The night after the battle, there was a huge celebration in the Great Hall. It was reminiscent of the Quidditch after-parties they had during their Hogwarts years, except it managed to be even more crowded because the other houses were there too. Harry didn't like it. It seemed... infantile. There were an awful lot of things to think about in the aftermath of the battle, and all Harry wanted was some peace and quiet in which to do so.
He was already sick of being the centre of attention. He couldn't go anywhere without being bombarded by people with congratulations, thanks and questions he really didn't want to answer. He didn't feel ready to disclose to the world what they had been doing for the last year, not just yet anyway. He wasn't sure if he ever would. But there was definitely one person who deserved to know. So Harry enlisted the help of an old friend: the Invisibility Cloak.
Re-entering the hall under the cover of the cloak, Harry scanned the room, thankful that for a change he couldn't feel eyes following him everywhere he went. The most prominent sound was a tipsy Slughorn's booming laugh, coming from where he and the other teachers and some of the Order members were gathered, all talking and laughing merrily. On the other side of the room, the students had migrated to their different friendship groups. Harry's eyes were drawn to the far corner, where Dean, Seamus, Neville, Ernie and the rest of the old DA crowd were talking. Ron and Hermione were standing slightly awkwardly by the side. It suddenly occurred to Harry how different things would have been if they'd stayed at Hogwarts - the other students definitely seemed to have a new bond that the trio didn't share in.
Harry was surprised not to see Ginny in this group, and was relieved when he spotted her by the drinks table, being spoken to animatedly by Luna and Xenophilius.
"Daddy and I are going to travel to Sweden to search for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, aren't we, Daddy?" Luna was saying enthusiastically.
"Yes," he agreed, beaming at his daughter proudly, obviously glad that he was finally reunited with her. "I've been searching for them for a number of years," he told Ginny earnestly, "but I have never yet been lucky. They're very elusive creatures."
Ginny nodded feverishly. "They sound... fascinating," she said quickly, glancing over her shoulder at the group she had deserted, "but I must get back to -"
"Oh, of course, Ginny doesn't want to talk about Snorkacks, Daddy," Luna said, with her usual awkward frankness. "She wants to talk to her friends. Come on, let's go and talk to Professor Slughorn - he seemed very interested in the properties of the Snorkack horn when I spoke to him about it before Christmas. See you later, Ginny!" And before Ginny could answer, Luna skipped off across the room, Xenophilius following in her wake. Harry smiled to himself; Luna probably wouldn't get much sense out of Slughorn while he was in this state.
Harry watched Ginny as she stayed standing in the middle of the room. She sighed, taking a long sip from her goblet of wine, and kept looking towards the group, but didn't make any further progress towards them. Harry had a feeling that Ginny didn't feel like company either.
Approaching her cautiously, Harry tapped Ginny on the shoulder and she jumped, looking all around her for the source, but was unable to see Harry under his cloak.
"It's me," he whispered, close to her ear, and understanding dawned on Ginny's face. "Want to go for a walk?"
"I'd love to," she replied, draining her goblet and setting it back down on the table. She glanced around to check that nobody was looking, and then slipped under the cloak with Harry.
As they weaved their way through the huddles of people towards the exit, Harry couldn't help being conscious of how close they were; they had to be, so that their feet didn't show from under the cloak. He didn't think he'd been this close to Ginny since that time at the Burrow on his birthday when Ron had interrupted them. He was sure that Ginny was aware of this, too. There was all manner of unresolved tension in the air between them.
Finally they went out through the great oak double doors and as the cold night air hit them, Harry threw off the cloak. He felt liberated; he was free from the stifling atmosphere inside and there was nobody to disturb him except the one person whose company he'd been craving all year.
They stood facing each other for a minute. They had so much to say to each other and it was impossible to know where to start.
"Everyone seems so much... closer, now," Harry commented finally. "You must all have had a tough year."
Ginny shrugged. "It wasn't easy," she admitted. "But it wasn't an easy year for anyone, was it? It must have been worse for you."
Harry was silent for a minute. "People keep asking me about it," he said quietly.
"They have no right to!" Ginny exclaimed, seeming suddenly angry. "Don't let anyone push you into talking about it before you're ready," she told him firmly.
"I... to be honest, I don't feel like I'll ever be ready," Harry confessed. "But I can't keep it a secret forever." He sighed. "Do you think maybe, if I tell you first... it might be easier when I have to say it all again?"
Ginny looked uneasy. "Well, don't feel you have to. But if you want to... I'm here to listen."
So Harry decided to talk. He talked until his voice went hoarse. He talked until he wondered whether there were any words left in him. He talked about the Horcruxes: what they were, where they found them and how they destroyed them. He talked about their hiding places and the difficulties of their day-to-day lives. He talked about the Deathly Hallows and the clues that Dumbledore had given them. He talked about what happened when Voldemort tried to kill him. He talked about the numbness he was feeling now that Voldemort was gone forever.
For all that time, Ginny stood in respectful silence, letting Harry say everything he needed to say without interruption. She looked like her thoughts were in a faraway place, but Harry could sense that she was listening.
When Harry couldn't say anything more, she remained silent for a while. "Sorry," she said eventually, "it's just a lot to take in." There was another pause while the information churned around in Ginny's brain. "So... you were a Horcrux?" she asked slowly.
"Seems like it," Harry replied, still slightly dazed by the whole idea himself.
She shook her head in wonder. "I... I wish I could have been there for you," she said finally.
Harry's stomach turned over in guilt. "I'm sorry," he said, "I know you can look after yourself. I should have taken you with me."
"No, no, that's not what I meant," Ginny told him quickly. "I understand why you couldn't take me. I still had the trace on me, for a start."
He hadn't even thought of that. "Yes, but even so. I feel bad for treating you like you couldn't deal with that stuff, then for messing you around that time on my birthday, and -"
"Harry," she stopped him firmly. "You're not hearing me. I get it. You don't need to explain."
And in that moment, Harry remembered why he loved Ginny. He didn't need to explain himself to her - like she said, she understood.
"And besides, I think you'll find it was me leading you on then," she added with a sheepish smile.
Harry laughed. "Maybe. But anyway, I don't want to leave you again. I love you. And I don't want to waste another second we have together."
Neither knew who initiated the movement, but before either of them realised it, their hands were joined and they were walking, walking into the moonlight in simple peace. They didn't know where they were going, but it didn't matter. They were together.
A/N: This is for Women's Football on the 2012 Hogwarts Games, and I was given Harry/Ginny as a pairing. I've always quite liked them as a couple, but struggled to write them, especially Harry, so I hope I did okay!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, as always.
Huge thank you to my beta, kci47 :D