Pain, Anger, Laughter…A New Start

Harry, Ron, and Hermione filed out of the Head Masters office and down the stairs.

"I need some air, I'll meet up with you guys later…" Harry mumbled as he trudged down the hall.

All he could think about was returning the wand. He let his mind go numb to everything else. He had to finish the Hallows for good.

He stopped outside the tomb of his former head master. "Come on Harry. You can do this, you have too." was all he could say to himself for comfort. Tears welled up and threatened to cascade down his dirty and smudged face. It took all of his strength not to collapse and vomit as he placed the Elder wand under the hand of Dumbledore.

Harry crumpled to the ground outside of the tomb with his back leaning up against the rocky wall. A sigh escaped from him as the realization that the war was finally over hit him. It was over, but there was still so much pain that Harry felt it impossible to be happy. He longed for a family, His family, but he knew it was a desire that could never become a reality. The only blood relatives he had left were the Dursleys but he vowed to never see them again if he lived through this hellish battle.

But he knew deep down he still had a home with the people who had taken him in so many years ago. Harry's mind immediately wandered to Ginny. Would she ever forgive him? Did she even feel for him still as he did for her?

There was a rustle of leaves to his right and Harry immediately drew his wand, ready to stun any enemy who dared fight him. It was Ginny.

She gazed into his emerald eyes. His mother's eyes. She could see the pain that had replaced the once bright twinkle his beautiful eyes had embodied at one point in time. His hair was shaggy and long, reaching not too far from his jaw bone. She could see the many tears and burns on his clothing and he looked half starved on top of it all.

Just the sight of Harry's state pained her as she stood there in the grass unable to move.

Harry put his wand away in his back pocket. He could not read her expression other than pain and hurt. Was it because of him or was it Fred's death? He could not tell, but he decided he would try his luck and hoped that Ginny still loved him.

Harry struggled to get up, leaning on the wall behind him for support. He knew he had to try to explain himself to Ginny. He loved her. He NEEDED her. He had to try.

He took three steps towards her, cracking a hesitant smile. "Ginny…I'm so sorry" was all he could force out before he collapsed into her arms out of fatigue.

"Oh! Harry! Are you ok? Please Harry answer me!" Ginny pleaded to him with all her heart. She knew she still loved him, even if she felt hurt that he left and the thought of Harry's limp body in Hagrid's arms came back to her.

"Please Harry!!"

"It's ok Gin, I'm not going anywhere, I'm…just…exhausted." Was all Harry could muster to calm her down.

They moved over to lean against the thick base of an oak tree.

"Ginny, I need to tell you something" he paused to see if he should go on and she nodded. "Ginny I love you and I'm so sorry for hurting you." There he said it.

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes, she had waited an eternity to hear those words which she had begun to believe would only be words in her dreams. But he really said he loved her!

" I love you too Harry" He was so elated to hear those words from Ginny that before she knew it Harry was kissing her very passionately on the lips. A sigh left her. "I missed that" Ginny half giggled. "Me too Gin, me too."

It wasn't long before they fell asleep against that oak tree in each others arms. They had reconnected.

**********

As morning arrived, Harry was awakened to the sound and sight of a blur of red barreling down upon him. "What the Bloody Hell do you think you're playing at!" Ron snarled as he ripped Harry away from his sister.

Harry was utterly confused but could clearly see the anger boiling in his supposedly best mate's facial expression. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean you prat! You dumped her and crushed her! I have never seen her look that way before. But it was ten times worse when Hagrid brought you out from the forest. She looked as if she was going to die right then and there!!!" By now Ron's Shouting had rudely awakened Ginny who had still been lying asleep against the oak tree.

She awoke to see her brother Ron looking as though he were going to kill Harry! She could see they were in a stand off and Ron had hand next to his pocket, ready to pull his wand on Harry at any moment.

"Ronald! What are you doing?!" Was all Ginny could manage to spit at Ron in her building rage.

"I'm doing my job as your brother and telling this prat off. He won't hurt you again." Ron still had not moved his death stare from Harry even to acknowledge Hermione who had appeared to his left about six feet away from him.

"Ron I won't hurt her again. You don't understand…" but Ron didn't let Harry finish.

"Of course you won't hurt her again. You're not gonna get close enough to her for that to even be an issue!"

"RON! I'm NOT, I repeat, NOT your baby sister any more! I can take care of myself and I can love whoever I want!" Ginny screeched in pure hatred toward her brother.

"No, I won't let Harry hurt you again. You looked like you weren't even part of the living last time! I can let that happen again. I don't care if you date Dean or Michael any more."

This was the last straw. Harry had stayed relatively calm up until now. The anger in him had slowly been building and he felt he was about to explode. Harry took two large fast steps toward Ron all the while yelling,

"Ron I love your sister. Don't you get it! I LOVE Ginny! And nothing you can do or say can stop that. I left her because I tried to protect her, but I guess it didn't turn out the way I wanted to and I'm sorry but the only way I could kill Voldemort was through what did." Harry was seething with anger at this point.

"I'm sorry and I will say I'm sorry everyday for the rest of my life if I have to, but I want to spend that life with Ginny. I want to be with her. I want to marry her one day and have kids with her. She is the only one I want. "

Harry spat towards Ron. Ron and Harry were an arms length from one another now just glaring into each others' eyes. "I don't care I won't let…" but before Ginny could even blast her infamous Bat Bogey hex Harry thrust his fist at him planting a full on knuckle sandwich across his face. Ron stumbled and flopped to the ground, clutching his bleeding nose.

"It's settled then. If you still disagree, well, we will see how my fist feels about that." Harry turn a small smirk threatening to dance across his face.

"Oh Harry!" Were the only words he heard before Ginny bounded into his arms, planting a kiss right on his lips. "I love you too Harry James Potter." Harry smiled and kissed her flowery scented hair.

And with that Harry and Ginny started towards the castle, fingers interlocked, while Hermione worked on Ron's nose giving him one of her patented Why don't you ever listen to me looks.

********

Some gawked, but others smiled after seeing the escapade that had just occurred in front of their eyes. Now half the Wizarding World new how much Harry cared for Ginny. He didn't really care, he just wanted to be with her.

"Gin, I have a question…" She giggled as his breath tickled her ear and smirked. "Yeah. What is it?"

"Gin…" Harry let loose a bright smile that danced across his features as he paused for suspense. "Will you just come out with it?!" She half yelled as she playfully batted Harry's shoulder.

"Ok fine. Gin will you be my girlfriend again?" He knew he didn't need to ask, but he wanted to anyway.

Ginny caught her breath a little, still not used to his openness about loving her, but she loved it. " After all these years and what you did to that git down there you really need to ask?" She laughed. Ron could be so thick sometimes. Thank God he had Hermione to straighten him out.

At hearing her answer Harry's emerald eyes rekindled with their fierce glow of old from the days when Sirius was alive and well, from those days during her fifth year before Dumbledore died. She had missed this.

"Harry gazed into her eyes, "I just wanted it to be official and I like the way it sounds."

"Yeah me too." They kissed one another passionately like they were making up for every second they were apart this last year.

They kept walking, Ginny giggled cause she was unable to keep her eyes off Harry. As he turned his head back towards the castle he froze. A few feet in front of the couple at the top of the ridge stood Charlie, Bill, George, and Percy. They were not far from where Ron and Harry had had it out. It actually seemed to be the perfect spot for the whole show and from the looks of it the brothers had seen more than just the fight but Harry and Ginny's little walk too.

Harry quickly composed himself. "Hi." He tried to sound cheery, but the happiness he had managed to feel seemed to vanish and to take its place were a mixture of feelings that made his stomach do flips. Harry knew he could deal with Ron, but the entire band of Weasley brothers at once was a whole different story.

Harry pulled Ginny closer to him and placed his arm around her waist. Ginny gazed up at him and could see he was determined and was in no way shape or form going to part from her again. This was all the conformation she needed. "Are there any more takers who would like to join Ron in a bloody or get a good hexing?" Ginny asked the question flatly as she gave all four of them a nasty look that said if you dare touch I'll hex you all to oblivion.

"I believe the odds are a bit against yea little sis" Bill stated plainly. He wasn't kidding around. Ron had just appeared to his left still holding his nose, but nonetheless still giving Harry a good glare.

Charlie just laughed. "Yeah I think I'm right in saying it's five to one." He had his arms to the side, ready at any waking moment to pull his wand.

"It's five to two if I'm not mistaken dears." An extra voice chorused in. Everyone spun around to see its source. Mrs. Weasley was leaning against her husband's arm, eyes puffy. She of course had been grieving and by the looks of it she too had seen the whole set of events that had transpired this morning as well.

"Honestly, there has been enough fighting to last a life time already yet you five are picking a fight with the one wizard who put an end to all of that and saved the entire Wizarding and Muggle world alike?" Exasperation coursed through her. She was on a role now, throwing dirty looks towards her five sons "What logic are you using that tells you that Harry is a danger or can't be with Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley's anger had boiled over at this point and was shouting at her boys.

At this point both Ginny and Harry beamed with joy for they knew they had the approval from the matriarch of the family. The Weasley boys on the other hand were puzzled. They couldn't find any reason to disagree with what their mother had just forcefully beated into their brains.

Not a second later did Mrs. Weasley envelope Harry and Ginny in a bone crushing hug. "I always hoped you two would find each other. My daughter together with the Boy Who Lived!" This was the most display a real joy any one had seen from her or any of the Weasley's since Fred's death during the Battle the day prior.