The next week Ginny spent with a constant knot in her stomach. Ron told her it served her right for breaking Harry's heart. Hermione would physically abuse him in some way and tell Ginny she understood, but she couldn't, not really. Unless you had been in the situation yourself you had no idea. You couldn't.
Harry had been busying himself at the Ministry, though he was in the Auror training program, he was given considerable responsibility due to his experience with Voldemort's "inner circle". He figured if he was working hard enough, when he got home he would be too tired to notice that Ginny didn't write, or that she wouldn't be coming by. He could just sleep; sleep to escape the depression he was sure to slip into if he let himself think about it too much.
Ginny was set to have her going away party that Friday; she had to be at King's Cross at 8 the next morning. Hermione had sat with her as she packed, not so subtly trying to bring up Harry. He wasn't going to be coming, according to Ron "work is all backed up", not to mention Witch Weekly had just named Harry it's Most Eligible Bachelor so he was required to go in for a photo shoot of sorts.
She would miss him, but right now she was more concerned with how she was going to pack all of her books, her pictures, and the letters that Harry had written her. It was hard to think of leaving the Burrow; she was excited though for the adventures that awaited her.
She could hear the members of the order coming in, followed by the sounds of her classmates,
:"It's really remarkable you know" she heard Hermione say, "Ginny is one of only fifteen people this century to be accepted into the Program directly from school" she smiled, leave it to Hermione to spout off the most pointless facts possible.
"Gee, stop Hermione your making me blush!" she laughed, "Really it's not that big of a deal"
"You were always good in the DA" Neville piped up
"Thank you Neville" she said shaking her head.
The evening was filled with stories of bad bogie hexes and late night rendezvous in abandoned hallways. Most everybody had left and it was just Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna, after the firewhisky came out so did the real juicy stories.
"Remember in first year when I caught Percy snogging Penelope Clearwater?" Ginny said now slightly intoxicated
"Blegh" Ron added, "Almost as weird as seeing your best mate snog our little sister… and then sneak off alone together" Hermione kicked him in the shin, hard,
"OW!"
"Ronald! Shut up!"
"It's okay Hermione, it's true," every one looked at each other awkwardly as she continued, "Thaz why itz going to be so hard to get over 'im. I love him, we shagged, it was great, now I'm goin' 'way,"
"Ginny I think its time we go up-"
"No, no Hermione this iz good," she said now starting to get very tired "On second thought im getting very sleepy" she said goodnight to everyone as Hermione helped her up the stairs
"Thiz iz going to be uch harder than I thought"
"You knew it would be Ginny" Hermione said as a matter of factly
"So you and Ron done the deed yet?" Hermione laughed, "You don't have to tell me, Harry and I did, on his birthday, Happy eighteenth birthday to Harry,"
"Oh Ginny, did not want to hear that"
"Sorry, I wish he had come, and he didn't, not even for a sec'nd to graces us with his dark and twisty presence"
"He's stubborn Gin, you know that"
"I just thought he'd come to say goodbye," she buried her head in Hermione's shoulder and sobbed for the better part of an hour before passing out
Hermione sat by Ginny, contemplating her mixed emotions, she wanted to be mad at Ginny for being so selfish but part of her could see what Ginny needed, or at least see why she needed it.
Harry had spent the evening buried in work when Ron came stumbling in,
"Slow down there mate" he said
"You missed out one hell of a party"
"I had-"
"Work, yah, I know, she still wanted you there"
"Not yet mate, not yet" Harry said wishing he had followed his instinct and pretended to be asleep
"The train leaves King's Cross at 8 tomorrow, she's going by herself" Ron mumbled right before he passed out
Harry lay awake in bed, he couldn't sleep. He was nervous, no that wasn't the word, he was apprehensive. Apprehensive about what to do next, could he really just let her leave without saying goodbye? He slept lightly that night, waking almost every hour and at 6AM he made his decision, he showered quickly and waited arrived at Kings Cross at 7:00 waiting in the lobby. She was sure to come, and he had to see her… if only for a moment.
She woke up the next morning, with a terrible hang over, knowing she would sleep well on her way to the apparition point. Her mother waited downstairs with an incredibly large breakfast not to mention a little bag of snacks once she arrived on the train.
As she treaded in the train station everything seemed so much bigger. The ceilings seemed to mock her, and the people around her seemed to be glaring, after a few moments of feeling sorry for herself.
Then she saw him, his hair was a helpless mess, his face the same one she had looked upon for years not really understanding everything that went on behind it, but desperately trying.
He looked up, there she was her eyes searing into his heart, he stood up and did his best to put on a brave face, he even attempted a broad smile, but it only turned into a half hearted grin.
"I'm glad you came" she said slowly looking up at him,
"I just wanted you to know, I respect what you are doing, and maybe it is all for the best," at this point he was glad Ginny didn't no Leglimens
"Really?"
"Yes, and I will try and move on, work is busy right now as it is, and if you can keep a secret I've been thinking about going to an open quidditch try out,"
"No way!! That's great Harry, really!" he was going to move on, he wasn't going to need her anymore
"Thanks I guess you have to be going though," Harry said wanting to leave before he said anything he would regret
"Yes, well I better get going" she said trying to regrip all of her bags,
"Do you need help with those?"
"You don't have to anymore Harry, you're not my boyfriend"
"Yes well I am first and foremost your friend, and as a friend do you need any help?"
"Sure" she said laughing, they walked in almost silence to the train, she usually wouldn't have let him help her, but she was tired, she had been very tired, but she blamed this exhaustion on her 'hang over'
Harry loaded her bags into the compartment for her, and stepped off the train, with Ginny following closely behind.
"Well I guess this is goodbye" she said looking up at him, unsure of whether she wanted him to kiss her knowing it would complicate things, yet longing for it all the same.
"Yah. I guess so" he turned to her, there was a moment when he thought they would kiss, but she turned to just hug him. He buried his head close to her hair, trying to remember always what it smelt like. The softness of her hair as it fell across his hands.
They parted slowly,
"Will you be home at Christmas?" he asked,
"It depends on my case load"
"Right, well keep in touch,"
"You too, I hope everything works out for you"
"Thanks Gin," With that she turned around and made her way back to the train, not looking back, refusing to look at could have quite possibly been the biggest mistake of her life.
The walk back was long, and he felt as though she had been ripped from his heart all over again.
She sat on the train looking at her briefings, her stomach was acting up again, she felt nauseous, she ran for the loo and got there just in time.
"Oh, gagh, this is disgusting, damn nervous stomach" she had never had a nervous stomach before but she couldn't think of any other reason that she would be feeling like this.
"You alright Miss?" she turned around to see a very tall man reaching out to help her up
"Yes, jus a little nervous I guess"
"You're headed for the Defense team as well I assume?" he asked now smiling slightly
"You would assume correctly" she was now up and rather embarrassed
"A little young aren't you?"
"I was possessed by Voldemort when I was 11, fought off Death Eater's when I was fourteen and fifteen, and at sixteen was at the last battle when Harry finally defeated Voldemort"
"Ginny Weasley?" he said nodding knowingly
"You've heard of me then?"
"You were the reason I almost didn't get in" at this point he was following her back to her cart
"Sorry about that, how old does that make you?"
"Twenty-one"
"A regular Dinosaur" she laughed opening her compartment door, '
"Yeah well, it happens as the years go by"
"Would you like to sit with me, I mean I have this compartment to myself, it could be nice to know somebody before we arrive,"
"Well that would be just wonderful, you'll have to give me a few minutes though, I'll just grab my stuff"
"Alright, I'll be here"
The door shut behind him and she let a sigh of relief. She had been worried that everyone in the defense program would not only be far too old for her to consider them her peers, but that they would also be exceedingly pompous.
He came back with one trunk which he tucked neatly away in the above compartment.
"Travel lightly don't you?" she asked shocked anyone could pack their entire life into one trunk
"Well not much I want to take with me from my old life"
"Oh, dark and mysterious past?"
"Incredibly boring life up until now" he said chuckling "especially next to Harry Potter's girlfriend"
"He's not my boyfriend" she said quickly, maybe even too quickly
"Oh really?"
"Well not anymore, we broke up before I came here, giving ourselves a break to pursue our dreams" she continued
"Very noble reasoning" he said nodding but looking slightly amused
"What are you smiling at?"
"He saw you off didn't he, that's why your so flustered and don't want to be alone" her mouth gaped, "I knew it, I should have told you I'm on the defense team for psycho-analysis, not only that but I happen to be quite good at Leglimens"
"Well aren't you special"
"Oh, quite" he laughed again, he had kind eyes, eyes that hadn't been haunted and grayed by the plight of war,
"Well if you don't mind I'm going to get a quick nap in before we arrive at the Academy"
"Of course" he said pulling out a book and beginning to read.