"Ginny!" Ron called as he saw her make her way from the portrait hole.
"Save it, Ron!" she said, speeding up. "I know you've been waiting for days to get me on my own, so you could... do whatever it is you think might change my mind, but as it has never worked before, it won't now."
Ron sped up, too, his long legs quickly bringing him to her side. "Look, I just don't want to see anyone get hurt again–"
"He's not going to hurt me, Ron!"
"It's not you I'm worried for!"
She stopped dead and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Look," said Ron, lowering his voice, noticing that he had caused quite a few heads to turn their way when he'd raised his voice. "Harry's not just some guy–"
"You think I don't know that?" she hissed. "I know what he's been through, Ronald."
"Do you?" asked Ron, his voice soft. "You can't, Ginny. Hermione and I can't, and we're his best friends. He's had enough difficulty in his life as it is, so if you're not completely sure that you want to be in this relationship, end it now, before it really starts, because it will hurt him so much more if you do it later."
"I'm not going to hurt him." Her face was hot. It was just like her brother to assume.
"It's not going to be as simple as it was with Michael or Dean," he said, relentless. "He's not going to open up to you. He's going to hide things. It's going to be difficult; it's going to be damn frustrating. It's difficult and frustrating for me, and I'm not even a girl who likes to talk about their feelings." He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "Just don't go through with this if you're not ready to handle all that."
She couldn't believe she was having this conversation with Ron, of all people. "I know," she told him quietly. "I know it won't be easy. I know that he has a hard time with... And you don't have to worry. I won't hurt him."
"Yeah, well, good," he said, looking a little awkward. "Just… promise me you won't push him."
"Hey Ron. Ginny."
Ron jumped about a foot in the air.
"Hey, Harry," she said casually, silently wishing that Ron would stop looking so guilty. "What've you been up to?"
"I was just with Hermione, actually, in the Library," he said. "She was looking up those ingredients for Snape's essay, as if she doesn't know them all by heart anyway, but she said she just wanted to make sure," He shook his head fondly.
"Want to go for a walk?" she found herself asking. "Just around the grounds."
"A walk?" he asked, sounding surprised, yet pleased. "Yeah, sure."
"Yeah, a walk would be nice." said Ron.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Actually Ron, I'm pretty sure Seamus was looking for you."
"What? No he wasn't. What for?"
"See you later Ron," said Harry pointedly. "You'd better go find Seamus if he's looking for you. I'm pretty sure I saw him on my way from the Library. If you hurry, you can catch him."
Ron, looking confused as ever, turned and walked the way Harry had come. Harry let out a long sigh. "I thought I'd have to spell it out for him."
Ginny laughed. "You nearly did."
"So, where did you want to go?"
"Oh, I don't know," she said. "I thought maybe down by the lake."
They started walking, and Harry slipped his hand into hers. He was hesitant, almost shy, but she smiled at him. She would take it slow, for Harry's sake as much as her own... and Ron's, too, apparently.