. This guy was hot. He definitely worked out, and he was tall. Tall was good. Ginny, like her brothers, had grown to be quite tall. It was a bit difficult, sometimes, finding boys taller than she was. Honestly, it wasn't as if she'd asked to be 5'10". She studied the mysterious boy a minute longer, wishing she could see his face better. He was wearing a strange looking baseball cap (Hermione informed her it was the New York Yankees, an American baseball team). But she just knew he'd be adorable.
She pointed him out to Hermione, who gave her a funny look.
"What?" Ginny had asked.
"Doesn't he look familiar," Hermione promted.
Ginny studied the stranger carefully. "His hair is the same colour as Harry's," she said finally. "But that's it."
Hermione looked at her funny, but didn't say anything more.

As they talked a little while he passed by
She smiled at him he just said hi
He was thinkin' to himself as he walked away
Man I'd like to find a girl like her some day

She'd seen him again, later, walking past them on his way to a music store down the street. He'd given them a small smile and nodded at them as he passed. Ginny gave a small squeak of excitement after he passed. "He looked at us!" she squealed, grabbing Hermione's arm.
Hermione looked amused. "Of course he did. Gin, you look like a model."
Ginny scoffed at her. "I do not. I'm too tall."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I keep telling you, all muggle models are tall. Tall and slim, and you have that gorgeous hair." She grimaced. "In other words, the exact opposite of me."
"Yeah, but you have, you know, breasts," Ginny argued. "I look like a twelve year old boy."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Then why was he looking at you?"
"Maybe he was looking at you?"
"Ginny, if there's one thing I've figured out by now, it's that boys don't look at me. Not like that, anyway."
"Viktor did." Ginny grinned slyly at her. "Ron does."
Hermione blushed bright red. "The only way Ron looks at me is like I've gone nutters."
"Oh come on, you know he fancies you."
"He does not."
"Oh, but he does. You should see him when Pig brings letters from you."
Hermione rolled her eyes again and swatted Ginny on the arm. "You've really gone 'round the bend now, you know that right?"

Young love, strong love
True love, it's a new love
They're gonna make it through the hard times
And walk those lines, yeah these ties'll bind
Young love

It was unfair really. Ron and Hermione were perfect for each other, they both fancied each other, but neither did anything about it. Ginny would have killed to have a boy she fancied feel the same way about her. But Harry didn't even know she was alive, no more than the muggle boy down the street did. He never would, either. She knew it was silly, to fall in love with someone you'd never met before, but she had.
Not when she'd read about him in books, not then, but the first time she'd seen him on Platform 9 ¾. He'd looked so lost, so alone. She couldn't imagine feeling that alone, not having grown up with six brothers. Not to mention aunts and uncles and countless cousins that were always dropping by the house for some reason or another. Even at that young age she'd realized that fame really didn't mean anything--he was just like anyone else. And she loved him for it.

Well she just couldn't stop herself from thinking 'bout him
At a store downtown she saw him again
She had both hands full he held open the door
He said my name is Billy I've seen you before

"Oh!" Hermione said, looking up from the display of dress robes at Madame Malkins, where she and Ginny had been browsing all afternoon. They'd finally tired of muggle watching and wandered into Diagon Alley and spent most of the time drooling over the new line of designer Robes by Fleur. "I forgot! I need to go to Flourish and Botts for some books for my research research project. Do you mind?"
Ginny shrugged. "That's okay. I need to pick up some potion supplies for Mum. With the twins inventing in full swing we go through healing potions like you wouldn't believe!"
Mrs. Weasley had given Ginny a long list of potions ingredients. Not just for healing potions, but general school supplies and cleaning potions as well. Ginny suspected this was her mother's way of punishing her for going off to Diagon Alley alone. Or at least what her mother considered alone. Apparently Hermione didn't count. Only her brothers did. Although, really, Hermione could hex any of them five times before they figured out what was going on.
Ginny juggled the bags of potions ingredients, wishing once again that she was allowed to use magic over the summer. Of course, Diagon Alley was full of magic, maybe no one would notice if she did just one teeny tiny shrinking spell…
"Need a hand?" A deep male voice asked.
Ginny peered around the bag she held in her arms, then gasped. The boy in the baseball cap. The mugggle. "Sure," she managed, without even squeaking.
He reached down to grab the one of the bags she was holding, smiling at her and finally giving her a chance to see his face. Oh, he had the most gorgeous green eyes.
Wait a minute. Green?
"Harry!?"

Can I help you with these can I give you a ride
Can I take you out on a Saturday night
She didn't have to say what she was feeling inside
He could see the answer shining in her eyes

He'd carried her bags to Florean Fortescues, and sat down next to her. The entire weekend at Sirius' he'd been staring at her, like he'd been staring at her like she'd turned into a ghost. Finally she'd had enough.
"What's the matter Harry?'
He looked startled. "Nothing. Why?"
"You've been wandering around all weekend in a daze," Ginny pointed out. "And you just poured pumpkin juice on your cereal."
Harry stared down at the soggy orange mess in front of him, then wrinkled his nose. "I don't imagine that's a good combination."
He dumped out the bowl, then fixed another bowl, properly this time. He then returned to staring at Ginny when he thought she wasn't looking.
"Okay, what? Have I got marmalade on my face? Have my freckles turned green? Do I have horns sprouting out of my forehead? What?"
Harry turned red and slumped so far down in his chair she wondered if he was going to disappear under the table. "No, your face is fine. And your freckles are still their normal colour. If you do have horns you're hiding them very well."
"Then why do you keep staring at me?" Ginny demanded, ready to beat it out of him if he didn't spill soon.
"I never really noticed how beautiful you were before."
Ginny gaped at him, speechless, before putting her elbow down in the butter dish.
Three days later he asked her out.

Young love, strong love
True love, it's a new love
They're gonna make it through the hard times
And walk those lines, yeah these ties'll bind,
Young love

The only shadow on the summer was the increasing number of Death Eater attacks. Voldemort, with Harry's blood, was back and stronger than ever. The Ministry did nothing, except for a small band of fighters led by Headmaster Dumbledore and Ginny's father. By the end of Ginny's sixth year the only safe place left was Hogwarts.
The Death Eaters struck at graduation. All the students, from first years to the newly graduated class of seventh years, fought bravely to save their school. Harry faced down Voldemort in a duel that would make history in all the magic books, and became the only person to face a Dark wizard twice and live to tell about it.
By the end of the battle many were dead and more were injured. Hermione was taken to St. Mungo's with massive internal bleeding, where Ron finally opened his eyes and proposed to her right there in the middle of the emergency room. They were married shortly after, the only celebration in the midst of many funerals.
The list of dead included Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid, Dean Thomas, the Patil twins, Professor Flitwick, Neville Longbottom, and Arthur Weasley.

Well from that day on you couldn't keep them apart
They were side by side and heart to heart
And momma cried as Billy slipped the ring on her hand
When the baby was born she was cryin' again

After she graduated from Hogwarts, Ginny and Harry were married in a large wedding ceremony attended by all the dignitaries of the wizarding world. The Daily Prophet called it a match made in heaven--the Boy Who Lived and the daughter of the now heroic Arthur Weasley.
Bill walked her down the aisle, and Ginny couldn't help crying--she would have given anything for her father to see her now.
"I Ginny Lousie Weasely, take thee, Harry James Potter…"
"I Harry James Potter, take thee, Ginny Louise Weasley…"
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Molly sobbed loudly, hugging Harry and beaming now that he was officially part of the family. Fred and George charmed the wedding cake to shoot gold and silver sparks when they cut into it, and Harry got his eyebrows singed, but other than that everyone agreed it was a lovely ceremony.
Two years later Molly finally got her wish for grandkids.
They named their first child James Arthur Potter.

Well he worked real hard and put some money down
On a little old house at the edge of town
And that night as he held her he couldn't believe
That God had made a girl that he'd never ever leave

Eventually Harry had restored the property in Godric's Hollow. It had been in the Potter family for generations, and it he claimed that it made him feel closer to his parents. Ginny didn't care where they lived as long as they were together.
"Can you believe it?" Harry asked softly one night, wrapping his arms around Ginny.
"No," Ginny said, wiping tears from her eyes. She still couldn't believe that tomorrow their youngest would graduate Hogwarts. It seemed like only yesterday that James had been born, and he was almost 30 now. And little Molly. Their surprise baby--no longer a baby though. Ginny still didn't feel old enough to have children graduating from Hogwarts. But then she and Harry had started having kids right after they got married. They had been so young--James had certainly been an adventure.
"Ron's already calling me an old man," Harry said with a grin. Ron and Hermione's youngest daughter, Meg, was only a first year.
"It will be nice to have the house to ourselves again, though." Ginny had never realized how difficult it was to find time alone when you had kids. It was, she thought sometimes, a miracle that she and Harry had ended up with eight of them.
"And no more explosions from upstairs." Lily and Ellie, the older set of twins, definitely took after their uncles Fred and George. They'd gone to work for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes after graduation. A few of their inventions had even outsold the immensely popular Canary Creams.
Harry tightened his arms around her. "I love you, Ginny Potter."
She pulled his hand toward her and kissed his palm. "I love you too Harry."
She waited until he fell asleep, then added quietly. "I always have."

Young love, strong love
True love, it's a new love
They're gonna make it through the hard times
And walk those lines, yeah these ties'll bind
Young love

They'd made it through everything, Ginny reflected, as she watched her family gather for Harry's funeral. Basiliks, Voldemort, Harry's job as an Auror. Lily and Ellie who were, everyone agreed, actually worse than Fred and George. They'd been married for 152 years. It had been quite of a shock for Harry to realize what a long lifespan wizards had. In the muggle world they made a huge fuss if you made it to 100; Harry was 170 when he died, and not considered to have lived for an especially long time.
The whole wizarding world mourned his death. The Boy Who Lived was dead. No one could quite believe it. Anyone who could survive the greatest Dark wizard to ever live should have been able to live forever.
But he knew he wouldn't.
He'd died peacefully in his sleep, at home, surrounded by his family. Just the way he'd wanted. For weeks he'd been preparing to die. Ginny had sat with him, trying not to cry. She couldn't imagine life without him and she told him so. As always, he told her she was stronger than she knew.
Shaking, she stepped up to the podium in front of the crowd. James reached to steady her and she shook her head. She delivered her husband's eulogy in a calm, clear voice. "I loved Harry since I was 11 years old," she finished. "And I never stopped loving him. To many of you, he was the Boy Who Lived. Who saved the world. To some of you he was Dad, or Granddad. Or a brother-in-law. But to me, he was never any of that. He was Harry. Just plain Harry.
"And that, I think, was his favorite title of all."
Two days later she died in her sleep, finally getting to be with Harry forever. She had an old, tattered New York Yankees baseball cap in her hand.

She was sittin cross legged on the hood of a ford
Filing down her nails with an emory board