A/N: Okay, so its an Oliver Ginny story. Kinda odd and i dont know how much i like it, so leave some reviews and tell me what you think!

Stay a Little Longer

The Burrow. That gigantic house on a hill. Her house. How long had it been since he'd been standing where he was now? A year? 2 years? More? He didn't really know. It didn't seem to matter after the war, how slowly or quickly time went.

The war. It seemed that they had fought for a life time, but in reality, it was only 5 years. 5 long years. Many of the people he'd fought with were dead, and the most of the ones who were alive were spending their time in St. Mungos. Many people had been named heroes, as in every war. The ones who had sacrificed the most weren't known as war heroes.

But perhaps the most tragic casualty of the war had been his own heart. Everyone had lost things... fingers, toes, limbs... other appendages... but the one thing he'd sacrificed had been a part of his heart. A part she'd taken with her.

It was late autumn now, and all the leaves were falling and the wind was rustling them around. He pulled his coat tighter around him, feeling a chill not only from the wind, but inside him as well. With one last look around him he started down the path that led to her house.

He couldn't understand why she would still live with her parents so long after the war, but he'd looked her up through the ministry, and this was where she was listed. The thought had crossed his mind that she was now taking care of her parents, but Arthur and Molly weren't likely to need taking care of. Maybe it was too painful to leave home again. He didn't know her reasons; all he knew was that she was here.

He reached the door and he stood there for a long time thinking of what to say.

"Hi, I was in the neighborhood and..." No. "Hey Gin. How've you been?" Maybe. "Hi Gin, I just stopped by because..." It had possibilities. Finally he decided to settle with "Hi" and let things go from there. He picked up the knocker and knocked softly, afraid to disturb the peaceful atmosphere that now hung around this place. It wasn't the lively home filled with children that it had once been. Now it was just a landmark of what was past.

The door swung open and it was her. She seemed to be talking to someone in the kitchen. Her hair was bundled up on top of her head, and she was wearing a white long sleeved t-shirt and a long red skirt- to hide the scars no doubt, he did it too. She turned to face him. She was smiling, and then she recognized him. Her faced turned to surprise, and then from surprise to shock, and finally from shock to composure.

"Hello Ginny." The words escaped on an exhaled breath. She stared at him with her big brown eyes for a long minute.

Finally, in a weak and fragile voice, "Oliver."

----------------

They stood that way for a long time, not saying anything. Just starring. She seemed to be taking in his appearance as well. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt that had puddlemere scrawled across the sleeves. On top of that he had his brown leather jacket.

She was just as lovely as she'd ever been. Her eyes were big and sparkling, just like he remembered. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something, but there was so much to say that he didn't even know where to start. She just stood in the doorway, one hand on the doorknob and the other leaning against the frame. He shoved his hands in his pockets and scuffed his feet, not knowing what to do with himself. He felt like a child again. She always made him feel that way; like a guilty preschooler.

"What are you doing here?" She asked finally. He looked up at her and realized he didn't have a straight answer. So he tried to sound as adult as possible when he spoke his next words.

"I don't know." He mumbled. To his surprise, she grinned at him. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the door frame.

"You haven't changed a bit." She stated fondly. It made him grin a little too.

"I wanted to see you." He decided more confidently. She nodded, apparently thinking it over, and he could see the wheels turning in her head as she debated whether or not to let him inside. He waited patiently for her to say something, but it didn't seem as thought she was going to.

"Do you... want to come in?" She offered. He nodded, and with a sigh she stepped out of the doorway and ushered him inside. She didn't offer to make him comfortable though, showing her desire that he wouldn't stay long. They were silent as they walking into the kitchen, where Hermione was sitting at the table. She looked up from feeding her baby as they entered and a smile replaced the shocked look on her face in a second.

"Oliver!" she nearly yelped, standing to come over to him. Well at least someone was happy to see him. She hugged him tightly for a moment and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He eyed the black haired green eyed boy in her arms.

"Hi Hermione." He smiled at her. "When did this happen?" He asked, making a face for the little one, who smiled with delight. Hermione smoothed out his hair and smiled.

"He's 7 months now. Harry wrote you, didn't you get the letter? He told probably just about everyone we knew." She rolled her eyes fondly and Oliver laughed. She and Harry had been married just after the war, and he'd happily attended. He hadn't received a letter from Harry though.

"No, I'm afraid I didn't." He frown. "What's his name?" He asked, smiling at the little boy again.

"James, after Harry's father." She explained, patting down the boys hair again. He had definitely inherited his looks from his father. Oliver smiled and Hermione looked back up at him in question.

"What are you doing around here anyway? I thought you were still playing with puddlemere?" She shifted the boy to her other hip and walked back over to the messy table. It was full of papers and bills and food and... was that a scrapbook?

"Just visiting some friends. I've been around a bit actually. Stayed with Seamus and Neville last month. Those two are just the happiest people I've ever met." He shook his head. Hermione laughed and Ginny grinned. She was doing dishes by hand at the sink and listening to the conversation. "I was actually planning on stopping by you and Harry after I saw the Weasley clan. Fred and George were the first ones I visited. I'm just a little lonely, traveling all the time. It's nice to stop by in the off season." He shrugged as casually as he could, hoping she wouldn't ask why he hadn't done that the past 3 years. She raised an eyebrow, but she just nodded in response.

She seemed to look between him and Ginny as the silence loomed and finally she stood and grabbed her bag.

"Well Gin, it's getting late, and I promised Luna I'd stop over, so I'm just going to go now." Ginny turned around and hugged her friend goodbye, and Hermione stopped by Oliver on her way out. "It's good to see you Wood, really. Don't hesitate to stop by sometime, we'd love to have you. If nothing else, you should come to the independence day party." She nudged him gently and he nodded.

"I'll think about it. Thank you." He hugged her and she left a moment later.

The wizarding world had their own independence day now, and in was only a month away. It was to celebrate the end of the war, and all those lost in it, and all its veterans. He'd celebrated alone every year. In fact, he hadn't been back to visit any of his former friends or comrades since the war ended. He's focused on his work and the only friend he'd had had been Katie Bell. This year, when quidditch season ended, he'd started the long journey of his past. He'd stopped by the Creevy's first. Then he'd gone to see Draco and Blaise over at Malfoy Manor. After Draco's father died he'd defected to the good side and his girlfriend Blaise Zabini had come with him, and they'd been valuable allies in the war. After that, he's gone to see Fred and George and their respective girlfriends, Angelina and Alicia. He'd then gone to see Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom, who'd been living together since the end of the war. They were the two happiest people in the world, and quite frankly it was just annoying. He'd moved on to Cho Chang then and finally to Lavender Brown and her muggle husband. And now he found himself here, in the center of the Weasley clan, at the most difficult part of his journey. He figured he probably should have gone to see Ron and Luna and Harry and Hermione first, but somehow this just seemed right. It was homey here, even without the hustle and bustle it had once had.

"Lonely during off season huh? Didn't seem lonely for a long time." Ginny startled him out of his mussing. She was leaning against the counter now, looking at him. He shrugged.

"It wasn't. I was just fine with being alone. Up until now." He answered. She seemed to shake her head mentally at him but made no other motion. The silence between them grew for a moment, and then she turned back to the dishes. She obviously wasn't going to try to start a conversation.

Instead of talking he walked along her table, looking at the various scrapbooks laid across it. There were ones from her school years. There were ones from during the war. There was one that looked like all of the party pictures. And then one last one caught his eye. It had 'Oliver's Book' scrawled across its cover in her neat hand writing. He opened it up and was surprised to find pictures on himself; from school, ones they had taken during the war, and then every article that had been published about him from the time he started his career to now. He looked over all of them briefly before turning back to her questioningly.

"You followed my career." It wasn't a question. She turned back to him and quickly dried her hands. She then proceeded to slam the book closed with an angry glare.

"Of course I followed it." She grumbled childishly. She then proceeded to pick up all of the scrapbooks and take them into another room. When she came back she just crossed her arms and starred at him.

"You're the one who left them out on the table." He pointed out. She huffed and her cheeks grew slightly red, but she regained her neutral face in a second.

"What are you doing here Oliver?" She asked again, more frustrated this time.

"Just visiting." He answered again. He really didn't know what he was doing here. He just wanted to see her. He wanted so much more than that. She raised a hand to the back of her neck and rubbed it tiredly.

"We both know that's not it Wood." Wood again. Oh joy. Now they were on last name basis. It was okay when everyone else called him Wood, but not Ginny. She was supposed to call him Oliver.

"Really. Why am I here then?" Well if she had all the answers...

"Oliver." There it was. "Don't. We did this once before." She continued to rub at her shoulders painfully, and her little arms couldn't reach all the way around her neck.

"Let me do that for you." He stepped over to her and took off his jacket, throwing it on the chair. She smirked.

"Right, and let you seduce me? You wish." She said coldly. He ignored her and went to stand behind her. She must not have been too opposed to it, because when he moved her hair she dropped her hands and made no move to pull away. He massaged her shoulders gently and then even more gently on her neck. He rubbed at them for a long time and was delighted when she relaxed under his touch. "That feels nice." She mumbled. "The one thing I miss." She joked.

He leaned closer to her ear and whispered "The only thing?"

With that, she stiffened immediately and pulled away. He sighed and shook his head. She turned around with an indignant look on her face. He grinned at her, and then her eyes met his, and his grin faded.

Flashback

"You're moody today." He said as he wrapped his arms around her petite figure from behind. She did nothing to hold him back. He kissed her temple and rested his head on her shoulder, giving her a sidelong look. She finally held up a piece of paper, which he took and quickly read.

"We are sorry to inform you that Bill Weasley had died in combat this 23 of March..." He trailed off immediately, his heart sinking. He felt wetness on his arm and realized Ginny was crying, and he immediately turned her around and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh Ginny."

Her sobs became more intense, and he closed his eyes and focused on soothing her. She cried into his shoulder for so long that when she pulled away there was a great big wet spot. She brushed at it effortlessly, and he caught her hand. She looked up at him from pink eyes and he was tempted to cry himself.

"It'll be okay, Ginny. We'll get through this. I promise." He stroked her hair with his other hand. She looked so small, so tiny, and so different.

"What if I don't want to?" She asked noncommittally. His heart was ceased with fear, and he hugged her to him again. She still wasn't holding him. He kissed her cheek. "Why do I have to get through it?" She asked again.

"Because I love you." He whispered back. She started to cry again, but this time she pushed him away.

"I don't want your help." Her voice was horse from the sobbing and shaky from everything else.

"Don't push me away Ginny." He went to her again and wrapped his arms around her. She didn't move at all. Slowly, she pushed off his arms and took two shaky steps away, wiping at her eyes.

"I don't... I just... I can't!" She ran off. That was the last time she spoke to him.

Flashback

She pushed him away. She pushed everyone away accept her family. She'd pushed him away and he hadn't gone after her. Maybe if he had, things would be different now.