Those three Words

Disclaimer: I didn't want to write this. I've been busy with other things on my mind in which writing was not included. But I found myself being captured by this thought for quite a while, so I decided to give it a go.

All characters belong to J.K.R; I'm just using them to free my own silly ideas.

"Ginny!"

He had been looking for her all day long; now dusk was emerging slowly, the color of the sky turned a silvery grey with a shade of black, its darkness extinguishing all signs of life around him. Everything seemed quiet and mournful and he was the only one to have the wish to scream out in protest, showing he was alive. Endless months of not feeling thus lay behind him, now he was feeling alive – more alive than he had probably been in his whole life, even when he had shared these long moments with her in the lands of Hogwarts a thousand years ago. It was her, he was sure, Ginny, the sight of her, which was filling his veins with new life, pouring hope over him. It was hearing her voice echoing through the mild summer air that made him feel this way.

"Harry!"

He was feeling like the prince in this Muggle film that had always been Aunt Petunia's favorite. As he ran towards her, he could see the scene clearly inside his head. A man with a funny beard and a young woman with exceptionally long, dark hair running towards each other, screaming each others names.

Ginny raised her arms to embrace him, tears cascading down her cheeks and even more water welling up in her eyes. He could already imagine the feel of her, the scent of her long, soft, sweet smelling hair. She was the only real thing in the world, Ginny, her light brown eyes, her fine skin that looked like it was made of china. He did not care who had sent that doe or whether it had really been Dumbledore's eye in the mirror. All he cared about was this beautiful girl ahead, this divine creature; and he wondered if she felt the same as he did. He could see nothing else but her and even the sound his own breathing seemed to be muffled as he flung his arms round her. They stood like that for what felt like an eternity, hands on each other's backs, feeling each other, smelling each other. Neither of them had the intention to let go. She was now starring directly into his eyes – the sight of it made him picture their last face- to- face- meeting inside her room. Harry had felt strange then, the thought of Voldemort ahead had made him unaware of the presence. He starred back into the deepness of her eyes; green meeting brown, glued to each other for eternity.

The feeling had built inside him through the months he had spent in loneliness. He had wished for nothing more than to tell her, whereas Ron and Hermione had wasted their precious time by throwing dirty looks and nasty silences. It had made him angry merely watching them. They had felt the same for each other, Harry knew and neither of them had spoken it out. He had felt it boiling inside him, eating him, swallowing him, with nobody to share it with.

Now she was here and there was nothing that could hold him back now. He felt his insides would burst any moment unless he would free his feelings now, allow them to wash around the two of them like music which was becoming louder and louder.

"There's something I need you to know."

He was gripping her jacket with such intensity that it made her shudder. She was clutching Harry's sleeves and was looking at him with what seemed like curiosity, her lips slightly parted.

"What?", she whispered back.

This was the moment. It had finally come. But still neither of them spoke. Harry felt a bit nervous. Ginny was the first girl to make him feel that way. He felt she deserved something better. At least a scene with dozens of white doves flying around them and an orchestra playing and….

"Oh, Ginny, dear! There you are!"

Molly's voice was piercing inside his ears, making him come back to reality. She hurried towards them. When she reached them, Ginny quickly retreated several steps.

"Ron and Hermione need your help in the kitchen", she explained and took Ginny by her hand.

Harry had slept badly that night. The unsaid things between Ginny and him had made it impossible to relax. He had found no way to extinguish the picture of Ron and Hermione standing inside a marquee, wearing a fancy suit and a pleasant white dress. When Ron had put the ring around her finger, Harry had had a vivid picture of himself and Ginny in his head, standing on just the same spot. The feeling had not vanished yet, nor had it become easier to bear. It had been three days since he had last sought to tell her. Ginny still had no idea what he had been about to tell her and he still had no idea if she felt the same.

Harry got up from the moth-eaten couch in Grimmauld Place's living room and, with the vague intention of visiting Ron and Hermione in Hogsmeade just for something to do, put on the red sweater Mrs Weasley had given him for Christmas a hundred years ago. It all seemed so far away although he knew it were barely six months. Ron and Hermione had announced their engagement then, which had caused Mrs Weasley to burst into tears and never-ending sobs and Harry to turn even quieter than he had been all evening. The message had made him feel strangely lonely, though he knew he wasn't. All he had to do was…..

And when he was packed and ready to apparate, he had a sudden change of heart.

Ginny was sitting on her little bed inside her room, studying some paper. She was looking at the piece of parchment as if it was a message from Hogwarts telling her she hadn't passed her NEWT.

"What's wrong?", Harry asked her, when she did not look up after several moments. Ginny turned round wearing an expression on her face that was close to that of a child being caught in wrongdoing. He stepped nearer towards the bed, eager to identify the parchment she was holding.

"George's Christmas-present."

It turned out to be nothing more than a photograph, but when Harry looked closer, he identified it as the last picture that had been shot of George and Fred, standing in front of their brand new shop. A banner above their heads read "WEASLEY'S WIZARDING WHEEZES – COME IN AND FIND OUT". They both looked happy.

Ginny's eyes were still not tearful. Having six brothers had definitely toughened her up. Harry had no idea how often she had been starring at the picture during the last months without showing it to anybod else, but he didn't care really.

"I miss him."

"Yes", Harry sighed and put an arm on her shoulder.

If pictures could teach lessons, he thought, that one was doing so in just this moment. And, as if she could read his mind, she asked:"What is it you want me to know?"

With a last look on George's and Fred's picture, as if seeking reassurance, he hoisted Ginny up from her bed, starring into her eyes like she always did.

"I love you."