Remember That
When Ginny woke up that August morning, she grinned at the ceiling of her room, replaying the night before again in her mind. It had been perfect. Absolutely perfect. Harry had looked stunning in his dress robes – not that his looking stunning was anything new. But she had herself felt beautiful, which actually was unusual. The bridesmaid dress had been as flattering as Fleur had promised and she had felt like a fairy princess for the entire day. And they had danced. He wasn't a good dancer, really. Okay, he was plainly awful. So, most of the time they just sort of swayed in one spot but Ginny hadn't cared about that. His arms had been around her waist and hers around his shoulders and she felt warm and protected and loved.
He had smiled, he had kissed her. They had talked, not of anything in particular, but just talked. And that had been enough. She rolled onto her side and pulled her blankets up to her chin with the full intention of reliving the evening again in another dream. Then she heard her mother's scream from downstairs.
It was hours later that she made it back up to her bedroom. Hours she was sure had changed something elemental inside her. Hours that had been full of screams, and tears, and anger, and the bitterness of betrayal. She had read the note over and over again. They all had, maybe hoping the next time it would say something different. But it never did. "We had to go. We're sorry. We'll write when we can. We love you all."
Of course, Ginny had known they had planned on leaving, which was more than her parents had suspected. But Harry had promised; hell, even Hermione (who couldn't lie worth spit) had promised it wouldn't be for a while and that they would give plenty of advance notice. Ginny had even planned on broaching the delicate subject of her going with them when yesterday had gone so swimmingly and Harry had been so open with her. Now, though, she knew it had all been an act. He had held her, he had kissed her, he had laughed with her, when all along he knew that by this morning, less than twelve hours after he kissed her goodnight, he would be gone.
She was in the midst of completely destroying her room, chucking everything she could get her hands on at the nearest wall, when she found it. It was already in her fist, ready to be hurled, when she realized it was warm and she opened her hand in surprise. The small glass ball was glowing red, and for a moment she was afraid. Then she recognized it and relaxed. A Remembrall. She had only ever seen one before and wasn't sure how they worked, but her curiosity was at least enough to keep her from throwing it against the now-pitted wall above her bed.
She put the little item down on her desk and thought for a few minutes, trying desperately to bring to mind how Neville used his. When it glowed like that, it meant he had forgotten something he was supposed to remember. Then, he would wave his wand and say a spell that forced the Remembrall to reveal what it was he had forgotten. Poor Neville. She couldn't help but chuckle at the picture she had in her mind of his struggling to recall the exact spell – oh, yes. That was it.
She waved her wand and said the incantation. For a few seconds, nothing happened and Ginny pursed her lips in frustration. Maybe she hadn't done it correctly or maybe there really wasn't anything she had forgotten. The Remembrall, though, suddenly hummed, turned a deeper scarlet, and then rolled closer to her until it was perched at the edge of the desk. The foggy mist that had been swirling around inside cleared and Ginny caught her breath. She saw herself, holding hands with Harry as they walked down the halls at school, kissing Harry frantically in the middle of the common room, flying with Harry over the paddock here at home, and even dancing with Harry – she in spun-gold fairy dust and he in formal black. She leaned closer to the tiny ball, trying to get a better look at the miniature boy in the center. "I love you, Ginny. I always will. Remember that." His voice was quiet, blending sort of eerily with the hum of the vibrating sphere, but she could hear it distinctly, and she smiled.