Author's Note: The Potter universe and all it's characters, places, names, etc. are not my creation, all credit belongs to JKR. I'm only providing the storyline after the 7th book.

Chapter 3 - Just You and Me

Spring quickly made way for summer at the Burrow and towards the middle of June, Harry had just about had enough of the constant badgering he was getting from reporters. Not only was he receiving a few owls a day with requests for interviews, the crowd of reporters and enthusiasts that gathered around the boundaries of the Burrow were taking all the measures they could to get in contact with anyone in the family.

One afternoon as they were walking into the kitchen for lunch, Harry sighed and looked at his three closest friends. "I know I said I didn't want to do any interviews about what happened, but I don't think we're gonna get those people out there off our backs until I do."

Ron nodded. "I hear you mate. That bloke who tried to fly his way past the wards around the property this morning was a complete nutter."

The girls nodded their agreement. "What were you thinking of, Harry?" Ginny asked as she sat down next to him on the bench, pressed in close to him as was the usual for them now.

He sighed again. "Honestly? I don't know. I don't want it to be this giant event with loads of people shouting questions." Thinking over his options, he started in on the sandwich he had taken off the platter in front of them. Ginny, Ron and Hermione all recognized the look of concentration on his face, they had all seen it many times before.

Ron turned the topic around to some of the new gimmicks and products that he and George were working on at the shop. Now that the store was reopened and George had found some employees to keep the store running during the day, he spent most of his time in the backroom working on new ideas.

As Harry finished his sandwich, he looked up and out the window as an idea came to his mind. Without saying anything, he stood up and made his way to the front door. "Two birds with one stone," he said, smiling. "I'll go and talk to them, right now. They can ask me all the questions they want until their faces turn blue, as long as they don't come bothering us here ever again."

Ron gave him a thumbs up, but their ladies and Mrs. Weasley had looks of concern on their faces. "Are you sure Harry?" Molly asked, "There's bound to be some people out there who aren't as happy with you as others are."

Harry shrugged. "I'll be alright Mum, really. And no, you guys don't have to come..." he said as the other three stood up to go with him.

Ginny shook her head firmly. "No choice, Mr. Potter," she said with a smile. "We do this together."

Harry looked to Hermione and Ron and saw the same look of determination on their faces as well. He sighed, then smiled. "Thanks," he said, as he opened the door and they all made their way down the path and driveway.

Some hours later, the reporters had exhausted all their questions and Harry had delivered a rather stern ultimatum to them all about coming back to the Burrow. As they all started Apparating away, one of them made his way up to Harry. He was a shorter fellow and he carried a briefcase with him.

"Ah, sorry to impose," the man said, putting a large smile on his face. "I'm not a reporter, I promise." This was said quickly, as if he thought Harry and the others would pull their wands out on him. "My name is Walden Quickthistle, and I am one of the managing partners of the Nimbus company. I've come with a deal for you directly from our Board of Directors."

This got their attention. What did the company who had created the Firebolt and Nimbus brands want with them? As they all looked at each other the stout man continued.

"As you may or may not know, we've been working on a brand new broomstick design, meant for world-class Quidditch competition, and we'd like to have your endorsement." As he said this he reached into his briefcase. It must have had the same charm on it that Hermione had done with their bags months ago, because in a moment, he had pulled out a standard-sized broomstick, holding it out in front of them. "This, friends, is the Eclipse."

All four of them got closer to take a look at the broom. It reminded Harry of his Firebolt, but more sleek. The bristles on the back were perfectly manicured and looked almost glossy in the sunlight. The body and handle were wooden, but it looked to have been stained in a dark shade of blue and perfectly polished. Mr. Quickthistle was true to his name and was spouting off facts and details as fast as his mouth could move.

Harry took it all in, looking up at the representative. "You want me to endorse the broom for you?"

"Oh yes Mr. Potter," he said as he bobbed his head up and down, "and not just you, all four of you."

This stunned the lot of them. "All of you are very popular right now, as you saw just minutes ago. It would do my company very well to have all your endorsements, and for your troubles, you would each receive an Eclipse, one of the very first few produced, plus a very generous stipend."

He opened his briefcase once more and pulled out three more of the dark blue broomsticks. Excitement ensued, as all four of the friends looked at each other and agreed silently. Harry, the de facto group leader, agreed with Mr. Quickthistle. The short man was extremely happy and the details of their endorsements were quickly worked out. He left them momentarily to go retrieve a photographer from the company headquarters, so that a slew of banners and advertisements could be made for the release announcement of the new product. He quickly assured Hermione, who wasn't a fan of flying on broomsticks to begin with, that it wouldn't be a problem with him.

He left them there alone for a few moments, each of the four holding their new broomsticks and grinning foolishly at each other. "Harry," Ginny said slowly, "Do you realize that the Gryffindor team is going to be pretty much unbeatable this year with these?" She had this wild look in her eyes that Harry had come to love.

"I was thinking the same thing," he said.

Even Hermione was appreciating the broomstick, turning it over and over in her hands. "It's beautiful," she said, with her own look in her eyes. Ron smiled and wrapped his arm around her. "Looks like we'll be giving Hermione some flying lessons after all."

As the days went on, Harry, Hermione and Ginny found themselves wishing there was more for them to do than just lounge around the Burrow and the occasional list of chores. Ron must have been feeling it too, making it a point to be at George's shop every day it was open. They had all made more trips into Diagon Alley, but even that was getting tiring, especially with all the questions and requests for autographs they were getting from random people.

Harry and Ginny had taken a few day trips to visit with Teddy and his grandmother, Andromeda. The little boy wasn't more than two months old, yet he recognized the both of them with a big smile. He had definitely inherited his mother's Metamorphmagus abilities, changing his hair color and style to whoever was holding or playing with him.

Andromeda was glad to have Harry and Ginny's help in watching little Teddy every few days, though she had put up a good resistance to accepting the money Harry had given to them. She was insistent that she had enough money plus what Remus and Nymphadora had left behind, but eventually she had given up on her protests and had hugged Harry so tightly that he was slightly blue from lack of breath afterwards.

One Sunday morning in the middle of June, they were all sitting around in a small grove of trees near the clearing where the Weasley clan played Quidditch. Yawns were had all around, they had all stayed up late the night before talking and cuddling in their pairs.

Harry was feeling extremely tired for some reason even though he thought he had slept well. He was laying on the grass and Ginny had pulled his head onto her lap, idly playing with his hair while they chatted.

After a particularly loud yawn Hermione spoke up. "You know, we left quite a bit of stuff behind at Grimmauld Place. Maybe we should stop over there today?"

Harry and Ginny nodded. "Hey that's not a bad idea," Harry said, turning his head to look at Hermione.

"Is it safe though?" Ron asked, stretching his arms. "I mean, I'm sure the Death Eaters got into it after we had to leave it."

Harry sat up, still leaning a bit against Ginny. "I'm not sure, but there's one way to find out… Kreacher, I need to speak with you!"

A moment passed and then a loud Crack! signaled the arrival of the house elf in the middle of all of them. Kreacher looked around for a moment to get his bearings. "Master Harry called for Kreacher?" he said, looking around at the others and bowing to all of them, including Hermione, surprisingly.

"Yes Kreacher, err, how have you been?" Harry asked, noticing that the little house elf was still looking good and wearing clean clothes as he had been when they had been staying at Grimmauld Place the last summer.

"Kreacher has been well Master Harry. Kreacher has been busy keeping up Master's home and helping at Hogwarts, as Master wished him."

"So Grimmauld Place is safe to visit then?" Harry turned to look at the rest of them with a smile.

"Of course Master Harry. After the unwanted visitors came and looked around Master's home, they left and did not return. Kreacher spent two weeks cleaning up after them, Kreacher did," the house elf said with a scowl, which looked rather scary on his old face.

"Thanks Kreacher," Harry said as he stood, putting a hand out to Ginny to help her up. "We'll be by there in a little bit."

"Very good Master Harry. Should Kreacher prepare a meal?"

Harry shrugged. "Not sure Kreacher, but maybe. We don't know how long we'll be."

Kreacher nodded and disappeared away.

Hermione smiled. "Well, he's looking good," she said, getting up off the ground and brushing dirt off her jeans.

"Yeah," Ron said with a smirk, "still old and off in the head, but looking okay." He winced at the punch Hermione landed on his arm but still grinned at her. "Hey, okay okay, I'll be nice to him…"

Thirty minutes later they all apparated to the front step of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry had taken Ginny in a Side-Along since she wasn't able to take the test for her own license for a few more weeks. Hermione pushed open the door and Kreacher was there in an instant.

"Master Harry, friends of Master, welcome back to Master's home…" he said with a hint of a smile.

The place did indeed look a bit more cleaned up than it had been the last summer when Harry, Ron and Hermione had hidden out there. Harry mused, wondering just how much of an impact giving Regulus Black's locket back to Kreacher had done.

They spread out around the house in their pairs, still wary of the fact that there could have been some traps or hexes left behind. After a while, it seemed evident that Kreacher had been true to his word and the lot of them gathered up everything that had been left behind. It took longer than they had originally thought, but once everything was done they were famished. Kreacher, astute even in his old age, had realized this and had a pot of stew ready for them.

As they were eating, Harry started thinking again. After a few whispers to the others, he cleared his throat. "Kreacher?" he called out, looking at the elf from across the room. The house elf dropped the pot he was cleaning into the sink and made his way to Harry.

"Yes Master Harry? Is everything okay with the stew sir?" he asked, looking anxious.

Harry grinned, "Yes, it's fine, thank you. I was doing some thinking though Kreacher. I'd like for you to take Regulus' room upstairs as your own, instead of sleeping by the heater. Would you be alright with that?"

Hermione was looking at Kreacher very apprehensively, as was Ginny. Ginny put a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed, one of the things she did to show Harry she was behind him all the way.

Kreacher stared up at Harry for a long moment, then croaked out a response. "M… Master Harry is not making a joke is he?"

Harry shook his head and started to say something but Kreacher had already thrown himself to the ground, howling in the usual way a house elf did. It took some doing, but Ginny and Hermione were finally able to get him to relax after about fifteen minutes, so overcome with his new room Kreacher was. Harry figured this must have been the straw that broke the camel's back, as the saying went, because Kreacher had let the two ladies touch him as they helped him stand up, not even calling Hermione a 'Mud-Blood' or Ginny a 'Blood-Traitor'.

The house elf looked up at Harry with big eyes and a strange, crooked smile. "Thank you Master Harry, Kreacher shall treasure this gift for the rest of his life."

Harry nodded and smiled. "One other thing Kreacher, and you don't have to answer me right away either. I would be much happier with you doing everything you do for me if I was paying you to do it. So, I'll leave it up to you to think about it, and how much you'd like each week. Deal?"

Kreacher looked at Harry with what could almost be a scowl but it turned into a small smirk. "Master Harry is too generous. A house elf is not needing to be paid. But, as Master Harry wishes, Kreacher will think about it."

The house elf bowed low and then left the kitchen, ostensibly to move into his new room.

Hermione was beaming at Harry. "That was really kind of you Harry. I think you just cemented his loyalty to you."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. It was the right thing to do," he said, pushing his empty bowl back from his place at the table. "I dunno, just doesn't feel right to have someone serve me all the time. Though," he said with a grin, "being called Master Harry all the time does make one feel pretty important."

Ron burst out laughing as Hermione sighed and shook her head. Ginny was giggling too and made a retort after catching her breath. "As long as you don't expect any of us to call you that, Harry."

A while later, Harry, Ginny and Ron were relaxing on a couch downstairs in the living room. Hermione had mentioned something about finding one of her books she thought she had left behind and was upstairs. They were talking about the upcoming school year and how much fun it was going to be playing Quidditch again, especially with their new brooms.

Ron, who had grown a little more perceptive in his time with Hermione, kept looking up at the grandfather clock in the room. After a while, he got up and told the other two that he was going to go check on Hermione, since it had been a while since they'd heard anything from upstairs.

After checking in a few of the upstairs bedrooms, he finally found her in the bedroom that she had been using the summer before, sitting on the bed and facing away from the door. It looked to him like she was crying a little and he immediately got worried.

"'Mione? You ok?" He asked quietly, walking into the room and stopping next to her.

She had definitely been crying and wiped her cheek before looking up at Ron with a sad smile. "Yeah, I'm alright. Nothing happened, I just got to thinking about my parents is all."

Ron took a seat next to her on the bed and wrapped an arm around her. He had been meaning to ask her when she was planning to go to Australia and get them back, but he knew it was a touchy subject for her.

Hermione leaned into him, staring at the wall opposite them. "I know that I need to go get them, but I keep thinking of reasons to not do it. What if it's not safe yet to bring them back? What if I get them settled back into their home and the rest of the Death Eaters hiding out there want to strike back?"

She sniffled a little. "I know that it could take months, even years to track them all down, so it really wouldn't be prudent to leave them down there, but…"

Hermione choked up a bit, burying her face into Ron's shoulder. He started to rub her back lightly, trying to comfort her. "You're worried if they're still there, where you left them, and if they're ok. You're worried about what will happen when you restore their memories, if they're going to be mad at you, if they want to stay there…"

She nodded, and murmured into his arm. "And if they like you…" With another sniffle, she raised her head and looked at him. The sadness on her face was like a stab to his heart, he didn't ever like seeing her upset.

"Whatever happens 'Mione, I'll be there with you," he said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Hermione smiled at that. "Ron, you don't have to come with me…"

He shook his head, interrupting her. "Like hell I don't! Of course I'm coming with you. Hermione, I've had feelings for you for so many years and I just stopped being a prat about it so yes, I'm coming with. I have a lot of time to make up for, when I've come up short for you."

A thought went through his mind then. Yes, it was a little crazy, but... A smile crossed his face. "Let's go tomorrow."

She looked at him slowly, a confused look on her face. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he said slowly as if he were someplace else in his mind. "We can take a portkey there, I'm sure Kingsley can set that up for us, and we can go see your parents. We can stay there a few days too, see the beaches, a vacation of sorts. Just you and me."

She regarded him for a moment and then a smile broke out on her face. "Just you and me," she repeated quietly. Wrapping her arms over his shoulders, she pulled him into a passionate kiss. They came up for air about a minute later, but only pulled apart a few inches, leaning their foreheads against each other.

"I love you, Ronald Weasley," she said quietly, looking down at the fingers that had just interlaced with hers.

"I know you do, 'Mione," he said with a smile. "And I love you."

A few hours later, Ron's room looked as if a small tornado had struck as Hermione rummaged through both of their things, trying to decide what to pack to take with them. She peeked up from behind the other end of the desk and winced apologetically.

"Oi, careful!" Ron said loudly, sitting on his bed and ducking away from the leather-bound book heading for his head.

"Sorry Ron," she said before going back through the stack of books she had pulled out of her handbag, "I was meaning to chuck it into the pile of books we don't need. I just need to find that one about memory charms…"

That last part was half-muttered as if she were talking to herself. Ron looked around the room and grinned. He loved it when Hermione had these moments. She could get so one-track minded about things and if it were particularly important to her she got this wild look in her eyes, as if the task at hand couldn't be finished in time.

Of course if he said this to her face he would find himself getting punched, or glared at, so he didn't utter a word. He had already packed a few changes of his clothes into the old duffel bag on which Hermione had casted her Undetectable Extension Charm, had changed into pajamas and was waiting for her to gather the rest of what she needed before they got some sleep. They had to be up very early the next morning.

"So, tell me again why we have to be up before dawn?" he asked with a loud yawn as he waved his wand lazily, cleaning up and storing things away behind the small tornado she was leaving.

Hermione sighed. "Because Sydney is 9 hours ahead of us Ron," she said, finally finding the book she was after and stuffing it in their duffel bag. "Noon here is nine o'clock at night there so the earlier we leave, the earlier in the day we get there and the faster we can find my parents. We need to get to the Ministry early enough too so we can find Kingsley and get him to approve the Portkey before it gets too busy over there."

She took one more look around the room, then sat down heavily on the bed next to Ron. Taking out her own wand she waved it around with a swish and a flick, sending everything that she had messed up to its proper place. Laying back on the bed she let loose a long puff of air, as if she were releasing all the pent-up energy she had shown while packing.

Ron smiled over at her and picked her legs up off the floor, bringing them up onto his lap. "So, got everything we need?" he asked quietly.

Hermione nodded. "I think so, and if we need anything in a pinch there's always Paragon Alley."

There must have been a look of confusion on his face, because Hermione broke out into a giggle. "I forget you haven't been down there. They have a near copy of Diagon Alley down there, same original owners or something."

Ron smirked. "Let me guess, you enter it from a pub."

Hermione nodded, still grinning. "The Faulty Cauldron."

"Where's the creativity in that?" he asked the ceiling, rolling his eyes.

They sat there like that for a few moment, enjoying the breeze coming through the open window before Hermione piped up, quietly. "Is your Mum okay with this Ron?"

Ron looked down at her with a small shrug and started massaging her feet. "I don't think she likes the fact that I'm going to be gone for up to a week so soon after being gone almost a whole year, but that's just her being her, you know?"

Hermione just nodded, a small smile on her face. "That feels good Ron," she said, closing her eyes. Before putting her wand on the bedside table she waved it once and tapped herself. The t-shirt and shorts she had been wearing turned into a tank top and flannel pajama bottoms.

Ron continued to do what he was doing, occasionally rubbing up and down her legs as well. He knew she was feeling anxious, feeling all the tense spots as he worked them out. He could hear little moans escaping her mouth and he had to smile at them. Considering other people's feelings and helping them feel better had never been his strong suit, he knew. He was just glad that he could help Hermione right now and hopefully get her through the next few days.

"Ron, your hands are like magic," Hermione breathed out, enjoying his ministrations. She didn't particularly want him to stop but she wanted him closer and so she reached out a hand to him and pulled him down next to her when he took it. A smile crossed her face as she felt him kiss her cheek. She curled up against him as he turned the light off.

Once they were settled, Ron's hands didn't stop their wandering. He massaged her exposed shoulder and arm for a while before settling his arm around her. As had been their custom the last few nights, he felt for her hand so they could interlace their fingers together. She found his first though and put her hand on top of his, guiding it until it rested close to her.

Ron was surprised at this and smiled to himself a bit before kissing the back of her head. Knowing that she was about to fall asleep he said goodnight to her quietly and closed his eyes as well, letting himself fall asleep.

It was early in the night still and the Burrow's other new couple were outside in the garden, lying on a blanket. Ginny had her head on Harry's chest and one of her legs over his, using his body like a pillow of sorts. Harry didn't mind this at all, he was quite enjoying the closeness between them.

They were talking on and off, not really having a meaningful conversation. Even during the quiet moments it felt as if they were communicating somehow.

"This is nice," Ginny said quietly as she shifted a bit to look up at him. "Just what I wanted things to be like a year ago, before everything that happened. Just the two of us together, nothing to worry about or be afraid about, no life and death situations. Just two normal people."

He smiled down at her. "I know what you mean Gin'," he said. "I'm about as happy as anyone could be right now. Though," he added as an afterthought, "I don't know exactly how 'normal' we are really."

Ginny swatted his arm in mock protest but giggled all the same. "Harry…" she started to say, before being interrupted by a rather loud owl's hoot.

Just behind them a large barn owl landed on the grass with a roll of parchment attached to it's leg. Ginny looked up at the bird with a puzzled look as Harry reached over to untie the letter. As he looked at the front of it the large owl flew away again, stopping to drink a bit at the pond before flying off.

The top of the small note was addressed to Harry and he showed it to Ginny, not recognizing who's writing it was.

"Well, aren't you going to open it?" Ginny asked, eager to see who was sending Harry a message this late.

He unrolled the short note and held it up so that they could both read it by the little bit of light coming from the back porch.

Harry,

I am glad to see that you were victorious over Voldemort and that things are starting to return to normal in the world. I just thought I would let you know that your Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin Dudley are safe and all moved back into their home in Little Whinging. Their time away from home wasn't without it's troubles but everything turned out splendidly and they're glad to be home. I know it is hard to believe, but they do wish to know how you are doing.

At your service,

Hestia Jones.

Harry could feel the surprise on his face as he read the last sentence in the note. His eyebrow lifted as he read the whole note again, before looking down at Ginny. "Well, that's something I didn't think I'd ever hear. I wonder if Hestia heard them right."

Ginny was smiling. "I don't know Harry, they might have had a change of heart? You should at least stop by so they know you're alright and everything."

Harry set the note aside and wrapped his arms around her again, pondering for a moment. "If they had a change of heart, then it would be some kind of miracle," he said with a smirk.

Feeling the elbow she gave him, he grinned and put his hands up for a moment. "Okay, okay, I'll go see them. Tomorrow's a good a day as any since Ron and Hermione are going to be gone."

Ginny nodded on his chest, ruffling his shirt a bit. "I'll come with you, if you want," she said quietly, looking back up at him.

"Why?" Harry asked quizzically. "It's not a particularly nice place and the way they talk about us, magicals, that is…"

"Well, I know whenever you talked about your time there with me it wasn't all that great," she started, "but I do want to see the house and meet them. It's a part of you Harry, and I want to know all about you."

Her cheeks were turning rosy as she said it, the edge of her lips curling up. "Besides, you've seen where I grew up so it's only fair."

Harry grinned and pinched her side, causing her to squirm against him and giggle. "Well, you have me there. It sure would be nice to have you with me," he said. "I can just imagine the look on Dudley's face when I introduce you as my girlfriend."

This set Ginny into another fit of giggles. Even though Harry had ulterior motives in saying it, she was still extremely happy that he thought that way. With a smile on her face she adjusted herself next to him so they were face to face and leaned in to kiss him. That quick and innocent kiss sparked another and another. Soon the two young lovebirds were full on making out.

Ginny had just rolled on top of Harry and was attempting to run her hands under his shirt when she stopped suddenly and scowled. "Mum," she said quietly, rolling back off of him and propping herself up on her elbow. "She's back in the kitchen for whatever reason."

Harry sighed, nodding. "Nice save," he muttered.

Ginny smirked, a gleam in her eye as they looked at each other for a few moments. Without a word to each other they both got up and walked inside, hand in hand.

Minutes later Ginny was guiding Harry into her room, still holding his hand. She closed the door behind them quietly and turned the lock on the knob. Harry smiled as she did this, taking out his wand and pointing it at the door. "Muffliato," he muttered before turning his attention back to Ginny.

She pulled him to the bed with a smile on her face that sent his heart pounding. Within moments they were back in the same position they were before, with Ginny on top. Harry reached up and parted Ginny's hair, tucking it behind her ear. He traced his fingers along her neck lightly before leaning up to plant a few soft kisses there.

Ginny moaned softly as she ran her fingers under his shirt. The sensation of her nails on his skin gave Harry goosebumps up and down his arms. An urge overcame him and he grabbed her shoulders, pulling her down next to him. She squealed a little bit at this but the next moment their lips were pressed together in a fiery kiss. Feeling his tongue begging to be let in, she parted her lips and invited in her guest.

Harry wrapped his arms completely around her and she wrapped a leg around his. All time was lost to the two of them and some time later they fell asleep, wrapped up in each other until morning.

When the two finally made their way down for breakfast in the morning, they both had smiles plastered across their faces. Glancing up at a clock, Harry could tell they had slept in pretty late.

"Well there you two are," Molly said with a smile as she set a platter of pancakes in front of them. "I was beginning to think that you'd sleep the whole day away. Ron and Hermione left a few hours ago."

Ginny tried not to blush. "We were just up late, Mum. Talking about a lot of things." She studied the food in front of her like it was a book, trying not to meet her mother's eyes.

Thankfully, Mrs. Weasley's thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. "That's nice dear. It looks like we're going to have almost everyone over for dinner tonight," she said. "Bill and Fleur will be here, your father, Percy, George and Charlie too. Should be a nice evening tonight too, maybe we'll eat outside. So, any plans for the day?" she asked the two.

Harry gave Ginny a look and she returned it with a smile. "Oh, well I got an owl last night. It seems like my aunt and uncle are all moved back into their house, so Ginny and I decided to pay a visit."

Molly smiled. "That's good of you Harry, I'm very proud. Let them know I'm glad they're alright?"

Harry nodded that he would while Ginny scowled, muttering something about it being her idea. He couldn't help but grin and he put his hand on top of hers. That gesture changed her scowl into a smile and they quickly finished up their food.

Later that day Harry and Ginny appeared in an alleyway near his once-home, the same one in which he and Dudley had been attacked by Dementors a few years back. The Pop! their Side-Along Apparition had made scared a nearby cat into running away but otherwise the coast was clear.

Ginny's head bobbed all over as she looked around the neighborhood where Harry had grown up. "It's all so, sorry Harry, boring!" she exclaimed softly. "All these houses are the same!"

Harry chortled. "No need to apologize Gin, I didn't like it much either. I guess Uncle Vernon loved it here, it being all normal and standard." He offered his hand to her as they started walking and within minutes they were standing in front of the door of Number Four Privet Drive. The windows were open and from inside they could hear the sounds of a tv show.

"Oh!" Ginny said quietly. "Is that a fellytision I hear?" she asked.

Harry grinned as he rang the doorbell. "Television, 'Gin." It seemed as if Ginny had a little bit of her father's passion for Muggle items in her.

Moments later the door opened and Harry found himself face to face with his cousin. It was a quiet, tense moment as they regarded each other but then a small smile appeared on Dudley's face.

"Harry! What are you doing here?" he asked, opening the screen door to let them in.

"Well, err, I got a message saying that you guys were alright and back here. Just wanted to see for myself…" Harry said, trailing off as they stepped inside. Looking around, it seemed as if the Dursley's hadn't changed a thing when they got back. Everything was in the same place, though it did look like they had gotten a bigger television.

"Who's that Dudley?" a woman's voice called from the hallway. Moments later, Petunia Dursley was visible through a doorway, frozen as she looked at Harry.

"Err, Harry's here." Dudley said, closing the door behind them. He looked at Harry, then to Ginny, then back at Harry with a small look of disbelief on his face.

Petunia recovered enough to close her mouth and made her way over to them. "Oh. Hi, Harry." she said, still somewhat stunned.

Harry felt an elbow in his ribcage and he looked over at Ginny with a smile. "Oh, yes. Dudley, Aunt Petunia, this is Ginny, my girlfriend."

The little smile came back to Dudley's face and Petunia's hard look softened a little bit.

Harry went on. "Sorry if we're intruding on anything, I just wanted to see if you lot were alright." He looked around, noticing something off. "Uncle Vernon's at work I'm assuming?"

Dudley nodded. "He was able to buy back the company after we got back."

Petunia smirked. "Don't think he was ever as happy in his life when your, erm, friend told us it was safe again." She looked to Ginny. "I just made some iced tea, would you care for some?"

Ginny nodded. "That would be fantastic, Mrs. Dursley," she said. Apparently, Petunia liked something about her because a small smile had appeared on her face for the first time that Harry could remember in years.

They all sat in the living room and Dudley explained what happened after they were moved into the safe house. Of course, Vernon didn't like it one bit and it took them some getting used to. Harry told them the story of what happened in his year, the short version that is. He left out some of the more gritty parts and things they wouldn't understand.

"So, this Lord Voldy-thing," Dudley asked after Harry was done, "he's gone for good?"

Ginny nodded. "For good."

Petunia nodded. "That's good to hear. I was thinking when you showed up here again you were going to give us more bad news, Harry."

Harry had to smirk. "Not this time, I'm afraid."

She returned the smirk back and set down her cup of tea. "I'll be right back, there's something I need to give you."

Harry looked at her, wondering what it was. Ginny on the other hand was looking at the television, extremely interested in it. She started asking Dudley some question as Harry zoned out. He realized that he was pretty tired and stifled a yawn as Petunia came back into the room.

His aunt handed him a letter and Harry recognized the writing on the front immediately as his mother's. "Erm, Harry. Your mother sent this to me a little before you came to us and asked that you read it on your 11th birthday."

Harry looked at her, mouth agape. He was about to be angry and Petunia could see it.

"I'm sorry Harry, but with your Uncle not caring for any of it and me still disliking her, I had forgotten about it until we came back here." She watched him, looking at the letter. "Probably be best to open it when you get hom- Err, wherever you live now," she said, looking at Ginny. "We've gotten through all this awfulness in one piece and I'd rather not have to relive any of it."

Harry took a moment and then looked up at her, nodding. "Yeah, thanks," was all he could say for a bit.

He and Ginny only stayed for a little bit after that. It was getting slightly more awkward by the minute, until Ginny looked at the clock and mentioned that she and Harry were going to be late for dinner if they stayed much longer.

They stood up to say their goodbyes and Harry gave Petunia a smile. Looking over at Dudley, he put out his hand. "See you around, Big D."

Dudley took his hand with a smile. "Yeah, Harry."

With a smirk on his face Harry put his hand on Ginny's shoulder, deciding to give the Dursley's a show, and Apparating home right in front of them.

As they landed at the back porch of the Burrow, Ginny started giggling. "Harry! That was a bit evil don't you think?"

He shrugged, a grin on his face. "Something to remember me by, I suppose."

Harry didn't have a chance to open and read the letter before dinner. Molly was in her cooking mode and he and Ginny were given things to do as soon as they walked in. Everyone started arriving a few minutes later and they all sat down to eat outside.

Dinner was excellent as usual and Harry found himself quiet and enjoying the food and company. He was still tired and tried his best to stifle a few yawns.

Fleur, who Harry hadn't seen since Fred's funeral and whose English was improving rapidly, was sitting next to him and asking him about the upcoming school year. She was excited about something but kept being coy about it. When he asked her what she was going on about, she flushed red.

"Oh, 'Arry I'm sorry. I cannot say just yet. I have been sworn to secrecy. Yoo will know soon though," she said, looking to Bill who had the same coy look on his face.

Harry was about to press further and ask what was going on, when a rather strong yawn overtook him. He supposed the food wasn't helping his tiredness and he closed his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them again he was back in the Dark Forest, on the ground amongst the leaves. He could hear voices around him and then he felt himself being picked up by Hagrid, who carried him just like a few weeks before. Then, there was the whole school, facing down Voldemort. He could see Neville defying the Dark Lord, who laughed and simply slashed at Neville's face, ripping it to shreds.

He could see Nagini attacking his classmates, his friends. Death Eaters were blasting holes in the sides of the castle and killing everyone in their way. Voldemort himself was raising his wand at Ginny, ready to cast the Killing Curse.

Harry tried to leap up from where he was on the ground, trying to stop it all, to say that he had died and that they had a promise, but he couldn't. He was frozen, unable to do anything. A fountain of green light jumped at Ginny, dropping her to the ground. Her lifeless eyes bored into Harry's mind.

He felt himself screaming and then felt like he was falling. Opening his eyes, he could see the stars and then fuzzy shapes of people crowding around him. He couldn't make out who was saying what, though he heard some words.

"Dream." "Nightmare?" "Hallucination?" "Molly, …. Mungo's…. soaked… sweat."

He tried to speak, but found he couldn't so he reached out an arm to the nearest fuzzy shape near him. It worked, but only for a moment as he felt his arm go limp, and then all went black.

*Hides from all the angry readers because he paused on a cliffhanger.* Sorry! New chapter soon!

-Midnight