Sly Fox
A/N: Came to me at work while I was putting the glaze on cinnamon buns. Heh, plot bunnies attack me at the most random times…
He was disappointed after they had said goodbye. Although he never said anything directly, Ginny could see his eyes lose that sparkle he saved just for her. He had curled up his right hand in an awkward fist, holding his thumb between his middle and ring finger. It was something Harry always did when his emotions went into a roller coaster. Ginny noticed it back when she was only twelve. To this day she was certain Harry didn't even know that little fact about himself, but then again, Hermione always told Ginny that she knew Harry best.
He was disappointed as he walked away with her brother and best friend. With one last glance over his shoulder, Harry had left with unshed tears in his eyes that Ginny was certain he would only ever allow her to see without feeling a trace of embarrassment. He was disappointed, Ginny knew, because she told him she would not wait for him to return. She knew a part of Harry didn't want her to. He always had this way of putting other people's happiness before his own. Waiting for Harry Potter to come back from defeating a Dark Lord was a path Ginny didn't want to take. It would only lead to sleepless nights and countless hours of weeping.
She did not lie. Ginny wouldn't wait for him because she knew where he was going, and she was going to follow.
It was tricky business, but sixteen years of living with an insane number of boys teaches a girl how to be sneaky. Ginny knew she couldn't reveal herself too early or else run the risk of the infamous trio sending her back home. She had to wait for the perfect moment and decided to let fate take action. When the opportune moment came, she would take it, but until then, all she could do was wait.
Following Harry, Ron, and Hermione was simple, and yet dreadfully lonely after a while. Apparition had come easy to her seeing as Hermione basically taught her how. The Ministry was doing nothing about underage magic so she had no troubles with the law. She followed them to each inn they stayed at and decided, for the safety of her secret, to sleep outside – less chance of getting caught.
The nights were the worst. Ginny would curl up in a little ball, staring at the windows that were glowing with a warm light. She would turn her attention to the sky, more often then not, a sad attempt at finding some entertainment. Warming charms were used every hour or so, but Ginny was never very good at them. It was one of those times she wished Hermione was with her, until she remembered that Hermione was one of the people she was following. She laughed bitterly at the irony.
They were looking for something, or multiple somethings. However, for the life of her, Ginny could not figure out what it was. That wasn't the first thing on her mind though; she decided to focus most of her attention on Harry and try to ignore that relentless longing to grab hold of him. She felt her heart swoop with delight every time she saw him smile or laugh which was, admittedly, rare. Every emotion that came from him was very strained, but Ginny doubted that anyone else could tell. To her, Harry seemed to be forcing himself into participating in a conversation. He appeared to simply want to break down, or walk around with no emotion what-so-ever. It was one of those dark things they had in common. After the chamber incident, Ginny had resided herself to staying completely uncaring about anything. If you care about something, then you'll feel sad once it's gone. However, if you prove to the world that you're unable to feel happiness, then the world will assume you can't feel pain either.
Fate led Ginny all the way into mid-December before presenting that opportune moment she had been waiting for. Harry had walked off, away from his only company, to spend some time alone by an almost completely frozen lake. Ginny couldn't blame him, seeing as Ron and Hermione were best in small doses. The closer she got to him, the easier it became to tell what he was doing. His back, which was the only thing she could really see, was shaking violently. He was sobbing.
Try as she might, Ginny couldn't stop her feet from moving toward him. Unfortunately, snow was on the ground, and Harry had spun and drawn his wand with one smooth motion. His mouth dropped open when he saw her, and a billion questions swam behind his eyes.
He didn't say a word.
Instead, he sank back down on the stump he was sitting on just moments ago, still gazing at her face. Ginny took those last few steps toward him, and crawled into his trembling lap. That was all it took for Harry's strong walls, which he worked so hard to build, to crumble down – creating a pile of rubble that Ginny spat in. In that moment, she knew that everything was worth it. All those nights of sleeping in the cold, sitting for hours in the rain by herself, hiding from three people she didn't want to hide from – it was all worth it for this one moment. He was worth all the pain in the world.
Harry held her tight, crying still, mumbling a dozen apologies to her hair.
Ginny held him, crying, accepting his "I'm sorrys" without a second thought. She found, no matter how many times he broke her heart; she would always forgive him in the end.
Fin! (Sorry, I'm excited. I've started a good five stories in the past few months and this is the first one I've finished in a long time.)