Hey guys! Long time no post, but I've kind of strayed away from the fanfic world for a while. However, this summer I made the very socially inhibiting decision to re-read (and watch) all of the books in my favorite series of all time, Harry Potter. Ginny Weasley has always been my favorite character and after diving back into the series, I realized how important her relationship with Harry really is in the series. I decided I was going to do a series of one-shots about Harry and Ginny, filling in the gaps and guessing about their future in between the end of Hogwarts and their marriage. Most of these will be in their teenage years, but maybe I'll write a few after they've been married. This one is about Harry and Ginny rekindling their relationship after the Battle of Hogwarts. Let me know what you guys think and leave one-shot requests below!
As Harry stared at the piles of debris and hopeful eyes searching into his he realized that a chapter in his life had ended. In a way, this was the only chapter he had ever experienced as a wizard. Since he had turned 11 years old, Harry only knew this life. The life in which he woke up with a throbbing forehead, the life in which he always felt as though someone was after him, and the life where people he loved were constantly taken away from him. He thought of Sirius, the closest thing he would ever have to a real father, Dumbledore, the man who had given him more wisdom over the course of six years than Harry thought he would ever see again in his life, Mad-Eye, who had been the fiercest protector he had ever known, Hedwig, his sole magical company in the hell that was Privet Drive, Lupin, his father's friend, and Harry's most trusted teacher, even Snape, the man who loved his mother beyond compare, so much that he was even willing to risk his life for it.
Harry looked up from his extremely filthy trainers to see more heartbroken faces. Faces that were down to eight from their usual nine. The Weasley family. They had lost a brother and a son today, and Harry had lost a friend. He felt a pang in his heart, knowing that Fred had died fighting for him and because of him. He felt an even stronger pang when he saw a single, small tear slide down Ginny Weasley's face. Ginny. It was selfish, but Harry felt nothing but hope when he had realized that this Weasley had survived the battle.
Her long, red hair was pulled back just enough so that Harry could see her blazing, brown eyes bore into his. Harry couldn't tell if what he was seeing was joy or hatred, regardless it made him shiver. He began to make his way over to her, but his determined step was interrupted by a sea of long, blonde locks.
"Hello Harry," peeped a dreamy voice, belonging to none other than Luna Lovegood.
"Hello Luna, what's up?" Harry replied.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" She asked intently.
"Sure," he replied.
"Um…" she looked around and then her eyes landed on the same brown ones Harry had been gazing into before, "Preferably in private," she clarified as she dragged Harry out into the corridor.
"What's this about, Luna?" Harry questioned with an accusing tone. He had always liked Luna, but the look she had given Ginny before stealing Harry away had not escaped him. "Is this about Ginny?"
"Well, you see, I have grown very close with Ginny this past year," she explained, "I guess you could say she's kind of my best friend. Huh, I've never had a best friend before, or really any friends at all. That is until you and Hermione and Ron started the DA, that was really –"
"Luna, if you wouldn't mind getting on with it," Harry said, through gritted teeth. He was trying his best not to get testy with Luna, he knew she had nothing but good intentions but Harry was eager to return to the Great Hall to be with the Weasley family, specifically Ginny.
"Ah yes, right. Sorry. Well, Ginny has told me a lot about everything, and she knows more than she lets on. She understands a lot more than even you give her credit for." Harry nodded at this comment, acknowledging that Ginny was a talented witch and an even smarter girl. "But she's hurt, Harry, and you know she's more strong-willed than other girls her age and you won't be able to just…" She trailed off as she watched Harry's eyes move away from her and onto the very person they were discussing. "Harry Potter you broke her heart!" Luna bellowed, gaining the attention of not only Harry but everyone else within about a half-mile radius of her, including Ginny herself, who looked down at the ground, tactically avoiding Harry's gaze.
Harry looked from Ginny to Luna and then back to Ginny, hoping her eyes would meet his. He looked back at Luna and watched her shrug her shoulders, feeling no remorse for the scene she just caused. "You're going to have to work for her, Harry," she stated in a much softer tone. "Ginny Weasley will not come easily." Harry simply nodded at Luna, he did not try to stop as she flounced away, her blonde locks swaying in the breeze.
Ginny stood up and wiped what looked like several tears from under her eyes and began to walk towards Harry. "Ginny I…" Harry started, but as soon as he opened his mouth Ginny's eyes met his for a brief moment and she continued right past him, her stride becoming quicker as she moved past him, just barely brushing his shoulder. He turned around to follow her but just as quickly as she had approached him, she had disappeared out of sight.
"Hermione…" Harry muttered as he ran out of the Great Hall with more eyes on him than he'd like to admit. He knew his best friend, as well as Ginny's, would be his best bet in this situation. He knew that Ginny had been confiding in Hermione for years, and he knew this meant that she would have the answers. Not to mention Hermione could solve almost all of Harry's problems, and had been doing so for years. As he was walking through the halls, stepping over piles of concrete and broken objects, Harry found Hermione, but she was not alone. Normally Harry would have been thrilled to see Hermione and Ron, especially seeing as they were holding hands and talking intently, but Harry wasn't sure if he was ready to face Ron on the Ginny front. After all, he had promised Ron he would stay away from her because he had hurt her before. But maybe it would be different this time, the war was over, he didn't want to run from Ginny anymore. It just might be a little bit more difficult to help Ron realize that. He took a final deep breath and sat down on the stair directly below them.
"So you two, yeah?" Harry asked, feeling mildly awkward as it was clear he had just interrupted something. Ron lifted up their intertwined hands as if examining them to make sure the moment was real.
"Yeah," Ron said, grinning sheepishly. "It looks that way doesn't it?" Hermione simply laughed at this and shook her head. Despite their newfound physical closeness, the essence of Ron and Hermione's relationship was always going to be there, and for that, Harry was forever grateful.
"Listen, mate, I'm really sorry to interrupt, but do you mind if I talked to Hermione alone for a second?" Harry asked rather quickly, afraid of what Ron might think he was getting at. Much to his surprise, Ron nodded and gave him a firm pat on the back as he walked away, most likely to greet his family and share the good news with them in greater detail.
"What's up, Harry?" Hermione inquired. Before Harry could even open his mouth, Hermione seemed to have a realization, "Ah, Ginny yes I was wondering when you were going to come to me with this. I'll admit, this is sooner than I thought it would be, usually, you're so caught up in the aftermath of these kinds of things. You don't let your heart come in until much later." Harry looked at her, an expression of pure astonishment on his face. "What?" Hermione asked accusingly. "Come on Harry, I've known you for seven years now. Books aren't the only things I can read."
"I don't know what to do Hermione," he started, "Luna told me basically to be careful because I broke her heart and when I tried to talk to Ginny she just ran away." Hermione nodded, prompting him to continue. "She's everything to me, blimey, I can't believe it took me this long to realize it…" Harry trailed off into his thoughts. His mind wandered to the first kiss he shared with Ginny, and the days of peaceful bliss thereafter. He thought of how she made him feel like there wasn't any bad left in the world, and that if he could just hold her again, he would be sure of this once and for all.
"She cares about you Harry, too much for her own good. She's the strongest girl I know and she has watched you grow up into the man you are today. She knows you more than you think she does, and while she understands your choices and does not fight you on them, that doesn't make them hurt her any less. Give her time, give her space, but let her know you're there. Making an effort will show her you still care." Hermione explained, her hand placed firmly on Harry's knee.
"It's funny," Harry began, "All these years, I had been going to Ron with girl troubles, but you were right here all along."
"Oh please," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, "It took Ron this long to even realize I was a female, don't tell me it's just coming to you now too? Come on Harry, you defeated Voldemort merely hours ago and you're telling me you can't even piece together the thought that I might be more equipped to help you while you were drooling over Cho than Ron? Merlin's beard, you two can be really thick sometimes," she huffed, pushing her loose strands from her ponytail out of her face and standing to face Harry. "Go," she said, ushering him up from the staircase, "Find her, be with her. It's the least you can do after the year you've put her through. And do me a favor, don't make the excuse that you were saving the wizarding world and whatnot, I have a feeling you need to admit to yourself that Ginny had to save you for you to be able to accomplish any of that." Harry watched her turn her back on him, frozen with shock. He felt as though he had been petrified as he realized all of the times Ginny had kept him safe, simply the thought of her being there when all of this was over. Now that it was, Harry realized every second that he had wasted pretending like he didn't need Ginny by his side through it all.
Harry stood up and brushed the dirt off of his hands, making the small attempt to make himself more presentable. He peered at his reflection in a piece of a mirror that had been broken off on the ground. "Maybe just this once," he said to himself, "I should care a little about my appearance." He took off to the Gryffindor common room to collect his thoughts and maybe a comb before he confronted Ginny. As he finally reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he silently thanked whoever left the portrait hole open, seeing as he wasn't aware of any of the passwords that year.
He walked towards his favorite spot in the common room, the couch right in front of the fire where he, Ron, and Hermione used to sit, him and Ron copying Hermione's homework while she scoffed, starting an assignment that she was most likely doing months in advance. Harry smiled as he looked at the chair next to it, where Ginny used to sit, rolling her eyes at wrong and catching Harry's eye to make a joke every once in a while. He stood up and started walking back and forth in front of the fireplace, running his hands through his hair, trying to muster up the courage to even think about what he was going to say to Ginny.
"If you pace any longer, you're going to break the floor," Harry's skin tingled with the sound of a voice all too familiar. He turned around to be faced with his greatest desire and his deepest fear all in one.
"How long have you been here?" Harry asked intently, not sure what else to say to begin the conversation.
"Long enough to watch you reminisce," Ginny replied, a fresh tone in her voice, as though she was talking back to a parent. "It's funny isn't it?" Ginny began, running her hands over the very couch Harry was standing in front of, "Thinking about all of those times the four of us sat here, not knowing what our futures held. Especially not you and I, not then, and most definitely not now." Harry looked at her with astonishment and wonder. The whole entire walk up to this room Harry had been going over what he was going to say to Ginny when he saw her, but seeing as he was not expecting to meet her this soon, all of the thoughts and words seemed to melt away.
"Ginny I'm so -" she held up her hand as if to cut him off from whatever stupid thing the two of them both knew he was about to say.
"Don't waste your breath," she said, this time more coldly than Harry had ever heard her. "I was just coming up here to get a few of the things I had left behind," she muttered, thumbing a picture Harry recognized over in her hands.
"Hey lemme see that," Harry said, reaching to grab the photo from her hands. Before she could stop him, Harry realized what he was looking at.
"Hey!" Ginny exclaimed, "Harry Potter that is NOT yours." She stated firmly, crossing her arms while Harry examined the photograph. She watched as his expression softened and she decided to explain. "Dad took it on a muggle camera, that's why it isn't moving. I thought it was special that way. A real, unfiltered moment. You and I haven't had many of those, you know." Harry couldn't take his eyes off the picture. For something so simple, something created with a muggle device, this was one of the most magical, powerful things he had seen. He stared at the two of them, sitting side-by-side at the Weasley table, Harry's arm casually slung around Ginny's shoulder, his eyes and smile laughing. Meanwhile, Ginny's long, red hair laid perfectly around the edges of her face, her brown eyes gazing up at Harry, her mouth mid-laugh.
"This was my birthday," Harry stated. In his mind, this had been a question, but now he was sure of it. He remembered that moment well. He had known he couldn't be with Ginny, but just being close to her, sharing a moment that could have easily been mistaken for a friendly one, was all he needed to get through the day without thinking about his journey ahead. If he had known that was going to be the last time he was in close proximity to Ginny, he would have grabbed her and kissed her one last time, or at least said a proper goodbye. He peered back up at Ginny, nodding while she bit her bottom lip, clearly trying to hold back tears. If he knew one thing about her, it was that Ginny Weasley refused to cry in front of him, or anyone for that matter.
"You hurt me, Harry," she murmured, her eyes falling to the floor.
"I know- " He began, but Ginny cut him off yet again.
"Please," she said, her eyes begging with his, "I need to be able to say this first, Harry." He nodded, as if allowing her to continue, although he knew she needed no permission from him. "You hurt me, you broke my heart, but somehow I never stopped caring. I think that's where the resentment stems from. You went on, completing a mission that I was not allowed to know anything about, but you still had this kind of control over me. You were gone, and we weren't together, but I knew I had to stay loyal to you. I never stopped caring about you, and every time I thought about you, it started to hurt more. But you know what? I'm done. I don't want to care anymore because I know it's only going to hurt me in the end. I can't do this anymore." She stopped herself, finally breaking, as Harry watched her hurriedly wipe a tear from running down her face as she turned on her heels, running into the closest door, which just happened to be the boy's dormitory.
"Ginny, wait!" Harry called, chasing up the stairs after her. "Please listen to me," he begged, finally reaching her and grabbing her arm to stop her from running more. He looked around and realized they were in his old room. He smiled to himself as he recognized his old four-poster, seemingly untouched, even after all this time. He gestured towards the bed, she looked at him skeptically but sat down, regardless of her better judgment. "I'm sorry," he explained, looking her directly in the eyes. "What I did was wrong and unfair to you, I knew Voldemort and the Death Eaters would try to use you to get to me, so I felt like I needed to protect you. The second I left I knew I had made a mistake. You proved today, and have been proving your entire life, that you can, in fact, protect yourself. I'm sorry it took me this long to realize it." He breathed a sigh of relief. He had done it, without stuttering or breaking eye contact or saying something incredibly stupid. He looked into her dark eyes to gain any sort of insight into what she was thinking. Then, sure enough, a smile broke out on her face. It seemed to reach her eyes first, and then her lips and Harry's body was filled with warmth, as though he had just gulped an entire glass of butterbeer without taking a breath.
"You saved me once, remember?" she mentioned, smiling as Harry nodded his head. He knew to what she was referring instantly, as he remembered the leather-bound diary with the basilisk-fang sized hole in the middle. She took his hand and enveloped it in between the two of hers, her eyes never leaving his. "I'm mad at you, I was mad at you, and I still am. But part of that's my fault. I was scared and hurt and confused when you left. I needed to tell you that instead of just falling into your arms the second I saw you, which believe me, is exactly what I wanted to do," she admitted rather quietly. "It's going to take time, and things aren't going to go exactly the way they did before, but I'm willing to work for it if you are." Harry could only nod as his response, unsure of what to say to a person who seemed like they had all the answers.
She let go of his hand and stood up, brushing her hair out of her face as she did so. "Now let's go before Ron- " Before she could finish her sentence Ron came flying through the doorway, his face almost as red as his hair.
"HARRY POTTER I DON'T CARE IF YOU SAVED THIS WORLD AND OUTERSPACE YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER!" He bellowed, Hermione, looking sheepish and repeatedly mouthing sorry as she waved her hands above her head trying to catch their attention. Ginny rolled her eyes and smiled as she watched Ron's face go two shades deeper as she grabbed Harry's hand.
"Oh shut up, Ron. I already chewed him out enough for one day. You can have him tomorrow, but for now, can you just be happy that it isn't some git you'll make fun of at family dinners." Ginny scolded, as Ron huffed out of the room, Hermione tiptoeing behind him, turning around to apologize for her new boyfriend's misbehavior every few steps.
"JUST DON'T LET ME CATCH YOU SNOGGING IN MY ROOM WHEN YOU STAY OVER HARRY. THAT'S FOUL!" Ginny and Harry looked at each other and lost it as they heard Ron's final plea and a door slam behind them.
"You know…" Ginny mentioned, grabbing both of Harry's hands in hers, turning his body to face hers, "We can always snog in my room," Ginny said, laughing to herself as she watched Harry's face go red and his eyes look for anything to bore into besides hers. She loved knowing she could make the famous Harry Potter squirm after years of nothing but pure embarrassment around him.
"Yeah, just don't send me any singing Valentine's this year, okay Ginny?" He asked, finally gaining an ounce of confidence back.
"No promises, Potter," she whispered, rising to her tiptoes and leaning into him, his hand moving down to the small of her back. They shared one last smile before closing their eyes and allowing their lips to touch. Harry was met with a feeling that was so foreign, yet so familiar at the same time. He felt a new jolt of energy, one hand running through her hair, the other still place firmly on the small of her back, her arms wrapped around his neck. It felt like he was flying again, better than flying on a Firebolt, better than the first time he ever caught a snitch. The rest of the world melted away, he was a normal boy kissing a girl he cared about and had cared about, he now realized, for many years. They were interrupted by a firm cough in the doorway, and Harry, feeling just as awkward as he had before, pulled away, but Ginny's fingers remained interlocked behind the nape of Harry's neck, his skin tingling where her thumbs grazed his hairline.
"You know, Harry," Ron began, "This is still technically my room too, you know." And at that, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione broke out into fits of laughter. At that moment, Harry knew everything was going to be okay. He would always be Ron's best friend, Hermione would always be there for the two of them, and Ginny? Well, Harry knew she was going to be around for a while, maybe even forever, but it seemed foolish to think about that now. Harry and Ginny settled into Harry's bed, with Ron and Hermione next to the two of them in Ron's. There they remained for what felt like minutes but Harry knew was several hours. Talking, laughing wondering what the summer would bring the foursome. Harry didn't know much, and he couldn't see the future, no matter how hard Professor Trelawney had wanted him to, but he knew it would be nothing short of an adventure.