"Come back to me?"
He'd realised that he wasn't happy without her. Little Ginny. His relationship with her…it had all been so simple. He wasn't very romantic, and she didn't expect him to be. Living a life that had lacked love had had its toll on Harry – he wasn't able to express himself very well. And yet the love he had the received all of a sudden, at Hogwarts, made him appreciate love for all it was. He appreciated his genuine feelings for her and, although it was too early to say that he loved her, he felt as he had never felt for a girl before. He could imagine spending the rest of his life with her, and always being happy.
The Wedding Day was over. They'd sat beside each other for the whole ceremony, barely touching. They'd greeted each other like friends, and Harry had thought maybe that was how she wanted them to part. Now he knew differently.
She looked so pretty, in her simple blue dress. There was a flower of the same colour in her hair. Her hair was down, but she had cut it several inches and it made her look older; more mature. Hermione had put a little Muggle makeup on her, and Ginny now had tinted eyelashes and a thin shine on her lips. Harry couldn't take his eyes off her.
He wasn't very romantic, but neither was she. The most they had done was kiss. She had probably been ready for more, but he wasn't. He didn't want to rush anything. Last year, he'd been so preoccupied with everything, he hadn't wanted to ruin one moment with her. Every moment with her was a moment of bliss.
"Come back to me?" she repeated. Her eyes were shining brightly, but she did not cry. She simply looked at him. Just like she had at the funeral, brown eyes looking deeply at him, seeing right through him and inside of him. They'd only been together for a brief space of time, and she knew so much about him.
"Of course." The thought of coming back to her and enjoying simple moments with her was beautiful. Thinking of walking around Hogwarts lake with her or having a game of one-on-one Quidditch with her made him feel so elated and bright, as if he'd never been sad before. Thinking of being with Ginny and not having to worry was such a beautiful wish that his face broke out into a grin, and he couldn't stop smiling at her.
She smiled back at him, but her smile was sad.
"I'll miss you." He would miss her too, of course, but he didn't feel the need to tell her that. It was less painful if he didn't tell her how much he was growing to depend on her to help him through. She didn't need to know how much he appreciated her smile in his mind first thing in the morning, nor did she need to know how his favourite colour was now the red of her hair. He didn't need to know, because he would tell her soon – once he was back.
"I'll talk to you soon," he said now instead. He could almost hear her heart break. She didn't want to leave him go. He didn't know what to do, so he took her in his arms and hugged her. A friend's hug. So close…
"Promise?" she prompted, still in his arms.
"Of course." She looked up at him, at his response, and brown met green. She nodded defiantly and then stood up on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek. A gesture Hermione – pure platonic Hermione – would have done. Then Ginny stepped back from his arms, and set him free.
He turned away. Hermione and Ron were in the distance. They would come with him, but he would leave them soon. This was his journey. He would have to do his journey on his own. Hermione and Ron had to come with him for their own purposes – he knew they would finally get together, he just wondered how long they would last.
He would come back to her, and would finally be able to tell her how much she meant to him. In the meantime, she would have her family to take care of her, and he would have the thought of her waiting to take care of him. Every step felt wrong, but he kept on walking. Because he was a hero and he knew what he had to do.
Ginny did not cry, she simply watched him walk away until he was out of sight.
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