3

Let My Love Open the Door

Chapter 3

"Do you want me to leave?" Ginny asked with concern, not quite knowing what to feel. On one hand she felt a bit hurt but on the other she could see the turmoil that Harry was in and thought she might be able to help him.

Before Harry could say anything, Winky came into the room and said, "Master Harry, tea is being served."

Harry gave Ginny a wan smile. "Well since Winky has tea ready you might as well stay."

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.

Harry's smile grew just a little and he nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm sure she's made enough to feed a small army and it would be a shame to let it go to waste," he replied with a glance at the diminutive elf.

"I's should think not," Winky said with a huff, her eyes flashing as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Ginny giggled lightly at the stern look that Winky was giving Harry. He frowned but the corners of his lips kept twitching up as he glanced at Winky. She was rather comical looking, with her arms folded across her chest and her huge orb-like eyes glaring at him in displeasure.

He sighed and stood up. "Please, this way," he said, indicating which direction he wanted her to go.

Ginny rose and headed towards the doorway Harry was indicating; slightly surprised they weren't headed into the kitchen.

Harry fell in step right behind her and they went down a short hall ending up in the formal dining room. Not that it was overly large or ostentatious.

There was a beautiful antique table and chairs for eight along with a matching sideboard and china cabinet. The one wall consisted of mainly windows that looked out over the back of the property. Ginny found the view very appealing. It was quite a pastoral scene with gardens and lawn in the foreground giving way to trees in the distance and she was surprised at how much it reminded her of the view behind the Burrow.

Interspaced with the windows were a number of wall sconces that were unlit, the windows providing plenty of light.

Above the table hung a small but stunning crystal chandelier. Ginny stared at it for a moment, reminiscing about the one she had been taken with at her Grandmother Prewett's house.

When she noticed Harry looking at her questioningly, she said with a smile, "Sorry, it just brought memories of my fascination with the chandelier that my grandmother Prewett had when I was a little girl."

Harry gave her a curt nod and a small smile in understanding.

It was then that Ginny noticed that there were two place settings at the far end of the table, one at the head of the table, the second to its left, facing the windows.

She smiled when Harry pulled out her chair for her and helped her sit down before taking his own seat.

They had only been seated for a second or two before Winky appeared with a vast array of platters and dishes which she floated onto the table.

"Will's that be all, Master Harry? she asked.

"Yes Winky and thank you for all your hard work," Harry replied with a smile at his elf.

Ginny looked at the multiple dishes before them and was surprised. It wasn't the usual array of foods one usually associated with Afternoon Tea.

There were none of the cutesy, delicate little sandwiches and pastries but instead consisted of a much more substantial fare.

Harry gave her a sympathetic smile. "I guess I should have warned you. Back when I was training we usually didn't take time for lunch so tea evolved into a regular meal. After which I'd go back to training and we didn't eat supper till very late," he explained.

Ginny gave him a warm smile. "That's okay. I've never been one for cucumber sandwiches and puff pastries," she replied.

Harry ladled out two smallish bowls of a wonderfully smelling onion soup, something that Ginny was grateful for as she didn't want to get filled up and not be able to enjoy sampling any of the other luscious dishes that were available.

As they started on their soup Harry looked at her and asked, "Do you mind if I ask you some questions about yourself?"

Ginny looked up at him and replied, "Not at all, as long as I can do the same."

Harry just shrugged. "I'd think you'd know all about me," he said a bit sadly. "It's been in all the papers."

When Ginny looked at him questioningly, he just shrugged again. "After I defeated Riddle, I've kept pretty much to myself," he explained.

When she looked at him in surprise he said, "I read a lot, play around with magic, study a little. I'm pretty boring really."

Though he said it rather matter-of-factually, Ginny could sense an underlying sense of sadness to his voice. She gave him an encouraging smile. "Ask away," she said brightly.

Harry nodded as he broke off a piece of bread and dipped it into his soup. "So what do you do?" he asked after taking a bite and swallowing.

Ginny smiled, thinking how Ron would have asked the question with his mouth full. "I'm a reserve Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies," she replied.

When he looked at her in surprise, she frowned. "What? Are you one of those pigheaded guys who think women shouldn't play Quidditch?" she asked a bit indignantly.

"No!" he replied, startled by her reaction. He then looked at her sheepishly. "I'm actually a bit envious. I'd once hoped to play professionally myself. I'm a pretty fair Seeker, or so I've been told," he said sadly.

He then gave her a small smile. "I do listen to most of the games on the wireless. I'll have to pay more attention to the Harpies now that I know you play for them."

"You'll probably have to listen for the next couple of years then," she said with a smile. "We have some really great Chasers right now and I'll probably not be able to break into the starting line-up till one of them retires."

"How long do you think that will be?" he asked as he finished his soup.

Ginny sighed and looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'd say two, maybe three years," she replied a bit wistfully.

Harry gave a small shrug. "There's always the chance someone will get injured."

"True there is always a chance that could happen but very unlikely. I haven't heard of anyone lately," Ginny said, looking thoughtfully.

"There's been three in the last year," Harry replied. "Hollingsworth for Puddlemere, Dowling for the Arrows and Littleton for the Kestrels. They all had career ending injuries this past season and that's just the Chasers," Harry said matter-of-factually.

"Is that so?" Ginny asked thoughtfully. "Well with thirteen teams and only three Chasers having to retire because of injuries the odds aren't very good for that to happen."

She then looked at him shrewdly. "How did you know about the injured Chasers?" she asked.

Harry just shrugged again. "Like I said, I don't go out much and I listen to a lot of Quidditch."

Ginny then gave a low chuckle. "I bet Ron would have known." She then frowned slightly. "You wouldn't believe it but when I got home the other day, he and Hermione were still there and he gave me a hard time about where I'd been."

Harry stared at her in concern. "What did you say?" he asked anxiously.

"I told him it was none of his business," she replied with a smug smile.

When she saw how relieved he looked she asked, "What's the matter?"

Harry shrugged again, something she noticed he seemed to do a lot. "I, ah, well I just don't want to be the cause of any hard feelings or anything between you and your family," he said softly.

"It had nothing to do with you, Harry. Ron's always been sticking his nose into my life since I went to school," Ginny said firmly. She then eyed him closely and didn't like what she saw.

"Is there something else I should know about?" she inquired, her eyes narrowing.

Harry sighed and glanced at her. "Ron doesn't like me very much," he said quietly.

When Ginny looked at him in surprise, he sighed again, a bit more deeply. "He thought I was interested in Hermione at one point and he never believed me when I told him I wasn't interested in her like that."

"Yeah, he can be a real jealous prat when it comes down to it," she said sympathetically. She then eyed him quizzically. "How did you meet them?" she asked.

Harry gave her a resigned look before he stared off into space for a moment. "I was out with Sirius, Remus and Tonks and we happened to be in Hogsmeade when the Death Eaters attacked. By happen-stance I ended up saving Hermione." He then gave her a sad smile. "Afterwards she thanked me a bit enthusiastically."

Ginny's eyes widened in surprise and when he saw her he quickly added "It was just a hug!"

Ginny burst out laughing. When she calmed a little she said, "Let me guess. Ron saw her hugging you, didn't he?"

Harry just nodded and blushed lightly.

"Okay, I can understand that but that doesn't explain why she was so adamant that you had to be at their wedding," she said, wondering what else had taken place.

Harry nodded and gave her a half smile. "Well Remus knew her from when he taught at Hogwarts and we needed some help with researching some things. He talked it over with Dumbledore and Sirius and she became involved to a certain degree," he explained.

Ginny nodded, hoping he'd continue talking as he seemed to relax some and from the look in his eyes she thought there was more to it.

Harry saw her look and decided he ought to tell her the rest. "When she'd come over to research I was often in the library studying and since I rarely saw anyone my own age we began to talk," he said rather wistfully.

He then chuckled lightly, a small smile developing on his face. "We had some interesting discussions about a lot of things." His smile then grew. "Merlin, I didn't mind studying but she sure was . . ."

"Driven? Focused? Ah . . . Consumed?" Ginny asked, trying to help him.

Harry laughed fully for the first time in Ginny's presence. "Yeah, something like that," he said humorously.

He sighed but still had a small smile on his face. "Anyway, from what I gather, she was a bit enthusiastic in telling Ron about the time we spent together and he took things the wrong way," he said a bit sadly.

"Yeah, that's Ron," Ginny agreed.

"He did end up accompanying her several times and though I tried to include him, he never did warm up to me. Most of the time he just sat there and glared at me if I so much as said a word to Hermione," he said with a shake of his head.

Ginny rolled her eyes giving Harry a sympathetic smile. "Like I said, that's Ron. Though I must admit he's gotten a little better, he still has his moments."

Harry looked back up into Ginny's eyes. "Enough about me. Do you have any plans on what you want to do after you're done playing Quidditch?"

It was Ginny's turn to shrug. "Not really anything concrete. Healer school maybe, or who knows, I may end up taking a job as the Quidditch reporter. The Prophet could certainly use someone better than they have now. Or I may just meet the right person and settle down and raise a family," she rambled.

It was as she said the last part that she noticed the unguarded look of longing and pain that enveloped Harry.

She saw him realize she was looking at him so he broke eye contact and stared down at the tabletop.

"That sounds nice," he said lowly.

Ginny almost asked him if he wanted a family but caught herself in time. It was painfully obvious that the sound of having a family was something that he wished for fervently but it was equally obvious to her that he thought it was something that was out of reach.

She decided a change in topic was in order and began to talk about her brothers. She was glad when she saw Harry relax and smile.

When she paused after telling him a story about her and Bill when she was small, Harry jumped in.

"I've actually met most of your brothers," he said with a small grin. "Bill was the first one. He came and taught me some of his Curse Breaking secrets."

He then gave a small laugh. "I thought he was so cool, what with his fang earring and ponytail."

When Ginny gave him a surprised look, he said a bit defensively, "I was fifteen!"

Ginny shook her head and smiled. "No, it's not that. I used to think so too, still do to a degree."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Let's see . . . Percy was the next one I met. Because of my special circumstances I was allowed to get my Apparition Licence early and he was one of the people who was involved in setting that up."

He then blushed and gave her a guilty look. "I thought he was something of a pompous arse."

Ginny laughed and gave him a warm smile. "That's Percy, especially back then. Though he has mellowed a little he still is the most uptight of all my brothers," she said.

Harry gave her a small grateful smile. "I met Charlie at an Order of the Phoenix meeting, though we didn't really get a chance to talk. Even so, I liked him right away. There was just something about his demeanour that spoke to me," he said softly, a small grin on his face.

"I know what you mean. He can be so stoic but has such an inner strength and it lets you know that nothing will bother him and he won't panic in any situation, no matter how dire things may seem," Ginny replied, saying things that Harry had thought but found hard to vocalize.

"Yeah, that's the impression I got," Harry agreed with a grin.

It then morphed into a frown. "I've already told you about meeting Ron," he said wanly.

Ginny nodded but didn't comment. She knew just how immature and jealous her brother could be and it didn't need repeating.

"The only ones I never met were the Twins," Harry said with a pained smile.

Ginny felt her heart clench, the memory of seeing Fred's body filling her mind. She smiled sadly, missing him so much.

Harry saw the look on Ginny's face. "I'm so sorry for your loss," he said guiltily.

Ginny saw the guilty look and tone of his voice and she realized that he somehow felt responsible. "It wasn't your fault," she said compassionately.

She saw his look of disbelief. "He chose to fight for what he believed in, for what was right. We were at war and unfortunately people die in wars. I certainly don't hold you responsible and I'm sure no one else does either," she said with conviction.

She was surprised to see his eyes glistening with unshed tears. He gave her a wan smile. "While I know that here," he said tapping his head, "Here doesn't want to believe it," he added tapping his heart.

"I just feel that if I had figured some things out sooner, if I'd been a little quicker, done a few things differently, that so many wouldn't have needed to die," he whispered emotionally.

Ginny felt her heart breaking for him. She was starting to understand him so much better and it pained her to see him still so caught up with the guilt he felt about what had happened four years ago.

She reached out across the table and covered his hand with hers, giving it a soft squeeze. "You can't change the past. You did the best you could at the time and dwelling on what might have been isn't healthy. It's just tearing you up inside, even I can see that and I haven't known you long. You need to find some way to let it go," she said imploringly.

Harry stared at her sadly. He hastily wiped away the couple of tears that rolled down his cheeks when he blinked his eyes to clear them.

"Don't you think I haven't tried," he whispered huskily. "I wish I knew what to do," he lamented lowly.

Ginny looked at him sadly. "I think part of the problem is that you spend too much time alone," she said softly.

"I'm not alone, I have Kreacher and Winky," Harry protested feebly.

""I know that but they're not quite the same as having a friend to spend time with," Ginny said gently.

As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew Ginny was right. He sighed deeply. "Yeah well, I don't have many friends to spend time with," he stated dejectedly.

Ginny gave him a smirk. "I ought to be offended by that remark," she said a bit cheekily.

She felt her heart soar when she saw the look of realization on his face. "You'd want to spend time with me?" he asked, sounding much like a young child.

"Yeah, I would," Ginny said, smiling at him warmly.

The whole time they had been talking they had been eating the fine meal that Winky had made, polishing off a fair portion of it.

Harry glanced at the table, noticing how empty it was. He was afraid that now that they were done eating that Ginny would leave and he was surprised to find he didn't want that.

"Would – would you like to take a walk with me?" he asked unsurely.

Ginny smiled at him brightly. "I'd like that very much," she replied warmly.

Since she had flooed right into the house, Ginny didn't have a cloak or jacket but Harry lent her one. At first he had handed her a cloak but both chuckled when it proved to be way too large.

He then handed her an old muggle pea coat that fit much better and after he donned another muggle jacket they went out the front door.

They started on his normal circuit but when Harry saw Ginny glancing at the Quidditch hoops he steered them in that direction.

As they cleared the trees that ringed the pitch, Ginny let out an appreciative sigh.

When Harry cocked his head and looked at her, she blushed lightly. "What I wouldn't have given to have a place like this to practice before I joined the Harpies," she said a bit embarrassingly. "We just have an old paddock where we flew and it isn't even a third this size," she explained wistfully.

Harry just stared out across the pitch for several moments and Ginny could tell he was thinking about the past. There was such a look of longing that she saw that it once more tore at her heart and she found herself wondering just what had been the price he had paid to win.

"Sirius used to sneak me out here every once and a while," he whispered hoarsely. "Whenever the training got to me he'd arrange to bring me here, usually in the middle of the night," he added with a mirthless little laugh.

"To me it was the greatest thing, the freedom I felt when flying . . . I thought it was a lark," he continued, intermittently scuffing the ground with his toe.

He'd then look back up out across the pitch and continued. "Remus told me; it was several years after we started, mind you, that Dumbledore gave Sirius such a dressing down but he just stood there defiantly, taking it until Dumbledore wound down and told him he'd keep on doing it because I needed it."

Ginny could hear the pain in Harry's voice. Though she had noticed it before when he talked about certain things, there was always a little more, something a bit deeper whenever he spoke about Sirius.

"He must have loved you quite a bit," she said softly.

Harry's head jerked around and he stared at her as if he was surprised that she knew. Then his looked softened and he nodded his head. "Yeah he did. I think he was the one who loved me the most, more than anyone else," he said with a sigh.

Harry then looked back out onto the pitch. "Would – would you . . ." he began hesitantly, but then he faltered.

"Would I what?" Ginny prompted softly, quite curious.

"It's nothing," Harry said.

"I don't think so. So why don't you just tell me," Ginny said with a small smile.

Harry stared at her for a moment, then a small smile crept onto his face. "I was just wondering if you wouldn't like to come over some time and fly with me?" he finally said.

Harry's request took her by surprise and her face must have shown it because Harry suddenly looked embarrassed.

Recovering quickly, Ginny reached out and gently touched his arm. "I'd like that very much," she said softly.

Harry gave her a brilliant smile but it only lasted for a couple of seconds before he caught himself and his normal stoic appearance returned.

"Good . . . good," he said as if it really didn't matter but she could tell he was quite pleased.

He then turned and began to lead her around the property again. Since Harry seemed to be reminiscing and not about happy things, Ginny began to tell him stories of their family Quidditch games at the Burrow.

She was pleased when she saw him glancing at her every now and then, a smile growing on his face as he listened to her.

As she wound down Harry looked at her and said with a smile, "That must have been brilliant."

She was about to downplay it when she caught herself. She knew that he probably would've given just about anything to have had an opportunity like that. It made her suddenly appreciate what she had while growing up. Sure it hadn't been perfect and they struggled monetarily but their home had always been filled with love, something she was fairly sure that Harry hadn't had while growing up.

They started walking again and Ginny kept glancing at Harry.

"What?" he finally asked.

Ginny considered carefully on what she wanted to say. "I was just wondering," she began softly. "I know everyone knows about your life with training and defeating Voldemort . . ."

"Riddle, Tom Riddle. That was his real name," Harry said, interrupting her. He made up the name Lord Voldemort." Then he smiled at her. "Though it's nice to meet someone who will actually say his name. I get so tired of hearing people call him 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' and all the other crap," he said fervently.

Ginny blushed lightly. "I don't know why I referred to him as Voldemort. I normally say Tom. That's how I knew him from writing in his Diary," she said softly, her voice tinged with sadness at the memories from her first year at Hogwarts.

When she glanced at him, he was staring at her with a strange look on his face and she wondered what he was thinking.

Almost as if he had read her mind, he asked hesitantly, "Would you mind telling me about that?" When he saw her jerk in surprise, he quickly added "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm just curious you could say."

Ginny gave him an appraising look for several moment. "I'll tell you my side if you do the same. I mean how did you end up down there by yourself and saving me?"

Harry nodded. "I guess that's only fair," he replied almost immediately.

Ginny gave him a curt nod in reply, satisfied with his answer.

Harry conjured a small bench and motioned for her to sit down. After they were both settled, Ginny began telling him about her disastrous first year. How she had ended up with the Diary and began writing in it. How nice Tom had seemed at first and how he wormed his way into her confidence.

Ginny noticed how intently Harry was listening to her, how he hung on her every word. His emerald eyes shining with a blazing light she had never noticed before.

She continued telling her story and she found herself giving him details she had never shared with anyone before, not even her brother Bill who had basically saved her from going insane that summer when they had visited him in Egypt.

She finished up with how she had been taken down into the Chamber for what was supposed to be the last time. How she had fought to the very end but how she had finally succumbed and then waking up with him there, hurt, bleeding but treating her so gently and tenderly.

Ginny fell silent, staring down at the ground between her feet. Though it had been hard and a very trying, draining, emotional experience telling Harry everything, she found she actually felt better for having done so.

She was startled out of her thoughts by Harry taking her hand in his. Ginny slowly raised her head and turning to look at him. She was startled to find he was leaning slightly towards her and all she saw was his brilliant emerald eyes.

They were shining with such an intensity it took her breath away. They held such compassion and understanding and something she could only identify as pride.

"You were so brave and so strong," Harry said lowly but fervently, his eyes blazing with more emotion than she had seen in them yet. "I can't begin to imagine what you must have gone through."

For some reason Harry's affirmation struck Ginny deeply and she felt tears spring into her eyes.

When Harry looked at her with a puzzled look, she gave a little laugh and hurriedly brushed the tears from her eyes. "I don't know why I'm crying," she said softly.

"I will admit that it took some doing for Bill to convince me that I had been strong in holding him off for so long but brave? I can't see it. I was lost, confused, hurt and so, so afraid, but brave, no . . . no, I can't see brave," she whispered hoarsely.

"Yes you were Ginny. Having the strength is one thing but to use that strength took bravery. It took having something deep within yourself to tell that ruddy bastard, 'You may win but I'll fight you every step of the way. I'll never willingly give in'. And you did that for what, nine months? Most adult witches or wizards wouldn't have lasted nearly as long and many would have given up without a fight, but fight you did. I'm honoured to know you," Harry said with such conviction that Ginny couldn't deny what he was saying.

Ginny felt her heart swell with pride. In some ways she knew she shouldn't but hearing those things from Harry, who had spent the better part of his life fighting against Riddle and his Death Eaters, gave them greater impact than hearing them from Bill, who had said something similar.

She smiled warmly at him. "Thank you," she said simply but with genuine feelings.

Harry nodded while giving her hand a squeeze. "You're welcome," he replied. Then he gave her a small grin. "I won't have anyone telling me my friend isn't brave, not even themselves."

Ginny looked at him in surprise. "You consider me your friend?" she asked in disbelief.

Harry gave her a firm nod. "Yeah, you've earned that title as little as it's worth."

"I think it's worth quite a bit as you don't give it often from my understanding," she replied softly.

Harry gave her a small smile while cocking his head and giving a roll of his eyes.

Ginny gave a small chuckle at him, earning her a bit of a bigger grin. She then turned more sombre. "You were going to tell me your side of the story," she half said, half asked.

Harry's mood became more pensive. "Not a lot to tell really."

When Ginny cocked an eyebrow at him and gave him a pointed look, he gave her a somewhat defiant look. "No, really. Once you hear it I don't think you'll be all that impressed," he said sheepishly.

When Ginny just continued to stare at him he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Dumbledore came and said he needed my help and "special talent" he said derisively, rolling his eyes.

When Ginny looked at him questioningly, he sighed and said "I'm a Parselmouth," cringing while waiting for her reaction.

When Ginny just nodded, he was surprised. Usually people took that information much worse. Mentally shrugging, he continued, filing that information away for the moment.

"At first he didn't want to say anything but Sirius wasn't going to let me go with him without more information. Dumbledore finally told him that a student had been taken down into the Chamber of Secrets and only a Parselmouth could open the entrance."

Ginny gave him a curt nod when he paused for a second before pressing on. "Sirius and Remus insisted on coming and it looked like Dumbledore was going to protest but I guess he figured time was of the essence and let them come."

He then rolled his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. "Unfortunately Gilderoy Lockhart was waiting and insisted on accompanying us."

Harry laughed at Ginny's reaction on hearing Lockhart's name. She laughed too, saying "Yeah by that time I think everyone had figured out he was a fraud, well all except Hermione who just didn't want to believe it. She still thought that a professor could do no wrong at that point."

"Yeah, she was still that way when I first met her. It was Sirius who finally convinced her that they were only human too and that the Sun didn't shine out of their arses," he said with a sad smile. Something Ginny noticed he did whenever he mentioned Sirius.

Ginny couldn't help but give him a small smile.

"Anyway, once we were all down the slide, I rushed forward. I'm not exactly sure what happened but from what Sirius said Lockhart tried to Obliviate everyone but somehow they stopped him. Unfortunately while doing so they set off a cave-in of the ceiling and I ended up trapped on one side with all of them on the other. I decided that since time was of the essence, that I'd go on by myself while they tried to dig through to me, well us."

Ginny nodded, and was glad but a bit surprised at what he had said about Lockhart. She had always wondered what had happened to him as he had suddenly disappeared without any explanation.

"I finally got to the Chamber proper and entered. You were lying on the floor, looking so pale. I was afraid I was too late till I got to you. You were still breathing but I couldn't wake you up. That's when Tom showed himself."

Ginny gave a small unconscious shudder at the memory of Tom down in the Chamber that last time.

Harry gave her hand another soft squeeze along with a wan smile.

"It was while talking to him that he revealed to me he was Voldemort. As you can probably guess, I wasn't thrilled to find that out," he said sarcastically.

In spite of the seriousness of the topic, Ginny found herself giving him a wry grin.

"Well," Harry said hesitantly. "Tom said that while he hadn't expected me, he was going to enjoy taking the opportunity presented to him and kill me. It was then that he summoned the Basilisk."

Ginny grimaced at the memory of the gigantic serpent and everything she had been forced to make it do.

Harry noticed her reaction but decided not to say anything. He knew her memories of the beast had to be just as bad as his, if not worse.

"It was a near thing but fortunately Fawkes arrived and helped me. Not only did he bring me Gryffindor's Sword but he also blinded the Basilisk. I was able to finally kill the damn thing but not before it bit me as I stabbed it."

Harry saw Ginny's eyes go wide as she gasped in horror.

Harry nodded in commiseration. "Luckily Phoenix Tears are the only known cure for Basilisk venom. If it wasn't for Fawkes I would have died," he said softly.

Ginny felt tears begin to leak out of her eyes. She had never known that Harry had almost given his life to save hers.

"Hey! It's okay, I survived. I'm still here," he said softly as he brushed her tears away.

Ginny was shocked at the tender, intimate gesture and she found herself giving him a wan smile.

"Well, as you can probably guess, Tom wasn't too happy that I had managed to kill the Basilisk. He said it didn't matter as he'd just kill me himself as soon as he finished absorbing your soul and came completely back to life. It was then that Fawkes dropped the Diary into my lap and somehow I just knew what I needed to do. I took the Basilisk fang that had broken off when it bit me and stabbed the damn Diary with it."

He then gave her a lop-sided grin that she found quite endearing. "It had the desired effect and Tom ceased to exist. As soon as he was gone you regained consciousness, and I guess you know what happened after that."

"Actually I don't remember much," Ginny replied with a small frown. "I remember seeing you and you comforting me but then there is nothing till I woke up in the hospital wing."

Harry looked at her in surprise. "Oh," he said, a bit wide-eyed. "It wasn't that long before most of the others arrived and Dumbledore had Fawkes flame us back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I wanted to go with you to the hospital wing to make sure you were okay but Dumbledore said he didn't think that was a good idea. I started to protest but Sirius said we should probably get going as he wanted to get me checked out too."

"Why didn't he want Madam Pomfrey to check you over?" Ginny asked, perplexed.

Harry shrugged. "I guess he didn't trust her because she was an employee of Dumbledore's. He'd had some disagreements with him and didn't want me in his presence any more than necessary."

Ginny looked at him wistfully. "I wish he would have let you come with me. I really would have liked to talk to you." She then gave a small chuckle. "Hell, at that point, I didn't even know who you were and no one said anything about you at all so I kept it to myself, hoping that someday I'd meet the boy who saved me."

"So do I live up to your expectations?" Harry asked somewhat hesitantly.

Ginny sighed and gave him a warm smile. "While I grew up hearing about The-Boy-Who-Lived, I'm glad I finally got to meet you and learn about the real you. You're so much more than the stories about you and I, for one, am happy to know Harry, not The-Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry couldn't help but smile at what she said. It warmed him inside, starting to melt the ice his heart was encased in.

"Thank you," he whispered fervently. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Though she didn't say anything, she was pretty sure she did understand what it meant to him. Reaching out, she squeezed his hand with a smile.

Harry smiled back at her, relishing her gentle touch. He sighed and looked up at the sky. "We'd better continue our walk if we want to get back before it gets too dark," he said softly.

Ginny nodded and noticed the wistful quality to his voice, almost as if he was loathed for their time together to end.

Harry rose and helped Ginny to her feet. They continued to amble around the property, mostly in companionable silence but every so often talking about what they saw around them.

By the time they arrived back at the house it was almost dark. After hanging up their coats they looked at each other.

Ginny could see something in Harry's eyes that hadn't been there before, though she had a hard time determining exactly what it was. The one thing she was sure of though was that he seemed that he was sorry that she was leaving.

"I should be going," Ginny finally said. She wasn't all that surprised when she saw a touch of sadness come over him.

Harry nodded his head. "Thank you for coming," he said softly.

When he didn't say anything else, Ginny reluctantly turned and headed over to the fireplace. She had just taken a handful of floo powder and was preparing to throw it into the grate when Harry called out. "Wait!"

She turned and looked at him expectantly.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out. "Would you . . . ah, that is . . . would you care to join me for lunch tomorrow and then afterwards we could, maybe, go flying?" he said hopefully.

Ginny smiled widely. She had been wondering how she'd arrange to see him again and then he had gone and surprised her by inviting her back for the next day.

"It will be my pleasure," she said warmly.

Harry couldn't believe how hard it had been to ask her to come back. He also could hardly believe that she had said yes. He had been so worried that she'd decline his invitation.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said lowly, though Ginny could tell he was relieved that she had accepted.

"Till tomorrow," Ginny said before she turned back to the fireplace, threw the floo powder in and left.

Suddenly feeling a bit light-headed he sat down, flopping heavily into his chair.

It took several moments but his head eventually started to feel normal. "Well that didn't go like I thought it would," he said lowly to himself. He realized that if anything he was more enamoured with the beautiful redhead than before.

For some reason that didn't bother him as much as he thought it would. He was thinking about all they had talked about when he was interrupted by Kreacher coming into the room.

"Kreacher, will you please inform Winky that we will be having company for lunch tomorrow," he informed the elf.

"Kreacher will be happy to tell Winky," the old elf replied. What Harry didn't see was the wide smile that grew on Kreacher's face.

Harry and Ginny

A/N: Well Harry's meeting with Ginny didn't go anything like he had thought. The more he finds out about her the more enthralled he's becoming. It will be interesting to see how things progress.

As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated.