He knew it was coming, he just didn't expect for the number of people to be so large. Kingsley had spoken to the trio about telling the story of Riddles demise to those that needed to know, but it seemed incredible that so many people needed to know. All the Weasley's, save Ginny, were there, members of the order who Harry didn't recognize, and a few important looking Ministry officials. The only thing that seemed to hit Harry worse than the sheer number of people present was the absence of the one person who's company he genuinely craved. As the three walked into the room and headed towards the last empty seats, Harry stopped suddenly in his tracks.
"Where's Ginny?" He spoke primarily to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who immediately obliged.
"She's underage, she's not in the order, and she was specifically forbidden from attending this particular meeting, dear" Mrs. Weasley's grief seemed incomprehensible, but perhaps the willpower to shield her last underage child was propelling her forward. Hermione and Ron sat next to each other, leave one empty seat for Harry, but he remained standing.
"Mrs. Weasley, I have the utmost respect for you. But I've been lying two Ginny for almost two years, and I can't keep doing it anymore. Ever since my lessons with Dumbledore last year I've evaded every question and downright lied. It's not right for me to continue to keep things from her though, so I'm going to have to tell her anything regardless of if she's here or not. She fought in the battle, she deserves to know what she was fighting for. To be honest though, it would make things easier for me if we only had to tell this story once," Harry struggled to maintain eye contact with Mrs. Weasley, but forced himself to do so. After several tense moments, she tersely nodded her head while making some vague sound of disapproval. Harry, taking what he could get, turned on his heel and left the room to find the youngest Weasley.
It wasn't particularly difficult work, and Harry didn't bother to consult his map. She was in the Great Hall, eating lunch by herself. He hadn't spoken to her at all. Things had been so crazy in the immediate aftermath of the battle, and by the time Harry had finally had a moment, nothing he could say seemed right. Nothing seemed sufficient. That fear remained, but Harry was certain Ginny wouldn't want to miss out on this meeting, and perhaps being the one to convince her parents to allow it could dissolve some tension. Harry sat down across from her before she had bothered to look up.
"What are you doing here, I thought you had some big briefing, now that you're the Savior of the Entire Universe and A Hero for Hero's or whatever it is they're calling you these days?" The light teasing gave Harry a miniscule amount of hope that perhaps she wasn't as upset as Harry had feared.
"Well, even Savior's have to eat, Gin. Actually, I came to see if you wanted to be at the briefing. I convinced your parents that you should be allowed to go," Harry said.
"Is this your way of apologizing?" Suddenly there was a furious glow in the brown eyes Harry had come to love. Any hope he had have of Ginny being quick to forgive him disappeared.
"No, not apologize. I owe you an apology, and you'll get one. But I think first and foremost I owe you an explanation, if you'd like one."
"You were DEAD. I saw your lifeless body being brought out of the forest and was told that you were DEAD," her voice had gotten low, which was even worse than yelling. At least for Ginny, that is. "'If I'd like an explanation', do you think this explain is going to explain away why you left us, left me, without saying goodbye? Do you plan to explain, in this briefing, why you could just up and leave me, not once, not twice, but three times? Unless your explanation includes you telling everyone exactly why you're an insufferable, moronically noble prat, then I'm not interested in hearing your explanation. Do you think that if I hear all about your grand adventure with Ron and Hermione I'll just be reminded of how madly in love with you I am, and all will be forgiven? Cause if you can answer that, then sure, I'll listen to your explanation," her fury became evident and the spoon from her soup clattered to the bowl. Thankfully, she was speaking low enough that they hadn't drawn the attention of any of the nearby people. Harry bowed his head, willing to accept her anger. She was right, after all. She deserved better than how Harry had treated her.
"So, you don't want to come to the briefing?"
"Of course, I'm going to the briefing," she snapped and stood abruptly before snatching her sweater from the seat next to her before storming off towards the doors.
Ginny was particularly petite, and even in her anger it only took Harry a few strides to catch up to her. They walked together, Ginny in a fuming silence before abruptly turning and planting herself firmly in front of Harry. He stopped in his tracks and waited for the rage to begin again. To his surprise though, there was no rage. Just emotion Harry couldn't quite place. He waited several moments for her to speak, but nothing came.
"Gin, if your feelings have changed, I'd understand. I know I broke things off before I left, I know that's on me. I don't want to harass you if you're not interested in being with me anymore. But if there's a chance you'll forgive me, if I have a shot with you, I'll fight for it. I don't expect you to just turn around and forgive me, just tell me to fight for you," he couldn't quite look her in the eyes to say it, but when he did manage pleading eye contact, he saw something particular in her face. It was almost a laugh. Suddenly, there was a huge movement that took Harry by surprise. By the time he could catch his breath, he realized Ginny had wrapped her arms firmly around his neck and buried her face in his neck. Her toes barely touched the ground. Harry wrapped one arm around her waist as tightly as he could manage and tangled his free hand in her hair.
Hadn't this been what he had dreamed over for over a year? Ever since he had broken things off with her, hadn't he dreamed of the intoxicating smell of her hair, the feel of her lips, her blazing look, the sound of her voice, the taste of her skin? Yet somehow in over a year he had never come close to remembering exactly how wonderful it was to be close to her. Never once did he exactly recall exactly how comforting it was to hold her or how blissful it was to be in her arms. Harry buried his face in Ginny's hair, surrounding himself with his favorite scent. Without really being aware of what was happening, hot tears streamed down his face. He held Ginny even tighter before speaking.
"I love you Gin. I'm so sorry for everything. I wish things could have been different. You mean the world to me though, I was terrified to lose you," his voice broke. Suddenly, the only thing he could seem to think of was the flash of green light an inch away from Ginny's ear, the one perfect, glorious inch that had kept her alive. "I love you, Ginny," Harry kissed her hair as he said it again, well aware that if she had indeed moved on, this would likely be his last chance to hold her. If that was the case, he would be careful to cherish every second of contact he had with her. Ginny shifted ever so slightly, and Harry realized that she too, was crying. Her arms tightened around his neck before she spoke.
"Yeah, I love you too. You're still a prat though."