Second Thoughts
Harry Potter laid in his bed in the smallest bedroom of Number 4 Privet Drive and stared dully at the ceiling. It was basically all he had done since returning from Hogwarts at the end of his sixth year almost three weeks ago.
Now some might think that would have been because of the death of his mentor, Albus Dumbledore, but they would have been completely wrong. No the real reason he was in such a sorry state was because of what he had felt was the right thing to do because of that death. He had broken up with his girlfriend, Ginny Weasley.
Dear, sweet, fiery, feisty, funny, beautiful Ginny. The girl, no young woman, he had given his heart to and it was tearing him up inside.
The image of her face when he had told her that he couldn't see her any more was burned into his brain and it was virtually all he saw, awake or asleep, not that he had gotten much of that since his return from school.
Even as he thought about it at that moment, he felt his heart clench with an almost unbearable pain. He had long since cried all the tears he had available but that did nothing to offer him any relief from the pain.
He dreaded the thought of having to go to the Burrow, the Weasley's familial home, the next day. It was supposed to be such a happy occasion because the eldest Weasley child, Bill, was getting married on the first of August but Harry knew that he wouldn't be able to be happy because he'd have to see Ginny.
Once more the vision of her face when he had broken up with her flashed painfully into his mind. Though it was tinged with pain, there was more of a look of sadness and acceptance there, as if she had been expecting him to break up with her.
That certainly hadn't been the reaction he had expected. He had thought she'd get angry and curse him with her patented Bat-Bogey Hex and he knew he would have deserved it.
But no, she had shown that she knew more than she should have and called him on what he was going to do. She'd said how he was being 'noble' for going off to defeat Voldemort. Well, he certainly didn't feel noble, in fact he felt like he was the world's biggest prat.
Harry tried taking several deep breaths in a hope to ease the pain in his chest but it was only marginally effective. Turning over, he buried his face into his pillow, wishing with everything he had that somehow he'd find an answer to his dilemma.
Harry and Ginny
Ginny Weasley wandered around the Burrow feeling like she didn't know what to do with herself. While not moping, she certainly wasn't her normal happy self and it all had to do with one person, Harry James Potter.
She knew her mother wasn't happy with the way she'd been acting, giving her knowing looks when she thought Ginny wasn't noticing.
The thing was that Ginny was acutely aware of the looks her mother had been giving her and she was dreading the coming confrontation that she knew was inevitable.
Sure enough, as Ginny entered the Burrow's kitchen from the back garden, she found her mother waiting for her.
"Ginny, dear, could you please take a seat? I'd like to have a little talk with you," Molly Weasley said with a small smile.
Ginny sighed but did as her mother asked. She didn't even bother to ask why, she just figured that her mother would let her know what she wanted to talk about, but Ginny had a pretty good idea what it was.
She grimaced when she saw her mother begin to make a pot of tea, knowing that signalled that this wasn't going to be a quick little chat. The grimace increased when she saw a plate of scones and other small pastries joined the pot of tea on the table.
She schooled her features as her mother poured the tea and slid a cup over in front of her and passed her the plate of delicacies.
Ginny chose a scone and after splitting it in half, slathered it with orange marmalade, her favourite way of eating them.
After both had taken a bite and a sip of tea, Molly looked at her daughter with a concerned expression. "Now I don't mean to upset you, but you have to admit you haven't been acting like yourself since you arrived home from school," she said worriedly.
Ginny sighed as she looked back at her concerned mother. "I know, Mum. It's just I've had a lot on my mind," she replied, dropping her gaze and staring at the table top.
"Will you tell me about it?" Molly asked hopefully.
Ginny stared at the table top for several moments, deciding just how much to tell her mother.
"Well, though I haven't said anything, Harry and I dated for several weeks before, well you know," Ginny said softly.
Molly smiled weakly at her daughter. "Ron did write to me about a week before term ended and let me know that little fact," she admitted.
"Bloody wanker," Ginny murmured softly with a frown.
Molly chose to ignore Ginny's language. "He was happy for you and wanted to share that with me and your father," she replied with a small warm smile.
Then her look changed to one of concern. "From what you just said, I take it you two are no longer dating?"
Ginny sighed morosely. "No, right after Dumbledore's funeral, Harry broke up with me," she said softly.
"Did he say why?" Molly asked in surprise.
Ginny huffed out deeply, her lips drawing into a thin line. "He gave me some codswallop about wanting to protect me," she replied angrily.
"Oh dear, please tell me he didn't," her mother said with a laugh.
Ginny looked up at her amused mother and couldn't help but break out with a grin."Unfortunately he really did," she said resignedly.
"You didn't, um, hex him, did you?" her mother asked, fighting a smile.
Ginny sighed and let her shoulders sag. "No, I felt like it for a moment but then I knew why he'd done it. It didn't make it any better but I just couldn't add to his burden," she said regretfully.
Ginny gave her mother a pained look. "Please don't ask me to explain any further. It's not my place to tell you," she said sadly.
Molly looked thoughtful for a moment, her eyes taking on a sad cast. "It has to do with He-Who . . . Vo-Voldemort, doesn't it?" she asked fearfully.
Ginny's eyes widened in shock. "I, I can't tell you anything," she said in a near panic.
Molly gave Ginny a sad look and reached over and patted her hand, "You don't have to. I already know," she said sympathetically. "And I wouldn't want you to break a confidence."
"Thanks, Mum," Ginny replied tearfully.
"You love him, don't you," Molly said softly.
Too emotional, all Ginny could do was nod. Finally finding her voice, "Yeah I do," she said huskily as she fought the lump in her throat.
"Well, we'll just have to do something about that when he gets here, now won't we," Molly said reassuringly.
"What can I do?" a distraught Ginny asked.
"You need to talk to him," her mother said kindly.
"I don't think he'll even want to see me," Ginny cried softly, her eyes tearing up.
"Well we'll just have to make sure that happens, now won't we?" Molly replied with a small smile.
Ginny blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear her tears. "You'll help me?" she asked in surprise.
"Of course. I want you to be happy and I want Harry to be happy too." Molly replied with a conspiratorial wink.
"Thanks, Mum," Ginny replied emotionally.
Molly smiled at her daughter. "Now lets talk about what you'll wear when you see him. I think that nice blue blouse and I think leave the top two, no three buttons unbuttoned, along with that floral skirt that shows off your legs so nicely," she said with an amused smile.
"MUM!" Ginny cried, her eyes bugging out.
"What? I was young once too and know what draws a young man's eyes," Molly replied smugly.
Ginny could only stare at her mother in disbelief, not believing she had heard what she was hearing.
"Now drink your tea and finish your scone. Afterwards you can help me finish dinner," Molly said, smiling at her daughter.
"Who are you and what have you done with my Mum?" Ginny said lowly.
Molly just chuckled and took a sip of her tea, an amused smile gracing her lips.
Harry and Ginny
Harry awoke slowly, not feeling rested at all. His attention was drawn by the soft hoot of his familiar, Hedwig, his beautiful Snowy Owl who was watching him closely.
He rolled over and stood up shakily, not believing the effort it took for him to stand.
"Hey Hedwig," he said softly as he ruffled her neck feathers. "Sometime today Mr Weasley is coming to pick me up and take me to the Burrow. It would probably be best if you start flying there now."
Hedwig hooted softly, butting his hand with her head before she hopped over to the windowsill. With one last look back at him, she launched herself out of the window and began to wing her way south toward Devon.
Harry watched her go until she disappeared from sight, wishing it was as simple for him to leave the place he had been imprisoned since he was fifteen months old.
The place held no happy memories for him. All he could remember were periods of starvation, never being given enough to eat to totally get rid of the gnawing in his stomach. Those periods offset by others where he was belittled, yelled at, told how worthless he was, how no one would ever love a freak like him.
That he should consider himself lucky that his parents had died and left him some place where had the barest of chance to grow up 'normal' and not be a freak.
Harry felt the painful gnawing in his stomach but he wasn't sure if it was due to hunger of the fact his insides were all twisted due to his emotional state thinking about Ginny.
With an uncaring shrug, he figured it was probably a combination of both. Feeling drained from getting up to say goodbye to Hedwig he flopped back down on his bed and laid his one arm across his eyes, hoping, but realizing it was probably a futile wish, that he'd fall back asleep.
By late afternoon when his Aunt when out shopping, Harry decided that a large part of his stomach pain was currently being caused by his hunger so he made his way down into the kitchen where he made himself a cheese sandwich and had a glass of orange juice.
He smiled wanly, thinking how he'd rather of had a glass of pumpkin juice. Unfortunately that made him think of the magical world and that lead his thoughts right back to the beautiful red headed witch that he wished he'd handled differently.
How he probably shouldn't have gone out with her in the first place as it had led to nothing but pain and despair. Sure, during the few weeks they had been going out he'd been the happiest he had ever been as far as he could remember.
He figured he was probably happy when he was still with his parents but as he didn't remember anything from that time, it might be just more of a wish than reality.
He chastised himself over and over because he should have seen the outcome of his relationship with Ginny coming. He knew by then what the prophecy said and where his destiny lay. It was inevitable that he'd have to break it off from the one who had captured his heart.
He shook his head sadly. He could see now that he hadn't thought things through, something he was guilty of doing with about almost everything in his life.
Like his plans to leave sometime after the wedding, dragging Ron and Hermione off on what he considered a fool's quest, to track down the remainder of Tom's Horcruxes.
They had no real plans on where they were going or what they were doing. He only had the scantiest of clues from the sessions he'd spent with Dumbledore.
Hell, even that was virtually all guesses and speculation. They had nothing really concrete. Even the number of items they were looking for was a guess based off a decades old memory of a single conversation Riddle had with one of his professors.
They had no proof that he'd followed through on that line of thought. No, it all really came down to a bunch of guesses, causing Harry to wonder if it wasn't all wishful thinking and pipe dreams.
Harry was dimly aware of time passing and as the day progressed into the evening and then night finally falling, he wondered if he was going to be picked up at all.
It wasn't until half past Ten when he heard someone ring the doorbell and his Uncle's outraged grumbling that he was sure that he'd be leaving.
He threw the few things he'd removed from his trunk since returning back to Privet Drive back into his trunk and set Hedwig's cage on top of it.
He was considering his options of either waiting in his room or heading down to meet whoever had arrived when the decision was taken out of his hands.
There was a soft knock on the door and before he could form an answer, it opened, revealing Mr Weasley accompanied by Remus and Tonks.
He saw the latter two's eyes widen slightly as they took the sight of him in. He knew he must look a fright but he didn't really care.
"All set?" Mr Weasley asked worriedly.
"As I'll ever be," Harry replied dully.
His lack lustre response did nothing to alleviate the concerns of those picking him up.
Harry stood shakily and went to grab his trunk and Hedwig's cage.
"I'll get them," Remus said, stepping into the room.
Harry just gave a small shrug as if he didn't care and in truth, he really didn't. Nothing seemed to matter to him any more and he was operating on automatic.
He shuffled out into the hall where Mr Weasley place a hand on his one shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "Let's get you out of here," the man said quietly.
His small entourage followed close behind, all worried about Harry as he listlessly and shakily made his way down the stairs, having to help support himself by leaning on the the railing.
When they all arrived and were standing by the front door, Remus asked "Do you want to say goodbye to your relatives?"
Harry just slowly shook his head, never wanting to see his so called relatives ever again.
Remus, Tonks and Mr Weasley all shared worried looks as Harry opened the door and stepped out into the night.
Once they were all outside, Mr Weasley said, "We'll be using Mrs Figg's Floo."
Harry nodded and began to trudge in the direction of the Squibs house, never once looking back.
Harry and Ginny
Mr Weasley was the first one to step out of the Floo and he gave his wife a sad look. Fortunately she was the only one waiting for Harry's arrival. Everyone else had already been sent off to bed.
Harry followed shortly afterwards, before Remus and Tonks came through after he had.
Mrs Weasley couldn't stop the gasp from escaping her mouth as she took in Harry. In one word, he looked terrible, worse than she'd ever seen him.
He had dark bags under his eyes, standing out starkly from his pallid complexion and he looked thinner than she'd ever seen him.
"Harry, Dear," she said softly as she came up to him. She enveloped him in a hug, much softer than her usual welcome. As she pulled away, she looked worriedly into his dull and listless eyes, not liking what she saw in the slightest.
"Hi, Mrs Weasley," Harry replied tiredly.
The four adults present all shared concerned looks.
"I'll just take your trunk up to Ron's room," Mr Weasley said as he grabbed the trunk and Hedwig's cage.
Harry just gave a small shrug as he glanced at the stairs, not relishing having to climb all the way to the top of the Burrow.
Unseen by anyone, Ginny stood partway up the first flight of stairs, her heart breaking at seeing Harry. Tears began to form as she looked him over, taking in the state he was in.
When she heard her father, she retreated back up into her room, where she threw herself onto her bed. She buried her face into her pillow to silence the sobs she couldn't contain.
Remus stepped over to Harry and gave his shoulder a soft squeeze. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said softly, his eyes filled with concern and pain at seeing the state Harry was in.
Tonks followed and in an uncharacteristic move, gave him a quick hug. "I'm glad you here where you truly belong," she whispered encouragingly.
Harry's eyes met hers briefly, his look saying that he was sure it was where he should be, something that surprised the young meta morph.
Tonks' eyes found Remus' and he gave her a curt nod, letting her know that he'd go with her to discuss Harry.
After they left, it was just Mrs Weasley and Harry. She gave him a small smile. "You must be famished," she said softly.
Harry nodded, though in truth he really wasn't but he knew that the Weasley matriarch wouldn't be denied and he followed her into the kitchen.
She made him sit at the table while she whipped him up something to eat.
"Here you go, dear," she said as she set a bowl of piping hot soup before him, along with half a loaf of her home-made bread.
Harry began to eat mechanically, not really tasting the wonderful soup or bread he was consuming.
Molly puttered around the kitchen, keeping her eye on the obviously distraught young man before her, and it was as a young man that she now saw him as.
She made some tea and brought it to the table where she sat down across from Harry, sliding a cup over to him.
"Thanks, Mrs Weasley," Harry said softly, never once looking at her.
Harry managed to eat about half of his soup and about three quarters of a slice of bread before he stopped.
He sat there awkwardly, sipping his tea, hoping that Molly would leave him alone.
As they sat there in silence, each sipping their tea, Harry was well aware of Molly's scrutiny.
Molly quickly cleared away the remains of his meal. "You look about done in. Why don't you head off to bed and we'll talk in the morning," she said kindly.
Harry glanced at the stairs before looking back at the Weasley matriarch. "I'll just sit in the parlour for a little while. I haven't been sleeping all that well and I'd hate to disturb Ron," he said, rising and heading for the other room.
"All right, dear. Just try and not stay up too late," Molly said sadly.
As she watched him leave, she had a hard time from keeping the tears from leaking out from her eyes and she silently vowed to do whatever she could to help the broken young man.
She headed up the stairs, wanting to talk to Arthur before they went to sleep.
Harry and Ginny
Molly woke up filled with a determination to help Harry. After dressing she headed down to the kitchen to start breakfast.
She was only slightly surprised to find her daughter already down stairs, though in hindsight she knew she shouldn't be.
Ginny was standing by the doorway into the parlour. Her one hand was up on the door frame, with her head resting on it, her other hand was up covering her mouth as if to stifle any sound.
She went over and rested her hand on her daughter's shoulder, half expecting her to jump at the touch.
Instead, Ginny turned her head toward her mother, her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Mum," she cried softly, her voice choked with her emotions.
Molly drew her daughter into her arms and steered her back into the kitchen after glancing into the parlour.
Harry was laying on the couch, asleep but it was obvious it wasn't a restful one. He lay tangled in the duvet he had covered himself with, obviously thrashing about all night.
Even as she watched, he twisted and turned, moaning out softly in his sleep.
Molly made Ginny sit down while she made a pot of tea. Once it was ready, she joined her daughter at the table.
"Well, it looks like we've got our work cut out for us," she said with a wan smile.
"Yeah it does, doesn't it," Ginny replied ruefully, sniffling and wiping the tears from her cheeks.
Molly reached over and laid her hand on Ginny's, giving it a soft squeeze. "It's so obvious that you care for him and though it will be hard, you can't give up hope," she said softly.
"It's more than my caring for him. I love him, Mum. I really do," Ginny said fervently, her eyes burning with an intensity that Molly had never seen before.
It suddenly struck Molly just how much her daughter had grown up and she truly wasn't her little girl any more.
"Then we really need to fix this," Molly said warmly, accepting that her daughter truly was in love with the young man laying in the other room.
Ginny looked at her mother in shock. She certainly hadn't expected that she'd be so accepting, figuring she'd try to talk her out of it or at least protest that at her young age she couldn't possibly know what true love really was.
Molly chuckled lowly. "It's nice to see I can still take you by surprise," she said humorously.
She then glanced at Ginny with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Now why don't you go put on that outfit we talked about last night and remind him just what he's trying to leave behind."
Ginny blushed lightly but got up hurriedly. She went and hugged her Mum before running up to her room, vowing to herself that she was going to knock Harry's socks clean off.
She changed quickly and even applied a little make-up to further enhance her eyes, cheeks and mouth.
She took a good look in the mirror when she was ready to head back down to the kitchen. She was quite pleased with how she looked. Eyeing herself unbiasedly, she thought she looked quite sexy and very mature, well beyond her fifteen years.
If she didn't catch Harry's attention looking like she did, she didn't know what would.
Taking a deep breath to calm her nervousness, she headed back down to the kitchen.
She couldn't help but blush as her mother looked her over, but the smile she was given gave her the courage to face Harry.
She didn't have long to wait. As she was setting the table for breakfast, she heard someone coming into the kitchen from the parlour. Knowing that there had been only one person in there, she knew without looking that it was Harry.
She heard him take in a sharp breath so she turned and looked at him. "Good morning," she said with a brilliant smile.
Harry just stood there staring at his former girlfriend, his eyes raking up and down her body. His mind was working in overdrive as he tried to process what he was seeing.
Ginny looked beautiful, more so than he had ever seen before. Even that word seemed inadequate to him. It was if some goddess had decided to step down out of the heavens to visit the Weasley's kitchen.
She was wearing a dark blue shirt that was open enough to reveal quite a lot of cleavage that drew his eyes to the wide expanse of creamy skin that left no doubt as to the treasures that were barely covered.
His eyes then drifted down not stopping until they reached her legs. He could see more of her legs than he thought Mrs Weasley would be willing to let Ginny expose, her skirt barely coming down to mid thigh. He was sure if her bent down just a little, that he'd be able to tell what colour her knickers were without barely trying.
Though Ginny was rather petite, he was sure her legs went on forever. Not being able to help himself, he swallowed nervously, his eyes never leaving the visage of loveliness before him.
Molly watched as Harry stared at Ginny. She could see a multitude of emotions flashing across his face. She saw a look of fear, as if he was afraid his resolve would crumble right then and there, but it was quickly replaced by a yearning that shook her to her core. Not only that, there was also a brief look of desire that she found startling by its intensity.
She had no doubt at that moment that Harry loved Ginny just as much as she loved him, but he was trying to deny it in a vain attempt to shield and protect her, as futile as that gesture truly was.
All that took place in the space of a few heartbeats and then Harry dropped his gaze, staring at the floor and stammered, "Ex-excuse m-me. I need some fresh air." And then he bolted out the back door.
Ginny sighed deeply, looking rather forlorn. She looked at her mother who gave her a reassuring smile.
Ginny glanced from her mother to the door that Harry had just run through, looking like she was going to follow.
"Not yet, dear. Give him some time to think about things and I told him last night I wanted to talk with him," Molly said kindly, giving her daughter a reassuring smile.
"Mum! What are you going to say to him?" Ginny asked worriedly.
"Don't you worry. I've been around the block once or twice. Trust me, I won't give too much away, just give him some more things to think about," Molly explained with a wink.
Though Ginny was still a bit apprehensive, she knew there wasn't much she could do about it unless she wanted to defy her mother and that wasn't something she wanted to do right at that moment.
With a sigh, she resumed setting the table.
Harry and Ginny
Harry ran until he had to slow down because of his weakened state. Slowing to a walk, he headed down toward the pond at the edge of the Burrow's property. He had always found it a very peaceful place where he could think calmly.
If he was anything at that moment, calm wasn't it. The image of Ginny standing there in the kitchen looking so beautiful and dare he think it, sexy, left his emotions in turmoil.
He knew if he hadn't fled, he would have thrown himself at her feet, begging her to forgive him and take him back. As much as he really wanted to do that, he knew he couldn't risk it. Riddle had the unfortunate habit of killing those close to him and he cared about.
And he did care about Ginny, in fact when he was being totally honest with himself, he knew he loved her with all his heart and if anything happened to her, it would devastate him.
No, he needed to remain firm and strong, no matter what his heart said. If it came to it he would Floo to the Leaky Cauldron and take a room there.
The problem was that there was this little voice way back in his head that kept telling him that he was being a prat, a berk, a bloody wanker for how he was treating the woman he loved.
Her family was well known Blood Traitors and firmly aligned with the Light. She would be a target no matter if he was with her or not. And he did want to be with her, no matter how much he wanted to deny it.
Ever since he had broken up with her it was like a Dementor had taken up residence inside of him, sucking all the happiness from him until he felt like an empty husk.
Sitting down and taking his head in his hands, he argued with himself, trying to convince himself once more that he was doing the right thing. The problem was, even to his own ears, the reasons sounded hollow.
It was well toward noon before Harry returned to the Burrow. As he entered the kitchen he found Molly Weasley alone, making a batch of bread dough.
She smiled warmly at him. "Are you hungry?" she asked solicitously.
Though he was tempted to deny it, his stomach spoke before he could. It growled fairly loudly, plain enough for the Weasley matriarch to hear.
"I'll take that as a yes," she said with a light laugh, giving him a wry smile.
Harry sat down at the table hesitantly, his eyes darting around constantly, appearing quite nervous.
"Relax, Harry," Molly said soothingly. "Every one is gone for the day and won't be home till dinner time."
Harry did relax some as Molly quickly made him a couple of sandwiches and placed some crisps on his plate. She poured him some pumpkin juice and then sat down at the table with a cup of tea.
Harry began to eat, though Molly could tell he was still quite nervous. She ignored him for the most part, just occasionally glancing at him to make sure he was eating.
Though Harry thought because of how twisted in knots his stomach was that he wouldn't eat much, he found that once he began he couldn't seem to stop, ending up eating both sandwiches and a fair pile of crisps.
As he drained the last of his juice and set his glass on the table, Molly smiled at him. "Would you like a cup of tea and some biscuits?" she asked pleasantly.
"Thank you, that would be nice," Harry replied gratefully.
Molly poured him a mug of tea and summoned a plate of biscuits.
Harry smiled when he looked at them, they were chocolate, chocolate chip. He took a couple and began to munch on one happily.
"I see you're a chocolate fanatic just like Ginny," Molly said with a small smile. "And speaking of Ginny, I think it's time we had that talk I mentioned last night."
Harry's mouth stopped in mid-munch, his eyes widening as he stared at the Weasley Matriarch.
"Eat your biscuit," Molly said softly and reassuringly.
Harry finished the biscuit in his mouth though it was a struggle as his mouth suddenly went dry. He then noticed the humorous glint in Molly's eyes.
"Take a sip of you tea," she prompted, stifling a chuckle.
Harry did so, never taking his eyes off the Weasley matriarch. He was relieved as the tea cleared his dry mouth and throat so he took another sip.
"Now while I mentioned Ginny and she does play a part in all this, what I really want to talk about is you," Molly said pointedly.
Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Harry it's so obvious that you aren't handling things all that well," Molly said ruefully.
Harry opened his mouth to deny it, but Molly cut him off. "Please don't try and deny it. You have bags under your eyes, your skin is pallid and you're thinner than I've ever seen you. You're not sleeping well when you sleep at all if I'm guessing right," she said with concern.
Harry slumped and dropped his eyes, unable to look Molly in the face. He knew everything she had said was true.
Molly reached over and gently grasped his hand. "I didn't say these things to make you feel bad but you need to understand that we love you and when you're hurting, we hurt too," she whispered tenderly.
Harry began to breath raggedly and he scrunched his eyes shut tightly, trying but failing to stem the tears from falling.
"Tell me this, Harry. When were you the happiest?" she asked softly.
Harry felt as if his heart was being squeezed in a vise. With tears running down his cheeks, he whispered raggedly "When I was with Ginny."
"I thought as much," Molly said warmly. "I'm not going to tell you what to do but I am going to give you a few things to think about."
Harry nodded his head, suddenly wanting to hear what she had to say very much.
"First off, the state you're in I doubt you'd be able to cast a simple Stunner effectively. You're run down physically and magically. Second, if you let V-voldemort dictate your life, you've already let him win. And finally, you deserve to have happiness in your life," she said softly but firmly. "And if Ginny can give that to you, don't you think you should let her?"
"I want you to know that Arthur and I have come to think of you as another son and we only want what's best for you," she added emotionally.
Harry scrunched his eyes tighter and he sniffled heavily when he heard her say that she and Arthur thought of him as a son.
Molly squeezed his hand once again. "All I ask is for you to think about those things and then, please talk to Ginny."
Too emotionally choked up to speak, Harry just nodded his head. He rose and then for the first time since he'd been coming to the Burrow, Harry went to Molly and hugged her hard.
Molly returned his hug, keeping it gentler than her normal bone threatening hugs.
"Thanks, Molly," Harry breathed huskily.
"You're welcome and if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here," she whispered into his ear.
"Okay. I think I'll go sit on the porch for a while," he whispered back, fighting the lump in his throat.
"All right, dear," Molly said with an encouraging smile.
She watched as he left and sat on the porch swing looking deep in thought. She hoped with all her might that she'd been able to get through to him.
Harry and Ginny
Ginny stepped out of the Floo a couple minutes after three. She removed her robes she had worn while helping Fred and George at Weasley Wizard Wheezes to earn a little pocket money.
She glanced around expectantly but when she didn't see Harry she gave a sad sigh. She headed into the kitchen where she found her mother kneading some bread dough.
"Hey Mum," she said softly as she got herself a glass of pumpkin juice before sitting down at the table.
Molly heard the touch of sadness in her daughter's voice. She finished kneading the dough and set it aside for the second rise. She then went and sat down next to Ginny.
Taking her wand, she summoned the kettle from the stove and made herself a pot of tea. Pouring a mug, she turned to Ginny.
"I want you to know I had that little talk with Harry this morning," she said with a smirk, knowing what her daughter's reaction was going to be.
Ginny gave her mother a horrified look and then dropped her head down onto the table with a soft thunk.
"Please Mum, tell me you didn't embarrass me . . . or Harry," she moaned lowly.
Molly chuckled and smiled at her daughter, she was reacting just like she had expected. "I told you I was only going to give him a few things to think about," she said humorously.
Ginny rolled her head to the side, uncovering one eye with which she eyed her mother.
"And while your name did come up, I swear I didn't say anything to embarrass either of you," Molly continued, fighting her smirk.
Ginny eyed her mother dubiously.
"Hopefully I got through to him as he's been sitting on the porch swing ever since we talked. The last thing I said to him was that he needed to talk to you," Molly said with a warm, encouraging smile.
Molly patted Ginny's shoulder before she got up to prepare the bread for the oven while Ginny sat up and finished her juice.
They heard the door open slowly and saw a nervous Harry standing there.
"Could I talk to you?" he said softly to Ginny, a concerned look in his eyes.
Ginny felt her heart leap, hoping that Harry wanted to get back together with her, though she kept her face quite neutral. "All right then," she answered as she rose.
Harry opened the door and held it for her to proceed him. He glanced at Molly and gave her a half-hearted smile.
Molly nodded at him and smiled encouragingly.
Harry nodded back but then without a word, he followed Ginny out the door.
Ginny was waiting on the porch, casually leaning against the rail and she gave him an expectant look.
Harry dropped his gaze for a moment, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Looking back up he sighed deeply. "Would it be okay to walk down to the pond?" he asked lowly.
Ginny nodded, "Sure, that will be fine," she replied evenly.
They walked sided-by-side with Ginny glancing at Harry most of the time, for all the good it did her.
It seemed to her that he was oblivious to her presence, for all the attention he paid her.
But nothing could have been farther from the truth, Harry was very aware of Ginny's presence. He could feel the heat of her body, smell her alluring fragrance, hear her breathing. In fact, he was concentrating on her with almost all his attention, so much so that he didn't see a branch hanging down and ran into it with his shoulder, spinning him around and almost knocking him off his feet.
Harry blushed deeply, at least as much as any of the Weasleys did.
Once Ginny was assured that he hadn't hurt himself, she had to fight to keep from smiling or laughing. Once they had straightened things out, she was going to tease him about it but she decided she'd better wait, she didn't want to scare him off, if he had decided to get back together with her like she hoped.
They hadn't quite reached the pond when Harry began to speak.
"I'm glad you are willing to hear me out," he said quietly. "I know that I don't really deserve anything from you for the way I treated you, so I am grateful for this opportunity."
It took everything she had for Ginny not to roll her eyes. "Harry, you're the one who said we couldn't see one another any more," she said calmly, giving him a sad look, letting her eyes speak of her emotions.
"I know," Harry replied morosely, his shoulders sagging even further.
As they got to the pond, Harry led her over to one of the logs that everyone used as benches that sat under a huge old willow tree.
Sitting down, Harry stared into Ginny's eyes but dropped his gaze quickly, wincing as if he had stared into the Sun.
"I don't know if she told you, but your Mum sat me down and had a talk with me," he said lowly. "Well, really, she talked and I listened."
"She told me she was planning on talking to you but didn't say anything about what she was going to say," Ginny admitted.
Harry glanced up in surprise but quickly lowered his gaze once again. "I want you to know that I think the reasons I gave you at the funeral are still valid," he began, taking a quick glance at Ginny.
He winced when he saw her scowl at him. "But your Mum gave me some really important thing to think about," he said, pressing on before Ginny could speak.
Harry paused, staring at the ground for several moments before lifting his head and staring directly into Ginny's eyes. "The thing is you are the most important thing in my life. If I lost you, I wouldn't be able to go on, I'd have no reason to continue living," he whispered intently, his eyes burning with an emerald fire.
"I love you Ginny. I love you with all my heart, with every fibre of my being," he whispered fervently, his eyes shining with the intensity of his emotions.
Ginny felt like she'd just taken a Bludger to her stomach. While she knew Harry cared for her and maybe loved her, she wasn't prepared for his declaration. Not that she didn't want to hear it, she just hadn't expected him to admit it.
Her eyes were locked on his and she saw his expectant look. She had to take a deep breath to get herself back under control.
"I love you too, Harry," she replied tenderly. "Have for quite some time now."
Harry smiled at her, the first she remembered him doing since Dumbledore's funeral, though there was still a touch of sadness in his eyes.
"I'm glad to hear that," he replied softly.
Seeing the look in his eyes, she asked, "So where does that leave us?"
Harry sighed deeply and hesitantly extended his hand toward hers.
Ginny quickly reached out and met his hand part way, grasping it firmly, not wanting him to chicken out.
"I'm hoping you'll forgive me for being such a prat and take me back," he said hopefully.
Ginny sighed deeply, this time rolling her eyes. Then she smiled mischievously. "Well, I can't take you back," she said rather smugly.
When Harry looked at her in shock, she said, "I never accepted you breaking up with me, so to me we were never apart."
"Ginny, are you trying to give me a heart attack," he cried in relief.
"No, but I did think you needed to feel a little of what I felt," she said with a small grin.
Before Harry could reply, she slid closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly.
Harry wrapped his arms around her and crushed her to his body. "I guess I deserved that," he whispered into her ear.
"Yes you did," she said smugly. "And I don't want you to ever try something like that again," she added pointedly, staring into his eyes.
Harry stared back and saw something in the way she was looking at him.
Ginny watched Harry closely and she almost laughed out loud. First she saw his bewildered look which slowly changed to one of surprise and then finally understanding and acceptance.
"Do you mean what I think you mean?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes I do," she replied fervently. "I expect that once this is all over that you'll have the bollocks to ask me to marry you."
Harry got a goofy grin on his face, chuckling at her choice of words. "I do want to marry you and I'm honoured that you want to marry me. I'd propose right now if I thought your Mum wouldn't throw a wobbly," he said, pulling her head in and capturing her lips.
What started as a rather tame kiss quickly became more passionate and they spent many long minutes getting reacquainted.
Finally when breathing became more vital than kissing, their lips separated. Loathed to separate, Ginny tucked her head under Harry's and she smiled as she listened to his racing heart.
They stayed that way for quite a while, Harry rubbing her back and running one hand down through her long, luxurious, silky hair constantly.
Ginny was just content with being held by him and enjoyed the attention he was lavishing on her.
It wasn't until Harry's stomach growled, causing Ginny to chuckle, that they rose and headed back toward the Burrow, hand in hand.
They stopped on the porch and took each other in a warm embrace, sharing a tender kiss.
Inside, Molly saw the pair and she smiled as she saw them kiss. Though she worried about what lay ahead, she was happy that two of the most important people in her life had found each other and shared a love that would weather any storm. She just hoped it would be enough.
Harry and Ginny
A/N: Just something that came to me and begged to be written. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Please review.