I haven't posted in ages and I would like to apologise. I have been caught up in school work as I am in year 11 and it's starting to get stressful. I would like to thank you all for sticking with me and not getting too mad when the posts are late! I love you all! I will try to get back into the routine of maybe a new post weekly but can't promise anything.

I would especially like to thank TheMarvelousLori for your continued support through private messaging and reviews! Anyway, on with the show! I hope you enjoy this next chapter! =D Much love, Viola 3

Chapter 10 – Seeing Old Friends

When everyone was full and the bill was paid, the party left the pub through the back door and re-entered Diagon Alley through the wall again. They turned right and headed towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. When they arrived Hermione gasped. Harry knew why – it was dirty and dusty. The shop looked so different to what they had seen before. The door was boarded up and the windows were full of the moving pictures from pages of the Daily Prophet.

"I know it looks sad now but we can fix that." Mr Weasley reassured the group but he had mainly aimed it at George, who was nearly in tears. Ron patted his arm. Harry thought it must be because the shop reminded him of Fred. It had gone from happy and joyful in such a small space of time, just like his twin.

George nodded and drew his wand, "Alohomora". The door clicked and opened. Bill lead the way in and started tearing down the paper from the windows. The others followed and joined in. While this was happening, George walked over to the till, opened it and put in some galleons, sickles and knuts.

Thankfully, the inside of the shop was very different to the outside and everything was as brightly coloured as before the war. "Shall we open up then Sweetie?" Mrs Weasley asked George, who nodded and unlocked the back of the shop. "Will you do it please Ginny?"

"Yes Mum." Ginny replied, turning over the sign in the door and opening it wide.

Business on that day was slower than the when the business had first been started, Harry supposed the front of the shop wasn't so appealing anymore, but there was a small trickle of customers coming through the doors and leaving with arms full of bags. Most of the customers were little children with their parents but there were a few of Harry's school friends.

"Hi Harry!" said a voice behind Harry. He spun around to see Cho standing behind him. He immediately felt the heat rush to his face but disguised the redness with a cough. He hoped.

"Oh, hi Cho. How have you been?" he asked, giving a her a quick hug and trying to calm himself.

"Um.. I've been alright I suppose. Struggling with sleep but apart from that not much has happened. I came in today to pick up some robes for work when I saw that this shop had re-opened. How's George you know, coping?" She said the last bit in a whisper, as if hoping he wouldn't overhear, even though he was standing at the other side of the shop and was talking animatedly to a customer. It seemed as though he was in his element and just selling joke items had helped him to move on.

"He's been down, as you would expect, but I think he's getting better said work. You have a job?"

"Oh yes, I got a job at the Ministry in the Department of International Cooperation. It's not much, just filing really but I'm hoping to work my way up! Anyway, what are you doing now? Are you going to become an Auror?" She replied, rubbing her arm.

"That's great! It's good to hear! Most of our year have been invited to retake our seventh year at Hogwarts so we decided to go back. Hopefully once I leave I'll have the qualifications to become an Auror. Well, it was good to talk to you but I need to go and put some more Puking Pastilles on the shelves. I'll see you soon." He hugged her again and turned on his heel, heading towards the back room.

He entered the room and found Ginny sat on a cardboard box, her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking. She looked up at the sound of the door and Harry saw that her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were bright red.

"Hey! Hey, hey! What's up Sweetie?" He said, moving over to her and sitting on a box next to her. He put his arm around her shoulders.

She put her head on his arm and nuzzled her nose into his jumper. "It's just, this place reminds of him and to see George acting like nothing's happened. It just hurts. I can't go on pretending nothing's happened because it has." She was crying so hard her words were difficult to understand.

"Ginny. Ginny, look at me." She looked up and he kissed the tip of her nose. "I was just thinking the same thing. Do you want to go for a walk? I'm sure George wont mind letting you off the work for half an hour. We'll be able to talk properly and you can let it all out. If I'm an extra nice mood I'll let you use me as a punching bag!" He smiled and she grinned and nodded. "Come on then." He grabbed her hand and pulled her up and out of the door.

George took one look at Ginny's face and nodded, Harry could take her for a walk and help her to calm down.

When they got out of the shop they turned right and walked down the street. Ginny intertwined her fingers with his and a shiver went down Harry' spine. He made circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. She rested her head on his shoulder and he could tell that she was already starting to go back to being happy. Perhaps it was too early to go back to the shop. "Where do you want to go then?" He asked her.

"I heard Florean Fortescue's has been re-opened by his son. Do you fancy ice-cream?" He smiled and nodded, steering her towards the shop.

They decided to sit outside and she waited while he went to get the ice-creams. He bought one double scoop of Sherbert Lemon flavour for himself and a double scoop of Fizzing Whizz-Bee flavour for her. When he got back to the table he found her with her legs crossed on the chair and her eyes closed. He tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped. "Sorry, got the ice-creams." He said, handing her her cone.

"Thanks." She licked the ice-cream and smiled. "I forgot how nice these ice-creams were!"

"Yeah me too! Do you want to try mine?" He asked, offering the cone to hers. She licked and made a sour-lemon face then smiled.

"That – is delicious!" She exclaimed, offering him hers.

He licked and smiled, "Simply divine!" He remarked, in a posh English accent. She giggled and took her ice-cream back. "So. What's up?" He asked, suddenly serious again.

Ginny shook her head and went back to eating her ice-cream. "It's nothing really. It just suddenly hit me that we're going to have to learn to live without him. Go back to our normal lives and act as if it never happened." Another tear rolled down her face and she quickly brushed it away.

"No. No we won't! Yes, we'll have to learn to live without him but we will never have to act like nothing happened! We will always remember him but he just won't be there to notice it. Ginny, it did happen and it's better to let it all out than to pretend it didn't. It would be an insult to his memory otherwise. He hugged her to his chest and she nodded.

"You're right. I've been an idiot! Merlin, I'm such a fool! Why was I crying over that?"

"Because you're sad. You haven't been an idiot, grief affects us all different ways!" He rubbed her arm kissed her head tenderly.

She sat up and smiled at him. He stared into her beautiful eyes again and got lost in their dazzling colour. Before he knew what he was doing he leant in and kissed her. Hard. On the lips. And she kissed him back. Hard. He felt the urge to run his hands through her hair but he had an ice-cream in his hand and couldn't very easily put it down. Stupid ice-cream! Why did it have to get in the way?! He compromised and put his free hand around her waist, moving it down to the small of her back. She put her free hand on the back of his neck and squeezed, in time with the movement of their heads. It was the most passionate they had been and boy did it feel good. He moved his hand up and down her back.

Suddenly she pulled away. "What? Did I do something wrong?" He asked, trying to catch his breath.

"No. It was perfect but we're in the middle of Diagon Alley." She licked her ice cream again and he nodded, looking around. Thankfully nobody was looking, too busy with their shopping.

"Do you want to go back to the Burrow? You know, to calm down?" He smiled and ate his ice-cream. She nodded and dragged him back to the joke shop to get Floo powder.

When they walked into the shop again she put on a sad face and Harry was amazed at how quickly she could change her mood for the outside world. If she was a Muggle Harry reckoned she would have been an actress. He gripped her waist and they found Mr Weasley.

"Dad. This place is upsetting me. Please may we have some Floo powder to go home? Harry will come with me to help me calm down." Ginny sniffed while a tear rolled down her cheek.

Mr Weasley looked from Ginny to Harry and back again before he nodded and handed them a small pouch of the dust. "There's a fireplace in the back office, you can use that. I'll tell the others where you've gone and make sure we aren't back too late. I hope you manage to cheer up Sweetheart."

She smiled a small smile and led Harry towards the back office.