I stared out my parent's kitchen window listening to people leave after the Order meeting was let out. The sun was sinking in to the trees turning the sky shades of red and orange. I heard the kitchen door swing shut the final time and slowly turned my head to the side, peeking through the corner of my eye to see who was left in the kitchen with me. My mother sat at the table head in her hands, and my father leading against the counter, rubbing his temples.

"Are you going to see him?" My mother quietly inquired looking up and putting a fist under her chin.

"I don't know yet Mum. I'm not entirely sure he's even home yet. The best I could make out of the last owl was that He would try to make it back within the week. I don't want to get my hopes up and be disappointed." I pulled a glass out of the cabinet and poured myself some water.

"I think you should check sweet heart." My Father patted me on the back and walked out of the kitchen. Mum stood and began stacking the dishes on the table getting them ready to wash.

"So we shouldn't expect you back until tomorrow?" She didn't even look up as the spoke. With me being twenty one there really wasn't much she could do any more about me spending the night with members of the opposite sex. When she first discovered that I wasn't coming home until the next morning, she was furious, but this wasn't just any boy. It was Harry. She loved Harry like she was one of us. So after I confessed who I was with when she saw me sneaking in at five in the morning, Her face changed back to normal and she sighed " I guess he's the best I could ask for." And she never complained about it again.

"If he's even back." My emotions swirled inside my chest, I didn't want to get too excited but I was ready to see him again. I walked out of the kitchen just as Mum turned the water on to wash the dishes and made my way upstairs to my bedroom. I threw myself down on the bed closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. Was I stalling? Why? What if he was already there, waiting for me?

"Knock Knock!" A voice came from my door. I turned my head and there was Ron. He and I were so alike. We were the perfect mix of both of our parents, height of our father and the muscle build of our mother's side of the family. While Fred, George and Percy looked much more like our father's side, tall and gangly with almost no body fat, Bill and Charlie were built more like Mum's family, a few inches taller than Dad with big thick hands and broad shoulders. Ron and I were right in the middle, Ron was dad's height while I was an inch or two shorter, with long arms and legs. Ron was broad shouldered like Bill and Charlie, and I had wide hips like my mother. Neither of us had ever had flat stomachs, but we were far from overweight. He plopped himself down on the bed next to me. "You waiting on Harry?"

"Mhm" I sat up on my pillows. " Are you still planning on going with him next time he leaves?"

"If he will let me, I swear he is so bloody focused on doing this alone. He can't put this all on himself. No one can take all of that on, not even the all-powerful Harry Potter." He sighed "He needs this break though. You do too; I see how much this is taking out of you Ginny, him being gone all the time, sometimes months without hearing anything. It's taking a toll on you. Go check, Go see if he made it home, if he isn't there you and I will get out of here, get your mind off of it until he does get here."He pushed me off the bed. "Just let me know if he's there and I will go on to bed"

I smiled at him weakly, "okay, Thanks Ron." I clomped down the stairs, picking up speed as I went, excitement rising in my chest the closer I came to the landing in front of the door." I'm leaving now! Bye! Love you guys!" I ran out the front door and heard it slam behind me. I pulled my wand out of my back pocket as I made it to the outside of the wards, hearing Moody's warning in my head as I did so, "Girl, you are going to be missing a buttock if you keep on stowing that wand with there!" And Apparated away.

I stood at the end of a quickly darkening street, almost completely empty outside of a few joggers and a woman walking a dog. I quickly walked up the street with determination down to number 12. I ran up the front walk and fumbled for the keys in my pocket. I shoved the correct key in the dead bolt and turned it. Quietly I opened the door careful not to disturb Mrs. Black's portrait and bolted the door behind me. I searched the kitchen, no Harry, sitting room, no Harry. I carefully slipped my shoes off and padded up stairs, if he was here, He was in his bed room. I tip toed down the hall, and grabbed the door handle. Closing my eyes, I silently prayed he was there safe for the moment. The door slowly creaked open to reveal Harry sprawled out on the bed that was still made from last time I came by to clean. He was softly snoring, mouth wide open, glasses askew, fully dressed including running shoes.

I didn't want to disturb him just yet; I so opened the closet and selected a throw blanket from the top self. I unfolded it and placed it over Harry before leaving the room and going back down stairs. In the kitchen I found some pasta and a jar of my Alfredo sauce in the pantry, and thankfully some frozen chicken breast. I got to work, putting together an easy dinner, because there was no telling when the last time was that Harry had a real meal. I set the table and covered the pasta after popping the garlic bread in the oven preparing myself to go wake Harry, It could be dangerous to do. Even though I know he would never hurt me on purpose, He was in the middle of a war and completely on edge. I heard footsteps on the stairs.

"When did I first realize that I had feeling for you?" I heard his voice before I saw him.

"When you saw me in the hallway with Dean. Why did you break up with me? "I answered his test question

"For some stupid noble reason" He stepped out of the shadows with a smirk on his face. He took a few steps forward and closed the space between us and wrapped his arms around me. "You smell so good"

"God It's good for you to be home again." My breath caught in my throat, he turned and kissed me. I took everything in, how he looked what he smelled like his five o'clock shadow rubbing against my cheek.

'it's good to be home, Gin" I could feel his smile and hear it in his voice. "What's for dinner? I'm starved." He looked up at me and kissed me one more time before releasing me to retrieve the bread from the oven.

"Chicken alfredo and garlic bread." I set the pan on the counter and transferred the bread on to a plate burning my fingers repeatedly in the process. "Damn it! That's really hot bread" I put the bread plate on the table while sucking on my burned fingers.

"Why didn't you let it cool first?" he smiled up from his seat at the table. I could now clearly see bags under his eyes and a new scar across his right arm. He noticed my glance down at his arm and moved to get it out of my sight.

"Oh Harry! What happened? I snatched his arm and investigated the deep scar running from his elbow to the top of his hand.

"Nothing Ginny. It's fine. I'm fine. It's been taken care of." He looked down and tried to brush me away, but I was having none of it.

"It's been taken care of? By who? How did this happen Harry? Who did this to you?" the worry and anger started building up inside, threating to boil over.

"I thought we agreed to not talking about this stuff while I am home. Keep that stuff out in battle. Not here." He looked up at me with his pleading eyes.

I let go of his arm and sat down in my chair. I picked up my fork in and twirled my pasta "Bullshit, I agreed to no such thing. Tell me." I shoved a mouth full in before my temper over flowed; I chewed slowly trying to calm myself down.

He sighed and grabbed a piece of bread and took a big bite, mouth full of food he said "They caught me Ginny. Dragged me down to the dungeons in the Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix thought she would have a little fun by torturing me be for he got there. She shouldn't have, if she would have left me alone I wouldn't have been able to get out. She slipped up, I snatched her wand, now she's gone and I am here. That's it. If I hadn't gotten this scar I wouldn't be here." He then shoved more than a mouth pull of pasta and we sat eating in silence.

After a while I finally spoke. "So, she's dead?" He slowly looked up and with one jerk of his head he nodded. "I'm sorry Harry"

"If I hadn't done it then, when he came and saw that I got away he would have made a week of it. My way was a lot less painful and a lot quicker than he would have done it." I swallowed hard, feeling horrible that I asked. "its okay Ginny, its fine that you asked. I guess I needed to tell someone."

Eventually we finished with dinner, cleaned up and made our way up to Harry's bedroom. I snooped around in his drawers until I found something of mine, and headed to the shower. I let my thoughts run wild in the hot water, I felt like such a jerk for making him tell me, He never became calloused even thought this war forced him to take more lives than he ever should have had too. I washed my hair that hung nearly all the way down my back, I began considering telling him I'm coming with him when he leaves, but I pushed that thought to the back of my mind. Harry feels like I need to stay safe, for him, he always admits that it's selfish of him. I understand, but I want to help protect him, I want to stand with him and support him when he needs it, heal him when he's broken, and I can't do that from here. I rinsed myself off and stepped out of the shower stood on the rug and dried my hair as well as I could with a towel. I pulled a t-shirt and underwear on and give my hair one last try before hanging the towel over the rack and walking in the bed room. I put a little extra swing in my hips for Harry's benefit as I walked to towards the bed.

I woke early the next morning to see the sun's rays peeking through the blinds while Harry still snored alongside me. I stood, still stark naked from the night before, and went to the bathroom in search of a robe. I had no luck so I settled for actually putting my clothes on before heading down stairs. I put some water on to boil for tea and sat at the table to wait for the whistle. Out the kitchen window the rising sun was so inviting. So I pulled my sneakers on and started out the door to take a quick stroll in the morning air. I paused and decided it best to leave Harry a note in case he woke before my return. I laid it on the kitchen table and smiled as I grabbed my house keys and wand before stepping in to the brisk air outside.

The street was deserted. And completely silent outside of the wind rustling in the trees, the fall leaves blowing across my path, and crunching under my feet. As a child I loved chasing leaves and crunching them in to the ground, loving the crisp sound they made under my shoes. I heard a dog bark in the distance, and a gate creak open in the wind. I paused for a moment, stopping to pull my hair in to a sloppy bun to keep it from whipping in to my face when I felt someone behind me grab my hands and tie them quickly together. Before I could let the scream escape my lips I was knocked to the ground, and my vision went black.

I was caught.