The Day After

Harry sat up in his bed, disoriented. What happened to the camp bed? Not that this one wasn't more comfortable but… Voldemort! Instinctively, in one fluid motion Harry leapt to his feet, wandlessly summoned his glasses, all while groping for his wand.

"Harry!" Ginny's voice got through to him, visibly causing him to relax and to slump back into his pillows. "I'm really glad we forgot to bring your wand down with you when we took you down from the tower."

"'Lo to you too Gin" His voice was hoarse, and scratchy with disuse. "Why am I here?"

"You've been out for 3 days." Ginny's voice was strangely flat. Harry rubbed at the bandage criss-crossing his chest absently and gazed at his surroundings.

"Seriously? The Hospital Wing? Aren't there others that are injured that need it more?"

"Harry, you're suffering from malnutrition, burns, the effects from a dementor, some deep cuts, multiple bruises, magical exhaustion, and regular exhaustion. I think that just might qualify you as 'injured'" For the first time since they talked, the fiery redhead that Harry used to date shown through, causing a half smile to light up his battered appearance.

"Yeah" Harry shrugged, "but not everyone is used to it." Ginny shook her head in exasperation. Leave it to Harry to downplay everything. "Is that Ron and 'Mione?"

Ginny tore her gaze away from Harry to glance at the couple in the beds across from them. "Yes, you're the first of the 'Golden Trio' to wake up".

"WHAT! 'Golden Trio?' when did that come about"

"Oh did I forget to tell you what people have been calling you three?"

"Ginnnnyyy… you're not supposed to tease an injured person." Harry pouted, much to the red head's amusement.

"Did Ron teach you new tricks?"

Harry's offended expression was enough to send Ginny into new gales of laughter, causing Molly Weasley to smile softly. She had been listening to the whole conversation, and this had been the first time since the battle, since F-Fred died, that anyone had gotten Ginny to smile, let alone laugh.

The laughter died down and Ginny pulled her hair up into a pony tail for lack of anything else to do. Neither one of them wanted to think about the slaughter. "Why?" the word coming out sounded more heartbroken than one could believe. It was hard to believe that such a broken sound came out of Ginerva Weasley's mouth, the resilient, hard-working, never crying, boisterous red-head. "Was it really worth it? We could've done something, anything! I should have been there for him, if I was there I could've saved him, I could have protected him, I should've…"

Harry cut off her heart-broken tirade the only way he knew how. He leaned in quickly and captured her lips in a pure, sweet, mind boggling kiss. He felt Ginny relaxing into him, and broke it off to pull her down onto the bed beside him.

"Gin…" The words tumbled out of his mouth, against his will. He knew it would hurt her, but her also knew she needed to hear what he was about to say.

"You all are hypocrites. Everyone. You all tell me to get over it and not mope, and well… here everyone is." His tone was light, but his emerald gaze was fractured with pain and remorse. Ginny looked at him in surprise, her mouth hanging open in shock. "What? I'm sure you've gotten enough sympathetic words, and have gotten cuddled over enough by you lovely mother. If you want more people giving your condolences, you can go back into the Great Hall you know. I know you Gin. You need to hear this, almost want to hear it." His gaze held her steady, and Ginny sat back down in her chair, and waited for him to get to the point. She knew him as well as he knew her, and they both needed to get this off their chests, and they both believed in cutting to the quick. Holding out on each other never solved anything, especially when the two of them had such stubborn natures and fierce tempers, though it took more to get Harry enraged.

"I know what you're going through Gin. Your insides feel like they are warping inside of you, you feel like there is never enough air in the room, that your skin is too tight for your body, that nothing will ever be the same, and you know what? They won't. Fred is part of the Weasley family…"

"Was." The whisper slipped out, cutting off the lecture.

Harry shook his head and took a deep breath, Fred's absence had hit him hard, as well as Remus and Tonk's death's, but he had to make Ginny understand and come to terms with her wild emotions, just as his friends had helped him shake out of his slump after Sirius' death. "No."

"What?"

"Do you know about the Resurrection Stone? In the 3 Brothers Tale?"

Ginny nodded, not understanding where Harry was going with this.

"It's real, I'll tell you how I got it later, just hear me out right now."

Harry took a deep breath and looked Ginny in the eye, his eyes just daring her to interrupt him.

"I saw my parents last night. They said they were proud of me, that, that they that they loved me and…"

Harry broke off as his scratchy voice gave out on him and swallowed down tears, he couldn't get emotional now!

"You think that, just because we can't see him, that Fred isn't with us anymore? If my parents could see me, so can Fred. Don't you even dare say that Fred isn't part of the Weasley family because he is, and he always will be. Are my parents no longer Potters just because they happened to no longer be with us physically?" Harry stressed the last word, trying to get Ginny to see they point. "No! They'll always be with us, even if we can't see them."

Ginny stared at Harry for a moment before wrapping her arms around his neck and, ignoring the bandages, kissed him until they had to come up for air. "So Ginny", Harry mumbled dazed by the unexpected, but very welcome snogging. "I forgot to ask, will you be my girlfriend again?"

"Hmmmm…" Ginny pretended to think about it. "I suppose I could put up with that."

She leaned down, and whispered very softly, "On one condition."

"What?" Harry leaned back apprehensively; it was never a good sign when Ginny got all mysterious.

"Never, ever, ever break up with me again, you giant prat!"

Harry laughed long and hard after hearing that. "I think that old Voldy would've caused some serious brain damage if I ever did that again!"

"Good"

Ginny leaned down to kiss Harry, both of them completely unaware of the shocked Weasley matriarch wiping her tears away just outside the curtains.