A/N: Hello! First off, a huge thanks to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story so far! You all are amazing, and I'm so grateful.

This chapter has been a working document for nearly a month now. It was the one chapter I told myself had to be written before I could start publishing this story (somehow 14 other chapters snuck up in the time it took for me to finally get a draft of this one that I could live with). I probably wrote, deleted, rewrote, and deleted versions of this chapter at least ten times. If I could ask JK Rowling to write one more piece in the Harry Potter world, it would be to explain how Ginny and Harry got back together - that's how much I've obsessed over how this would logically (and magically) happen. Anyway, I hope that it's not an utter disappointment. I tried to stay true to both characters and this what I got. Enjoy 3.

A distant crack signaled that Harry had apparated onto the Weasley's property. The last two weeks had largely been spent at Hogwarts and the Ministry trying to help Kingsley and Professor McGonagall shift through the wreckage and piece together the story of what had happened.

He missed the safety and homeliness of the Burrow, but also thought it might be best to give the grieving family their space. Hermione wrote daily giving Harry updates on Ron, and even though he didn't ask for it, Ginny. He wrote to Ginny a handful of times - checking in, seeing if there was anything she needed, anything he could do to help. Her responses were often short - "Just come home soon."

It took everything in Harry's power not to go to her then. He could have been at the Burrow within seconds, had her scoped in his arms, and just held her. But he didn't, and he wasn't entirely sure why. There was a good part of him that was afraid. Suppose she wouldn't be as understanding as she was when he had broken things off in the first place. Suppose she had moved on. Another part was guilty. Because of him, the Weasley's had become one less.

But he was here now, upon Molly's request - demand really - to come to Sunday night supper. He couldn't help but smile as the Burrow appeared in the distance, and the smell of Molly's cooking descended over the field.

Out of nowhere, there was a rush of wind and the blur of a dark green jumper that buzzed past Harry's left side, so close that he was sure he felt a hand graze his hair. He instinctively reached for his wand, but by the time it was drawn, he saw his culprit.

About fifty yards in the distance, Ginny had reversed the direction of her broom and, slowing her speed, was now heading back his way.

"A little slow there on the draw, Potter," she smiled as she jumped off the broom and held it in her hand. "Letting yourself go now that Voldemort's been defeated?"

Harry couldn't help but smile at her cheek. He watched as she pushed the loose, windblown strands of auburn hair from her face. "The others are inside, if you want to go in," she nodded toward the house.

"I'd rather stay with you," Harry replied, barely audible.

He watched as Ginny turned the slightest shade pink as she started toward the small shed, her broom still in hand. "Finally got the courage to ask me out again, eh?" she said trying to sound confident, but Harry could hear the hope in her voice.

Harry should have known better than to be surprised by her bluntness - it was one of the several reasons why he loved her. He jogged a few steps to catch her stride, "I finally have the courage to apologize for leaving in the first place, and then hopefully, you'll let me make it up to you."

Ginny fumbled with the lock on the shed, "Well, my guess is you've got about ten minutes before Mum sends out a search party to fetch us for supper." She held the door open and gestured for him to come in.

He raised his eyebrows as if to question her motives, "Don't worry," she smiled back. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just thought you'd want the privacy."

Harry nodded and stepped inside. There must have been twelve brooms hanging from hooks on the wall which gave the two of them less than two feet of space to move.

Harry suddenly had a very hard time concentrating on what needed to be said. It had been nearly a year since he had been this close to Ginny Weasley, yet it was the one thing he constantly dreamed about. He had forgotten the lavender scent of her hair, the way she would stand with her right hip cocked, that small mischievous smile that constantly seemed to play on her lips. It was hard for him not to reach out to her. Not to pull her closer to him in the intimacy of the shed. But there were things he needed her to hear him say first.

"I'm sorry," he said at last breaking the silence.

"I know," Ginny replied. "I don't know what you're sorry for. I told you to go."

"I'm not sorry about that," Harry continued. "I'm sorry for not taking you with me. I thought - I was so sure you'd be safer away from me. I was terrified Voldemort was going to try to use you, was going to try to get to you somehow. I never imagined the things that would happen at Hogwarts - I was - I was so sure that was going to be the safest place for you."

"Harry Potter, I swear, if you're apologizing for not protecting me, I will punch you in the throat." Harry recognized that Weasley temper starting to make its way to the surface as her ears grew red and the speed of her speech increased. "I knew exactly what I was doing when I stood up the Carrows, we all did. And we didn't do it because we felt we owed you, the infamous Harry Potter, any ounce of debt. We did it because it was one way we could fight. We did it because we were just as sick as anyone else of living in fear of dark magic and letting that fear run our lives. I did it because, I wanted a different world for our children," she stopped herself realizing what she had said.

"Our - our children?" Harry teased.

Ginny rolled her eyes and huffed having realized she'd been caught out. "Yeah. If you must know. After we get married, we're going to have two kids - both girls."

"Two girls?" Harry repeated again. "And we're getting married?"

"I grew up in a house full of boys, I deserve to have the odds shift in my favor," she argued. "And it'd be rather quite scandalous if the savior of the wizarding world just knocked up his school sweetheart without making a proper woman of her first."

He put his hands up in surrender, "We simply couldn't have that," he smiled, relieved and overjoyed that Ginny was having the same fantasies about their future as he was.

Ginny still blushed under the realization that she had told Harry something so personal. "Just to be clear, I wouldn't want kids right away."

"Of course," Harry agreed. "Now the marriage-"

Ginny smiled, "Can come anytime, Potter," she shrugged. "I've only been planning it since I was ten."

Harry took a step toward her, his hand reaching out and wrapping around her waist. And as he lowered his head toward hers, their lips just barely touching, he promised, "Then it would seem like I've got a lot of time to make up for."