"Ginny, listen…" Harry whispered painfully.

It had always come down to this; Harry - the protector, the good guy - was always forced into this. Pushed into giving up what was closest to him for the fate of others. It was ironically painful; the way he felt obliged to suffer himself, in order to protect those around him.

Even those he did not know, Harry felt responsible from protecting them, everyone, from the reach of Voldemort.

His childhood, his adolescence, and now his love. All thrown to the wind for the fate of others. It was something Harry despised, but was forced to embrace.

Ginny gave Harry a weak smile, unshed tears already forming in her deep, brown eyes, but remained silent, choosing to penetrate Harry's eyes with her own, peering deeper into him than he believed Voldemort ever could.

He opened his mouth to continue, staring helplessly at her for several seconds as he found himself unable to speak the words, unable to explain to her exactly what had to happen.

"Ginny, -" He started, but Ginny softly placed a finger against his lips and shook her head.

"Don't, Harry."

Ginny's voice was hoarse, worn from hours of crying. It had seemed like she was crying for every time in her childhood when she refused to, as well as for the loss of so many people who were close to her, all lost in a single day.

She lowered her hand and swallowed, taking a step closer to Harry.

He raised a hand, absent mindedly running his fingers slowly through his unnaturally untidy hair.

As Ginny wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head against his chest possessively, Harry lowered his arms around her back, holding her tightly.

Almost a minute later, Ginny spoke again, "I know what you're going to say, Harry…" she looked at him sadly, "you're going to tell me that we can't see each other anymore. That it's too dangerous."

Harry just continued to stare back at her, lost for words, as she unraveled his feelings in front of him.

"You're going to tell me to stay here, where it's safe. Then you're going to run off after Voldemort, with Ron and Hermione."

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but Ginny suddenly put her hands against Harry's chest and pushed him away.

"And then I'll be left here, alone, wondering if you're alive or dead," Ginny continued angrily. Harry's eyes opened wider in surprise at her sudden anger. Her eyes had now lost the helpless, pained expression. Instead, she appeared furious and hurt, though in a different sense.

Harry took a step towards her, to try and calm her and explain what he had to do, to explain what this meant to him, but Ginny wouldn't hear it. She pushed against his chest again and raised a finger at him.

"And you won't give a rat's ass, will you? No! You'll be off protecting the world while the poor little Ginny sits at home, wondering where her knight in shining armor has run off to. Wondering if he's thinking of her. Wondering if he's alive, if he's dead. Or if he even cares!"

Now Harry had become irritated; he didn't want to cause a scene with her. He'd hoped that Ginny would understand what he was telling her, that she was just too precious to risk, but Ginny had steeled herself against his argument.

"Ginny!" he yelled, suddenly silencing her. He took another step forward, firmly grabbing her wrist and lowering her hand. "You just DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

Ginny wrenched her hand from his grip and helplessly pounded her hand against his chest, until he caught that too, and held it still.

"You don't understand what he'll do to you," Harry said, whispering now. "You don't understand the pain he'll cause you… the pain he'll cause me."

"Voldemort hurts his enemies by hurting the ones they love," Harry pleaded. His eyes seemed to beg Ginny to see reason., "Don't you see? He'd find out, Ginny. Then he'd come after you. He'll try and get me through you."

"What if I don't care?" Ginny shoit back instantly. She was now clenching Harry's robes desperately, trying to hold onto him, in case he happened to slip away.

"I care."

It had been a simple statement, spoken softly, almost tenderly, yet the words had knocked the air from Ginny's lungs. He cares, she thought. Of course she'd known he cared, but the way he had said it seemed lovingly, like he was afraid he'd lose the person closest to him again.

The tears Ginny had been trying to hold back now began to cascade down her cheeks, making her appear even more hurt, even more abandoned.

"I love you, Harry Potter. And I'm coming with you." She spoke as softly as Harry had, mirroring his look of desperation.

For what seemed like hours, Harry just stared back at her, his green eyes , as he gazed silently at her. He seemed to be thinking…

Finally, Harry moved. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her, almost like Sirius had done many times before when Harry had come to him for advice and comfort.

"Alright, fine."

Eleven letters, three syllables, two words. One meaning.

The pain seemed to evaporated from Ginny's expression as it slowly turned to disbelief. Slowly, she stepped back from him, as if to get a better look.

"R-Really?" She sputtered.

Harry nodded reluctantly, seeming to regret what he had just said. But before he could change his mind, Ginny suddenly leaped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and knocking him off balance. He managed to regain his footing as Ginny wrapped her legs around his waist and seemingly attempted to rob all oxygen of him.

"Bloody hell, Ginny!" Harry shouted. Ginny ignored his yells and continued to whisper into his hear, over and over…

"Thank you…. thank you…. thank you…"

¤ææææææ¤

"You told her WHAT?"

Harry felt absolutely stupid that he hadn't thought of this. Of course Ron would be furious. He had just told his baby sister that she could come with them on their quest to find the Horcruxes - objects of dark power that Dumbledore had not even wanted to think about.

Harry agreed that it had not been his place to allow her to go, that he had no right to tell her to stay when him, Ron and Hermione were running off into so much danger.

But the way she looked at him, the way she clung to him, like it could be the last time she would; he just couldn't do that to her.

He sat up slowly on the four-poster bed and reluctantly looked back at Ron, not surprised that his face had flushed red and he was violently gripping a sweater he had been about to pack.

"Well, Ron… I couldn't just leave her behind." Harry felt guilty that he had made this big of a promise to such an important person in Ron's life; he felt like he betrayed him.

"You bloody well could have! This is my baby sister, Harry! She is not coming!"

Ron had now through the sweater unceremoniously into his trunk and thrown it close, not even taking care to close the latches. He turned away from Harry and grabbed the handle of the trunk, pulling on it to move it with the other possessions, but when he pulled, the lid just flung open and the entire trunk fell over, casting its contents over the floor of the dormitory.

"Ronald," Hermione said quietly, flicking her wand and sending the items back into the trunk, "maybe it would be better if Ginny came with us."

Ron now tossed the trunk alongside all of their belongings and turned to glare at Hermione.

"It would be better?" he hissed. "Ginny is my baby sister! She is not coming."

"But Ron," Hermione spoke cautiously, "she is a very skilled witch. She can take care of herself."

Ron simply shook his head, refusing to be swayed. "No. She's not coming."

At that inopportune moment, Ginny strolled slowly into the room, softly rubbing her eyes.

"Not going where, Ron?"

"You know bloody well where, Ginevra," spat Ron.

Immediately, Ginny's face became flushed and she stomped towards Ron.

"Do not," jab, "call me," jab, "Ginevra!"

Ron stepped back with each poke to his chest, but Ginny stayed on him, her eyes blazing fiercely.

"And I," jab, "am," jab, "coming!"

Ron, refusing to be told by his little sister, quickly recovered, straightening to his full height to look down at her. He opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off by Ginny.

"Shut UP, Ron!"

She walked over to Harry's side and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at Ron furiously.

Taken aback by Ginny's boldness, Ron sunk into the bed behind him and stared at his lap.

After several awkward minutes, he looked back up at them, his face scrunched up in thought.

"Right, well then, grab your things."

Ginny literally squealed with delight as she ran to her brother and pounced on him, giving him a Molly-worthy hug. With a quick kiss on his cheek, she jumped off and left the room (after winking at Harry).

Harry wore an unsure expression, but Hermione was smiling widely.

"Well? Go on, shrink it."

Hermione jumped in place and pulled out her wand to shrink the luggage, while Harry sat quietly and scratched his head, still wondering if he would live to regret this.

¤ææææææ¤

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny walked quietly out of the castle, following the slow- moving mass of students towards the Hogwarts Express.

Ginny's happiness at being allowed to go along with the trio had now worn down as she contemplated what she had just signed up for.

As Ginny walked silently, lost in her thoughts, Harry did the same.

Having mixed feelings about the change of plans, Harry was unsure of what to do. Having Ginny along with him seemed like the biggest joy in the world, but when accompanied with the thought of what they'd have to do, what Ginny would have to experience; it was agonizing.

Ginny had had enough of Voldemort in her very first year at Hogwarts, though it was known by very few. Possessed by a memory of Voldemort, Ginny had been subjected to his will, and had almost killed several students, including her very best friend, Hermione Granger.

However, it seemed that despite the nightmares she had been left with, along with the feeling of guilt and uselessness, Ginny had not reacted to the experience as anyone would have expected.

Instead of sinking into a depression, or a lapse of mental stability, Ginny had been strengthened by the events.

Having herself so easily overwhelmed, so easily fooled by Voldemort was disgusting to Ginny. She felt that she was weak and helpless; two things Ginny had never wanted to be.

Instead of succumbing to the weakness, Ginny had fought harder. She had been given renewed strength and will, a determination to prove to herself more than anyone that she I was /I strong, and that she I could /I fight.

Suddenly, Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione found themselves climbing aboard the Hogwarts Express. With heavy hearts and futures uncertain they sat silently in the compartment, each of them thinking of what the future held.

And somewhere, far, far away, hiding triumphantly within the ruins of his past, Tom Riddle laughed.