Author's Notes: Finally, here is the second chapter. I have entered it in a challenge so here it is for all of you to read.

Like I said before, the story is completely written... Editing is what takes a long time.

Again, I would like to give a special thanks to my beta ZephyrDragon for her hard work and patience with me.

Potterverse is not mine. It is all JK Rowling. Let's sincerely thank the Lord to have given her the insight of creating this wonderful world for us to write in J

Please take a minute to leave a review or drop me an e-mail at lewis_martine (at) yahoo (dot) ca

Thank you all!

Chapter 2 – The Unexpected

Harry had been on forced holidays for only two weeks when he came back home to find Hermione and Ron waiting in his dining room.

It was late, very late. Harry had spent most of the day riding the Underground. It helped him keep his mind off things. And he had a lot of things on his mind, things he needed to sort out. The Underground closing at night was the only reason he came home at all.

Hermione looked at him, caught between being worried and angry. To make matters worse, Harry's appearance had deteriorated over the last couple of weeks. He was not sleeping well, if at all, and did not have appetite for anything.

"Where have you been?" Hermione finally exploded. "You don't write! You don't visit! And when I went to your office this morning, they told me you were taking time off and they didn't know when you would be back! What has got into you, not giving us news like this? And Ron says he hasn't heard from you in three weeks!"

Hermione looked away, visibility distressed, while Harry stared at her speechless.

"Now, we have tickets for the Chudley Cannons Quidditch game on Saturday and you are going to come!" she added, turning back to Harry and pointing her finger at him.

Harry remained silent, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, Ron! Talk some sense into him!" she said and stormed out of the dining room.

Both Ron and Harry watched her leave.

"Mate, I told her a bloke needs his space, you know… but it didn't work," said Ron, looking at Harry. "She's worried sick about you, you know. I think you better come on Saturday."

Harry gazed at his shoes, not sure if he wanted to go but at the same time, feeling a little guilty that his two best friends were worried about him.

"You'll come, right?" insisted Ron gently

"Yeah," finally answered Harry, glancing at him.

"Good," said Ron, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'll see you this Saturday around lunch time, at my house, okay? We'll eat before heading out... And by the way, you should eat something; you look dreadful."

hphphphp

Harry Apparated into Ron and Hermione's back garden, hidden from Muggles' eyes by a high Blackthorn hedge. He had been here once before, when he had completed his training session at the end of April. Ron had proudly told him that Hermione, who had done most of the decorating during the Christmas holiday, would be moving in with him at the end of her school year.

Harry looked at his friends' house with an urge to turn around and go home, but he didn't want to face Hermione's wrath again, nor his guilt at worrying her. With a sigh, he walked to the back door and knocked.

"Oh! Hi, Harry!" said Ron, opening the door and letting Harry in the kitchen.

"Ron, is that Harry?" called Hermione from another room towards the front of the house.

"Yeah, it's him."

Walking into the kitchen, Hermione pulled Harry into a tight hug.

"Lunch is on the table," she said, taking his arm and guiding him towards the dining room.

They sat and began to eat a light lunch of sandwiches and salad.

"So, Harry, what have you been up to lately?" asked Hermione before the silence became uncomfortable.

"Oh! Riding the Tube," answered Harry lightly, as if it was perfectly normal for somebody to ride the Underground all day.

"Riding the Tube?" asked Ron, staring at him. "Mate, don't you have anything more interesting to do?"

"No, not really, not since I was forced to take a holiday," answered Harry shortly.

"What? What happened?" asked Hermione concerned.

Harry explained how Amycus Carrow had escaped him again, finding, in the retelling, a glimpse of the old camaraderie they used to have when they were at Hogwarts. He found himself missing his years there, when things had been so much simpler, when they had been so innocent, even with the shadow of Voldemort looming over their heads.

"What about you, Hermione?" asked Harry. "You came back from school last Tuesday, didn't you? How many NEWTs? And what about your magical creatures' rights campaign?"

"Actually, I've got outstanding in all my NEWTs, and I've got a job offer with the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures - I'm currently researching the existing laws and regulations on non-human creatures for Minister Shacklebolt. I think that the house-elves and other non-humans' contribution to the war has not gone unnoticed. The Minister has asked me to find all the regulations that are to the disadvantages of non-humans, and to determine how they could be eliminated or modified to improve their conditions."

"Sounds like SPEW all over again," said Harry with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Yeah," answered Hermione with a sincere smile. "However, now I think I can really make a difference."

"What about you?" asked Harry, glancing at Ron.

"The shops are doing great," he answered.

Ron had gone to work with George at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes straight after the war. After the death of his brother, George had seriously thought about abandoning the shop which had closed its Diagon Alley premises during the war when the twins had gone into hiding. However, Ron had convinced George to give it another try. "I'll do it with you," he had said. "And if in a year you want to walk away, I won't stop you." Half-heartedly, George had given in.

Within months, the shop had become an even bigger success than before the war. People who had been constantly in fear during the conflict were now ready to laugh and have fun. Before December had come around, George and Ron had opened a second shop in Hogsmeade, in the old Zonko's location.

"We're branching out some more, now," continued Ron. "You remember the shield hats? We're trying to work some of that magic into other common objects, such as rings and bracelets. You should come by the shop sometime, and see for yourself, you know," invited Ron.

"Yeah, I'll do that."

An hour later, the three of them left for the Chudley Cannons' Quidditch pitch. Ron's favourite team was playing the Holyhead Harpies. To Harry's surprise, Ginny's name was announced on a banner as the newest Chaser for the all women's team.

"Ron, is that – is that Ginny?" he asked, pointing at the banner.

"Yeah," answered Ron dismissively. "One of their Chasers got pregnant and left the team. At the same time, their reserve got an offer from the Caerphilly Catapults. They were pretty desperate for a new Chaser, you know, so they turned to Ginny.

"You should have seen Mum! She went mental! Ginny hadn't even finished school when she was offered the place. Mum threw a fit and insisted Ginny finished school first. To get her off her back, Ginny promised Mum she would. She had to juggle Quidditch practices at school with the Harpies' practices and studying for her NEWTs. It's a wonder she did it all! And on top of it all, Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup and she passed all her NEWTs. Very impressive, don't you think?"

"Ron, you underestimate your sister," said Hermione with a smile.

"Well, on that one, I probably did," said Ron, not willing to admit it may have been the case on more than just this occasion.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but Harry was no longer paying attention as he was becoming increasingly nervous about the continuous stares and whispers from the crowd of people surrounding them. Not only was he a very well known figure, he was now the prime target for most Death Eaters and dark wizards, and a crowd of hundreds of unknown wizards made him ten times more nervous and jumpy than a ride in the Tube with tens of thousands Muggle strangers.

"Let's find our seats," he suggested, glancing around again.

The game lasted just over two hours and, as usual, the Cannons were horribly defeated by the Harpies by 480 points. Harry had enjoyed looking at Ginny fly and score in her brand new dark green uniform, but he doubted this game was a real display of the extent of her skills, so bad were the Cannons.

"Come, Harry! Ginny will never forgive us if we leave without seeing her," said Hermione after the game.

Grabbing his hand, Hermione guided him off the stands and walked towards the Holyhead Harpies' tent. Harry, still wary of the crowd, looked around at all the people who were now overtly pointing and staring at them.

"Don't mind them, mate," said Ron as if he could read Harry's discomfort. "They're just curious, that's all. It's not every day you see 'legends' walking right past you, you know. They're not dangerous."

"It's not them I'm worried about," said Harry, thinking about how easy it would be for a dark wizard to hide in this crowd.

"Stop it!" exclaimed Hermione when she noticed Harry was still nervous. "You look like you've never been stared at before. After all this time, you should be used to it," she added, misunderstanding his discomfort.

"Doesn't mean I like it!" answered Harry shortly.

However, the crowd was no longer the only thing Harry dreaded. He was worried about Ginny's reaction. He hadn't heard from her, nor had he given her any news in well over two months. He didn't know what to expect. In fact, he was so nervous that his heart was beating faster than it should have, had he only been worried about the crowd, and he felt his legs could barely support him.

"Come on!" said Hermione, pulling on his hand again to make him walk faster.

Ron led the way to the tent set up for the players, oblivious of Harry's growing discomfort. He lifted up the flap, and followed Hermione and Harry inside. Ginny was there, sitting at a table surrounded by fans eager to get her to autograph their Holyhead Harpies' gear.

"How is it up there, Ginny, when you're about to score?" asked a young girl of about seven.

"Fast," answered Ginny, signing the girl's hat. "And sometimes scary when it's raining," she added, looking up at the girl with a smile.

Harry thought he had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life.

"But you're not afraid of anything!" exclaimed an older girl down the row.

Ginny laughed happily.

"Harry Potter! That's Harry Potter!" the crowd began to whisper.

All of a sudden, the conversations stopped and everybody turned towards Harry. Ginny looked up and her brown eyes met his. She became visibly paler, and he wondered if it was in anger, but somehow his fuzzy mind seemed to remember the Weasleys tended to turn red when angry. The next thing he knew, Ginny was running across the tent and throwing herself in his arms.

"Ginny!" said Harry, hugging her, happily surprised by her reaction.

"So, tell me, have you forgotten what quills, parchment, and owls are?" she asked after a few seconds in his arms, visibly divided between being completely angry and overwhelmingly happy to see him.

As he stared at her, Harry had the impression everybody had gone and he wished only one thing: that he would dare kiss her. However, they stood there, staring at one another for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them daring to make the first move and initiate the kiss. Somehow, it seemed to Harry that it hadn't been so complicated in the Gryffindor common room a few years ago when they had won the Quidditch Cup.

"Well, are you going kiss her, mate?" asked a young man from the crowd, intruding on their universe.

Amount the laughter from the crowd, Harry smiled at Ginny, who, also laughing, put her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you, Harry Potter," she whispered against his neck.

"I missed you, Ginny Weasley," he whispered back against her hair.

And he knew at that moment how much he had really missed her.

"But we will have another war on our hands if you don't go back to your fans," he added, chuckling.

"Will you stay?" she asked, pulling away to look at him again.

"He'll be at dinner tonight," answered Ron.

"Eh!" said Harry surprised by the sudden invitation. "Yeah, right!" he added with a smile at Ginny.

Ginny returned his smile and left, walking back towards her table and her line of fans.

"Wow, mate! She did say she missed you but I never thought she missed you that much," said Ron puzzled by his sister's reaction. "And good thing we were there too, with about a few hundred fans or so... Otherwise, who knows what would have happened?"

"Boys!" said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

hphphphphp

Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting in the living room when Ginny arrived for dinner. She had showered and Harry could smell her flowery shampoo, a smell he remembered liking for as long as he had known her. Ginny sat on the sofa next to him, taking the only seat left available in the small living room.

"Well, I'm going to get dinner ready now that we're all here," said Hermione, standing up with a smile and walking towards the kitchen.

Ron was entertaining Harry and Ginny with his latest adventure in the Muggle world when Hermione called from the kitchen, "Ron! Need your help right about now!"

"Excuse me," said Ron, standing up and leaving for the kitchen.

Harry and Ginny sat there quietly, not daring to look at one another.

"Seeing anyone?" they both asked at the same time, turning towards one another.

"No," answered Harry, glancing at his hands, chuckling. "You?"

"No," she answered, her face turning slightly pink.

"So, what have you been doing since the last time I heard from you?" asked Harry, finally looking at her.

It wasn't really the question he wanted to ask her. What he really wanted to know was how come she was still single. But he suspected it wasn't the right kind of thing to say.

"Well," answered Ginny. "I finished school…"

She began to tell him how she had been recruited by the Holyhead Harpies, and the few teams she had played since then, but Harry was not listening. He was mesmerized by her voice and her smell, and all he could think about were her lips and how much he wanted to taste them. She was still talking about her last Quidditch trip when he leaned forward and kissed her.

He felt like time had stopped. There was only him and Ginny, and he could have kissed her all day long. He felt so exhilarated that he wondered, for a moment, if Ron or Hermione had slipped Felix Felicis in his drink while at the game.

"Dinner's ready!" called Hermione from the dining room after what seemed but a moment to Harry.

With a sigh, Harry pulled away from Ginny, and gazed at her.

"You have lipstick on your cheek," she said, chuckling, removing it with her fingers.

Once she was done, they stood up. He looked at her for a few seconds, took her hand in his, and gave her a light kiss on her knuckles before leading her to the dining room.