Title: Boys Don't Cry
Author: PineappleIce, aka Nicole
Summary: Ginny helps Harry understand himself after Dumbledore's death. One-shot.
Pairing: GW/HP
Rating: K+
Warnings: None
A/N: I am not an HPGW shipper, and I think in HBP their relationship was terribly written. However, I had this little plot bunny and decided to set it free. Enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Ginny Weasley. The title came from the song of the same name by The Cure. All I own is my story.

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'"But you've been too busy saving the wizarding world," said Ginny, half-laughing. "Well... I can't say I'm surprised. I knew this would happen in the end. I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were hunting Voldemort. Maybe that's why I like you so much."'- Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince
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A warm breeze breathed across the surface of the lake, causing the green leaves to sway slightly as they wilted under the golden sunshine. Harry Potter's long, messy hair was being tousled gently as he sat staring at the surface of water, hugging his knees and shivering slightly. He had planned to spend this time with Ron and Hermione, but they were nowhere to be found.

A soft, familiar hand touched his shoulder suddenly. He knew who it was without looking around. He wasn't sure he wanted to see her. He knew it would hurt.

She sat down beside him without waiting for an invitation. Her long hair brushed his cheek as she did so. For a long time she sat beside him in silence, arranging herself in the same position as he was, watching the water with a far-away look in her bright eyes.

"Hullo, Ginny," he said miserably, turning to look at her.

She looked beautifully back at him, a sad soft smile on her lips. She opened her mouth, then appeared to change her mind and closed it again, her smile fading.

Harry felt a lump in his throat as he watched her turn back to the water hopelessly. He cared about Ginny a lot, more than anyone he had ever met, and he couldn't be with her because of Voldemort. He swallowed painfully. "Ginny?" he asked, trying to make his voice light.

"I- I- I was thinking about you," she choked out. "And I saw you. Alone." She cast one fleeting glance at him before bursting into tears, burying her face in her robes.

Harry sighed, fighting the urge to cry himself. She had taken the break-up so well before- he should have known she would decide to fight it later. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. He stroked her red hair carefully, cherising the feel of it between his fingers. "I told you... Ginny, I told you, I have to be alone."

She spoke into her robes, her heartbroken voice sounding muffled. "But R-Ron and Hermione are helping you! Why can't I, H-Harry?"

He had asked himself that same question. Wasn't Ginny an equally capable witch as his best friends were? Hadn't she shown that she was braver than either of them? But Harry knew he could not let her help him because of how much it would hurt if she was killed. Slowly, he raised her head, slipping a finger under her chin. "Ginny... I can't let you go because I like you so much."

Her tear-stained face twisted defiantly. "And why do you like me, Harry?"

He was speaking before he had even thought about it. "You're brave... powerful... good-hearted."

She laughed through her tears, sniffing before replying, "Exactly. Aren't those qualities that would be perfect against Voldemort?" Her eyes glittered as she realised she was winning.

Harry sighed, blinking back tears, realising something that hit him hard. He took Ginny's hand, holding it tightly. He raised it and brushed it with his lips. How he had missed touching her in the short period of time he hadn't. "I should have known you wouldn't be happy unless you were helping me fight Voldemort," he said, feeling a smile on his lips. "Maybe that's why I like you so much."

She was smiling back at him now, teasing him. "That's deep, Potter," she laughed softly, wiping her tears away. "Does that mean I get to help you?"

His bottom lip trembled. Heavily, he nodded, sweeping Ginny into his arms and holding her there, realising how lost he was without her. There was something about her that made him complete. "Ginny... I love you."

Ginny looked up into his face, cupping it gently in her hands. "You're trying hard not cry, aren't you, Harry?"

He nodded, laughing as he felt a tear escape his eye and trickle down his cheek. He kissed Ginny's forehead. "Boys don't cry, Ginny."

She shook her head, kissing his tear away. "You aren't a boy, Harry Potter. You're a man. And I'm pretty damned sure that's why I love you."