As it gets closer to Harry's first day of working as an Auror, I can't help being nervous. What if he has to chase and capture a Dark wizard? What if he's threatened by people like the Death Eaters, or by any of them who managed to escape us?

The night before he starts, Harry asks me to take a walk in the garden with him. I'm sure he's noticed how scared for him I am, but I'm confused when he hands me a mirror. "It took me weeks to find another pair of these," he says quietly. "Aberforth has one, but its partner is smashed."

I turn the mirror over in my hand. It's small, not much bigger than my palm, and easily held despite the fact that there's no handle. The silver on the back is very intricately filigreed to look like delicate flowering vines winding around each other. "Harry, it's beautiful," I say, not quite sure what to do with this gift.

He pulls an identical mirror from his own pocket. "They're a pair. If you say my name into yours, I'll be able to talk with you wherever we are. I'll promise to talk to you before we go on a raid or do anything else dangerous, all right?"

I nod, happy at the thought of being able to contact Harry whenever I want.

"I'll miss you tomorrow, Ginny, but I'll be back for dinner. I strongly doubt I'll be doing any real work on my first day. They'll need to teach me a few things about how being an Auror works." He hesitates for a minute before continuing, and I think he's deciding whether to tell me something. "Kingsley said he and Reeve want me to be familiar with everything by the time everyone else arrives, to help transition everyone from Dumbledore's Army. They're assuming the few Order members will be able to transition on their own or with a little help, but no one from the DA has ever held a real job before, let alone done something this important."

It makes sense, really. The DA will trust Harry, since he's led us before. If Neville follows his lead, everyone will. And I know Neville—he'll do whatever he can to help, and he respects Harry as a leader. They'll all do well when they start in another two weeks.

"Ginny," Harry says. "There's one other thing."

"What is it?" I ask, confused.

He smiles. "Close your eyes."

I do, and I feel Harry reaching around my neck, then there's something cold against my skin—a necklace, it has to be—and Harry is stepping back. "It was in the same shop where I found the mirrors, and…well…I thought you'd like it."

I reach my hand up to touch the necklace, then pull it away from myself so I can see it. It's two simple bird silhouettes, sitting on a branch suspended by a delicate chain. "Harry, it's beautiful," I say, aware that I said exactly the same thing about the mirror.

He laughs. "This one doesn't do anything magical. I just wanted you to have it."

"I love it," I tell him. "I'm never taking it off, ever."

"Ginny, I've never actually asked you," he says nervously, and I wait. He'll finish talking when he's ready. "I mean, I broke up with you at the end of sixth year, and then…then, on the Quidditch Pitch—I love you, Ginny."

"I know, Harry. I love you, too."

"Well, do you think…Ginny," he says, taking one of my hands in both of his. "Ginny, will you…will you be my girlfriend?"

I have to tear my hand from his in order to put my arms around his neck, and I see a brief flicker of hurt in his eyes before he realizes what I'm doing. With a huge grin, he wraps his arms around my waist and bends down to kiss me.

He stops just before our lips meet, and keeps his face just far enough away that I can't reach it with my own. "Hold on, Ginny," he says. "You never answered my question."

"Yes," I breathe. "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend. I love you, so—"

He interrupts me with a kiss. "I know, Ginny. And I love you. I just wanted to hear you say it, officially. And when I leave tomorrow morning, I want you to remember that your boyfriend will be back for you."

After that, we fall into a routine. Harry leaves for work each morning after breakfast. He'll call on our mirrors once or twice a day, and I'll call him at least once. He'll come home for dinner and tell us bits and pieces of what he's learned, while leaving out whatever he's apparently not allowed to share.

We'll take a walk in the garden, just the two of us, once it's dark. We'll talk about everything from Hogwarts to broomsticks to Muggle things like telephones, which are nowhere near as good as our mirrors.


Awww...at least I think so. Ginny needed to deal with the fact that Harry would have a dangerous job, and Harry needed to help her. Next chapter, Ginny gets some good news of her own, unrelated to Harry. If you can guess what it is, I'll give you a teaser :)