The Golden Quartet: Together Forever

By: Tammy Kaiser

Based On Characters Created By: Ms. Joanne Kathleen Rowling

Chapter 1: Alone Time With Ginny

Voldemort was dead. 17 year old Harry James Potter had fulfilled his destiny at last. He was exhausted. All he wanted to do was go up to his dormitory with Ron and Hermione, find Ginny, curl up next to her and fall asleep in her arms. As Harry, Ron and Hermione left the headmaster's office they surveyed the extensive damage that had been done to this once magnificent castle. They sleepily climbed the many, now crumbling staircases until they arrived at the portrait of the fat lady.

"There is no need for a password from the three of you this morning." she said. "Well Done."

She swung open to admit them. The common room was nearly empty. The only souls in the room were the Weasleys. Harry had figured they had told everyone who resided in Gryffindor tower to respect his privacy and to not bother him. Harry was grateful for that. For the first time in his life, Harry finally had something that he had been craving for since the age of three and a half... A loving family. His family came forward and enveloped him in a hug. The only person to speak was Molly.

"I am proud of you son." she said .

The words flew out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"I love you mum." he said.

He didn't know why but calling her mum just sounded right. Molly noticed that tears were forming in his green, bespectacled eyes. Lilly's eyes.

The sun streamed in through the high windows in the dormitory. Harry turned over and looked at the red haired beauty that lay next to him. Ron lay in the next bed. His arm over the lightly breathing Hermione. Ginny opened her eyes.

"Good morning darling." he said to her.

"Morning." Ginny said. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving." Harry told her. "I didn't eat much at the victory feast. I was too exhausted. If we leave quietly we may just be able to sneak down to the great hall for breakfast without waking Ron."

"I am going to go change. I will meet you in the common room in five minutes."

Ginny gave Harry a kiss and slipped quietly from the room. Harry dressed in a pair of blue jeans and his favorite tee shirt. It was light blue. Molly had bought it for him when she realized that he was running low on short sleeved shirts. He put on his trainers and walked down the stairs to wait for Ginny. After he had been waiting for four minutes Ginny came down the stairs of the girl's dormitory. She was wearing denim short overalls and a yellow collared shirt. Her beautiful red hair had been pulled into two neat braids. On her feet she wore a pair of black and light blue Nike trainers.

"You look great." he told her.

"Thanks." Ginny said." Harry took her hand and they walked through the portrait hole together.

Ginny and Harry spent the morning together by the edge of the lake. It was a warm spring day. Ron and Hermione had gone off to snog in a secluded part of the grounds.

"I had forgotten how beautiful it was here." He told Ginny. "I've missed it."

"You know Harry, this year just wasn't the same without you. I think for the first time a lot of us felt scared and unprotected here."

"Ginny, I am so sorry for whatever you went through this year. It's all my fault."

"Harry, it's not. You had to do what you did. It was the only way to destroy Voldemort."

"Yeah, but there is more I could have done to ensure your safety. I keep thinking that I should have taken you with us."

"Harry, you couldn't have done. This was something that you and Ron and Hermione had to do yourselves."

"I thought about you everyday Gin."

"What was it like out there?" she asked.

"It was hell Ginny. We were often cold and tired and hungry and dirty. There were days I thought I was going to die out there."

Tears were beginning to fill his eyes.

"You know what kept me going?" he asked.

"What?" Ginny inquired.

"You. Every time I was about to give up I kept hearing your voice in my head saying, 'come on darling, you can do this.' Whether you know it or not you were there with me. Every single day."

Then it came to him. All at once. This was as good a time as any. He turned so he was completely facing her.

"Ginny, I just can't bare to spend another day without you. I don't have a ring right now and I know your still only 16 but I want to marry you anyway. That is if you'll have me."

Ginny sat there in complete shock. Was she imagining things? Was she hallucinating? Had he actually just proposed to her?

"Harry, are you sure? I mean this is a big step."

"Ginerva Molly Weasley, I have never been so sure of anything in my whole entire life."

"In that case Harry James Potter, yes I will marry you."

They embraced in a hug and than he kissed her.

"What in the world are we going to tell my family?" she asked. "My brothers are going to kill you. Especially Ron. You know how he hates guys fawning over me."

"You leave that to me. I will talk to them. You'll be 17 and a half by the time we get married. You still have one more year of school left anyway so I think it is best that we wait."

Three days later they were all back at the Burrow. It was the first time Harry had been back in a year. It was smaller than he remembered. That night he offered to help Molly with dinner so he could get a chance to talk to her.

"Molly, can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Of course Harry dear." she said handing him a potato to cut.

"What would you say if I told you I had asked Ginny to marry me?"

"Well, Harry, have you?"

"Yes." he said softly.

"Well, have you talked it over with her?"

"Yes." he said. "Just so you know we decided to wait until Ginny finishes school and has become of age."

"That is a very wise decision Harry dear, so in that case I could not be more thrilled at the thought of you being a part of this family at last."

she gave him a tight Molly Weasley bear hug. "Thank you for your blessing Molly. It means the world to me."