Ginny isn't surprised that she's the first one there. Even though she herself has a tendency to run late, Angelina Johnson is always the last to arrive places. In all fairness, as a professional Quidditch player, Angelina often has to stop and sign autographs.
People don't ask Ginny for her autograph, people just stare at war heroes and the girlfriend and sister of a war gossip about you when The tabloids print stories. Oh what a relief it was to be in Muggle London. She didn't need to be in tomorrow's paper as well.
The place Angelina chose was nice. Great outdoor seating, and today was turning out to be a lovely day, weather wise. Ginny's mood always relied on the weather, always had. Even on the worst of days, she could never manage to feel that bad when the sun was out and the sky was clear.
In strolled Angelina. Unlike Ginny, Angelina always stood out when she walked into a room. Not only because of her bold brown skin, or her 5'9'' stature, she just had an energy about her.
Luna one said Angelina had a yellow aura signifying optimism and inspiration. Ginny had learned that in cases like these Luna was often right.
"ello!" Angelina called, leaning over the table and kissing Ginny's cheeks.
"Lovely dress" Ginny commented, raising her eyebrow in question. Angelina rolled her eyes before slumping down in the seat across from her, "I had tea with my Mum."
Ginny nodded in understanding. Molly was the same, always wanting to see her daughter in dresses and skirts, as to confirm that she indeed had a daughter and not a seventh son. That explained Angelina's choice of sandals instead of sneakers, as well as the light lipstick she was wearing. Angelina's mother must have been delighted, Angelina looked beautiful.
"How'd that go?" Ginny asked, taking a sip of her water.
Angelina huffed, "Currently she's preoccupied with my sister's wedding. She's freaking out because all the venues are booked solid, well, you know." yeah Ginny knew.
"Anyway, eventually she's going to ask me who my wedding date is and that will open a whole new can of worms." Angelina said, throwing her hands up in the air.
The last Ginny knew, Angelina was dating some muggle football player, a beefy meathead. Eric might have been his name. It was hard to keep track of the many different men Angelina was dating.
Ginny really wanted to ask if Angelina would consider taking George, but Ginny knew Angelina wouldn't answer. Despite being roommates with her brother, Angelina barely ever spoke about George or the new relationship they had formed. The two of them were so private when it came to each other. George and Angelina, in their own flat, with their own conversations, and their own secrets. That was the way it had been since they fled England together five months after the war.
"Not ready to take Eric?" Ginny questioned. Angelina smiled, "I'm thinking of letting Eric go. Lovely abs, just not that bright."
Ginny of course didn't think that this one would last. None of Angelina's boyfriends did. George couldn't keep a girlfriend either. Of course, George and Angelina saw no correlation.
"But maybe I'll keep him around as some arm candy for the wedding photos." She said waggling her eyebrows. "Anyway, enough about me. It'll be last call if I continued to talking about my problems." Angelina laughed.
A part of Ginny wished that Angelina would open up to her, but Ginny knew that was unlikely.
"It's been awhile since we've gotten together, just the two of us." Ginny said.
It really had been at least three months. Of course Ginny had just seen Angelina a couple days ago, at Teddy Lupin's birthday. It had been a small event just family and close friends. All trying to focus on the positive, and not the anniversary coming up a few weeks away.
Angelina smiled. "it's always too long" she said, placing her hand on top of Ginny's before picking up the menu.
"Have you seen the Prophet?" Ginny asked, already knowing the answer. Angelina responded still reading over the menu. "The team has a subscription. I didn't read the article but…" Yeah Ginny knew, she had made front-page news this time. Of course, she had. She had known yesterday she would when she finally calmed down enough to take in the faces of the other witches in the store, the shock, the horror.
"What do you think?" Ginny asks, "Is the article true?"
They all had dealt first hand with the press and the twists and lies the media could tell. Unfortunately for Ginny, this time, it was. Ginny nodded.
"Well. I guess the only thing to say is.." Angelina paused. "you have a flare for the dramatic" Ginny gasped, "Oh my goodness Ange!"
Angelina laughed, "I thought of it the moment I saw the headline."
Angelina Johnson and her puns, sometimes it surprised Ginny that such a poised girl had such an immature humor, but then she willingly hung out with Fred and George, so maybe she shouldn't be so surprised.
"I can't believe you're making jokes right now!"
Angelina shrugged, "So you knocked over a candle and set your wedding dress on fire."
Ginny blanched, and Angelina read her face "The Prophet wrote that it was an accident" Ginny shook her head.
In a way it was, accidental magic from the panic attack Ginny had when she saw her wedding dress and fully comprehended the giant step she was making in her life at only age 20. The Prophet writing that she knocked over a candle had to be Parvati's doing. Ginny would have to thank her. A fruit basket? A cheese platter? What do you send your friend for keeping the wizarding world from thinking you are a deranged arsonist?
"Hey, we don't have to get into the details now." Angelina said, probably sensing Ginny's stress levels starting to rise, "Let's order some food before we get into the nitty-gritty. I'm bloody starved."
"Appetizers?"
Angelina grinned, "and dessert".
There was a reason she went to Angelina. Hermione, as much as she tried, couldn't help but reprimand Ginny. Luna, well, her advice always came buried in tales about mystical creatures no one besides her and her father had heard of. Angelina wasn't like that.
Despite hearing about Angelina before Ginny arrived at Hogwarts through letters Charlie sent about the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and then meeting Angelina through her close friendship with her older twin brothers, Ginny didn't really know Angelina until fourth year. Fourth year it had seemed like it was just Angelina and her, the two remaining members desperate to make their team work. Angelina jokes that she wouldn't have graduated if Ginny wasn't there to keep her sane. Their relationship worked, Angelina liked to talk out strategy and Ginny wanted to learn as much as possible. How many nights that year had Ginny flown with Angelina? How many hours had they spent in front of the Common Room fire? Ginny doesn't quite understand it, but Angelina always found the good that Ginny couldn't see in herself.
The meal was great. They discussed their lives, while skirting around their biggest problems. Quidditch was also a fun topic, and unlike Ron Angelina wasn't interested in showing Ginny up, plus she always had juicy bits of gossip about the other players. Sometimes it really made Ginny wished she had tried out for a team. The sun was setting as they looked over the dessert menu. Another great thing about Angelina, she could eat as much as Ginny.
"I don't know what I want" Angelina hummed in agreement. "I know it all looks so good"
"No, in life." Ginny watched as Angelina lowered the menu, her face changing, ready to listen.
"I love Harry, but-" Ginny paused, how could she explain it. "There are many different types of love"
Her love with Harry felt old and heavy. It felt obligatory, it was stressful. She wanted fun love, light love, consequence free love. She wanted real double dates.
"And you can't have these things with Harry?" Angelina asks.
Ginny blames it all on the war. After the war everyone was so desperate to move on from the lives they losts and the families torn apart. They wanted to see a romance for the ages. They wanted Harry and Ginny to get married and have precious children and be happy and normal. And for months, Ginny thought she was ready, but it took a burst of accidental magic that set her wedding dress on fire for her to see that maybe she wasn't.
"What has Harry said?"
Ginny huffed, "All the right things of course. "Ginny I love you" "Ginny I'll wait for you" But I don't think I want that."
Harry had been kind and patient as Ginny explained and cried, and said she was unhappy. He had listened and apologized and rubbed her back as she told him she couldn't marry him. Her sweet, kind, supportive Harry had been his sweet, kind, and supportive self, and yet Ginny still wasn't satisfied.
"Gosh, I'm so selfish"
"Maybe, but selfish isn't always a bad thing." Angelina proclaimed, taking the time to stare int Ginny's eyes so she understood.
"You have to look after yourself first. No one should be pushing you to do anything but finding out what makes you happy. So what? relationships change. You and harry, me and George, we're all trying to heal. We're all still struggling, me included." Angelina confessed, sad smile on face, that Ginny had rarely seen of the strong woman.
"I'm not saying that calling off your wedding will be easy. There are going to be dozens of people who disagree with you, but that's on them. There are some people who don't understand that when we heal we change." It sounded like a mantra, but coming from Angelina it just made sense.
"Thanks Angelina."
Angelina smiled, "Hey, this is what friends are for."
"While we're talking about change. Alicia gave me this to give to you." Angelina said, pulling out a packet from her bag and sliding it across the table to Ginny.
"It's your decision, I just think you should know it's an option." Angelina stated. Ginny took a good look at the packet.
Molly would die. Breaking her engagement, trying out for a Quidditch team, living with Alicia, taking advice from Angelina and yet...
"This would be a change-" Ginny said, running her fingers over the Harpies logo, "-healing is change."