Chapter 10

She waited for him in the little café down from the French Ministry that Harry had told her about visiting. The girls that ran it chatted happily with her until Harry walked in, and then they practically tripped over themselves to serve him. Ginny couldn't help but be entranced by him, as well. He was horribly handsome in an casual way, and he didn't take advantage of it, that she'd seen. In fact, his face was completely red as he mumbled through enough of the language to order a cup of coffee and excuse himself to join her.

He slid into the chair across from her, his green eyes flashing.

"Hello."

"Bonjour."

Ginny nearly vibrated with the need to throw herself across the table and kiss him, but discretion was probably called for. They'd already chanced outing their relationship by kissing passionately in the middle of Rue Magique. And although a Muggle cafe was far less public than that, Ginny knew that Ministry workers often frequented the location.

Harry took Ginny's hand in his and she swore he sighed the moment that their skin touched.

"I've missed you."

Ginny hummed in contentment and opened her mouth to reply, but Harry's coffee was delivered by a much less solicitous server. The need to laugh grew as the girls glared at Ginny now. It was clear that they'd fancied Harry a bit when he'd been here before and had been fine with Ginny before they'd realized that she and Harry were together. It was funny and Ginny fought the urge to gloat just a little.

"How was the portkey?"

Harry sipped at his coffee. "Horrible, as always. I can't believe it took me so long to arrange one again."

"A month isn't so long," she lied. In truth, it had been hard to be apart for that long. The letters helped, but she missed him. After only a handful of hours together, he'd wiggled his way into her heart enough that Ginny had nearly counted each and every hour that they'd been apart.

"What do you have planned for us this time?" Harry asked. He scooted his chair around the table, sitting closer to her until their knees touched. The entire time, his fingers had been brushing against hers, as if he were reading her skin, memorizing the feel of it once more.

"I arranged three days off," Ginny said, "but I didn't make many plans."

"No red slicker this time." He smiled and Ginny forced herself to stop staring at him.

"It's not raining nearly as much, anymore. No boots, either." She rested her foot, clad in a little ballet-type shoe, atop Harry's foot and he smiled.

"Pity. I'll miss the red."

"Finish up," she said, "and we'll walk a bit. We need to get away from the Ministry so I can greet you properly."

Harry swallowed his coffee quickly, tipping the entire cup into his mouth. He winced a little at the heat, but then grinned. "What are we waiting for?" He insisted on paying for the pastry that she'd been nibbling at, and then taken her hand as they walked out the door.

"You do realize that I can probably never go back in there again," she said as they walked hand in hand down the street.

"What? Why?" Harry looked back over their shoulder to the café.

Ginny pulled him closer, winding her arm into his and leaning against him. "Those girls were quite taken with you, Mr. Potter. I'm sure they are dreaming of awful things to do to me if I show my face again."

He flushed and tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Oh, well...I didn't...I've never…"

Ginny kissed his heating cheek and laughed.

They stopped in a few shops that caught Ginny's eye with their window displays, and Harry offered to buy her something, but Ginny refused and promised that she was just window shopping. The clerks had nearly tripped over themselves to be able to help her find something she liked, but Ginny dismissed them kindly.

"You have a way with the language," Harry said when they were back out on the street. "You make it sound so easy, so fluid. Was it hard to learn?"

Ginny thought back to the first few weeks of being at Beauxbatons, where she spent her time completely alone, disconnected from everyone by the culture and language, and the shattering homesickness that threatened to pull her under every minute of every hour.

"Not so bad," she said. "Madame Maxime gave me separate lessons."

"I've met her," Harry said. "During the-

"Triwizard Tournament," Ginny finished. "I wondered."

They walked for a few steps more, an aching silence between them. "I...I looked for you when their delegation came. I thought...hoped…"

Ginny smiled and gave his arm a little squeeze. "I was too young," she said.

"Would you have wanted to come?"

A familiar twinge echoed in Ginny's heart. "I don't know," she answered. "I dreamed about it and devoured every news article that came out about it, but…"

"I understand," he said. But Ginny wasn't sure he really did. Thankfully, he was letting the subject drop, not pushing her right now. The need to kiss him grew. Ginny began watching the streetlights closely, looking for the symbol that indicated an apparition location.

"I've always been good with languages," she said. "Fred and George taught me a full one when I was little. They told me it was Gobbledegook. For months, I went around speaking it, convinced I was going to be a Goblin Queen one day. Turns out, they'd taught me a whole lot of nonsense and I was running around spouting it like a crazy person."

Harry laughed softly and curled his fingers tighter into hers. "I'd like to have seen that."

The memory was poignant and bittersweet. Ginny felt like she'd been drowning in those types of recollections since Harry had made his way into her life. She'd once been able to contain them, but the box had been broken open and they came often, bringing with them heartache, sadness, and occasionally a fond laugh.

"Here we are." She motioned toward the lamp that showed the symbol they wanted and tugged Harry down into a narrow alleyway where it was safe to apparate from.

Unable to wait a minute more, Ginny went up onto her toes and kissed him. "Tu me manques," she whispered before deepening the kiss.

"What does that mean?" he asked when they'd finally broken apart.

But Ginny just smiled. "I'll tell you another time." Wrapping her arms around him tightly, she apparated them to her flat.

Xxxxx

"The flower looks good."

Ginny had been lying on her belly, her arms wrapped around her pillow, staring at Harry. She turned her head to look at the orchid that sat on her bedside table, in full sunlight from the window. The silly thing almost looked like it was preening. Two new blossoms had opened just this morning as Ginny prepared for Harry's arrival.

"Marie wanted me to keep it out in the main flat, but...I knew it would do better in here, with the morning sun." She didn't mention that her roommate had been going on and on about how the color signified something.

"Le rouge est la couleur de l'amour, Ginny," Marie had been singing for weeks. "He loves you!"

As punishment, Ginny had hid the beautiful flower away where only she could see it and pretend that she hadn't known the legend about the color.

'He chose it because he knows I like red,' Ginny told herself. 'Or, he just ordered one and had no idea what color the florist would choose.'

She turned back toward him, shivering with pleasure when his fingers grazed over the skin on her back. Harry was so casual in his affection for her and Ginny was driving herself crazy with trying to analyze it. He seemed so...practiced, but she knew that he wasn't. His name hadn't been mentioned in the newspapers or tabloids being linked to anyone romantically. Ginny'd tried her best not to check, but she couldn't help it. And nothing had been mentioned in her mother's letters about Harry bringing anyone to dinner.

"I love it," she said, meaning the flower, but also meaning his affection, in a way. Harry looked down at her from where he was propped, wrapped in the sheet from her bed.

"Yeah?"

"It was a real surprise when it came."

Harry looked immensely proud and leaned down to press a kiss to her shoulder. "I wasn't sure, but...you said you loved orchids."

They were quiet for a long time, reveling in the feel of being together and spending a lazy day doing nothing but becoming acquainted with each other. Soft music played from the wireless in the bathroom and Ginny laughed when Harry began humming along.

"You know this song?"

"Yeah. Aunt Petunia would sometimes turn on the radio. I have no idea what the French words say, but I'd imagine it's probably the same."

Ginny sang along with it for a few lines, spurred on by the look in Harry's eyes. He kept asking her to say little things to him in French. It felt a little like foreplay to Ginny, and she kept slipping things in to watch him react.

Harry pulled her to him, kissing her deeply. They continued to kiss and caress slowly, never letting things get too far, until Harry's stomach growled.

"Hungry boy."

"Sorry. Can't help it. I never eat before a portkey, if I can resist. They always make me queasy."

"Eggs?"

"Perfect." He kissed her once more and watched as Ginny slipped from the bed, walking across the room unabashedly to pull her dressing gown from the hook in the bathroom.

"I'll get them started."

"I'm going to take a shower, if you don't mind. Was running late this morning."

Ginny laughed as he gathered the sheet about him like a toga and shuffled across the room. She continued humming the song from before as she gathered the things from the kitchen cupboards to make them a meal. The stovetop was lit with a flick of her wand and the began to heat. Ginny gathered eggs, bacon, cheese, tomatoes and some brioche that Marie had left on the counter a few days ago. If she was hungry, she could only imagine how famished Harry must be after missing breakfast, and now lunch.

Harry joined her, his hair still wet from the shower, and helped finish putting together the plates, sharing soft smiles. They sat next to each other-practically on one seat-and ate.

"What do you have planned for us the rest of the trip?"

"Mmm, nothing specific," Ginny said. "I figured more of what we did today."

A rather wicked smile tipped the edges of Harry's lips. "Sounds good, but we might want to get out a little." There seemed to be more he wanted to say, but he flushed and dismissed the comment.

"Is there anything you'd like to see, specifically?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing the Eiffel Tower," he said. "I mean, I know we saw it from a distance the last time."

"We could do that," she said. "We can wait in line and climb the stairs like regular Muggles, I suppose. Or..."

"Or?"

Ginny sighed and weighed the idea in her head. "Or, I could request a permit through the agency I work for and we could take a midnight broom ride around it."

Harry's face lit. "What...er...what would be involved in requesting a permit? I mean, if the price is an issue-"

"Not at all," Ginny said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "We pay a blanket fee, actually, every year, so that's not an issue. It's just...they like to have record of who takes the tours-for security purposes. I'd have to put your name down."

His expression clouded a little. "And is that list public knowledge?"

"It gets filed with the Ministry." Ginny picked at the last bit of her meal. "Unless...well… There is a way around it, but...it would mean playing the celebrity card, a bit, I'm afraid."

"What do you mean?"

"We've had some pretty well-known clients want private tours in the past and we can sometimes get away with using an alias as long as there might be a credible threat from the press, or fans, or something. It might be pushing it, since you're able to walk down the street-even Rue Magique-with little in the way of mobbing."

"I'd prefer not to use my name," Harry said. "If the press gets the idea I'm here, and it gets connected back to you..."

Ginny chewed her lip for a moment before giving a firm nod. "Let me see what I can do. Louis owes me a favor after that birthday party I threw for him, and he's the only one who would have an issue with it at all. I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll send an owl and see if he can pull some strings."

"Louis? He's the one from last time, right?"

Ginny laughed. "Yeah. The one you thought I was dating. He's barely eighteen, Harry!"

"How was I supposed to know?!" He poked at her sides, looking for a ticklish spot. "But...Ginny, I don't want to cause problems at your work. It's okay if-"

"No. You want to go. I want to take you. I'll make it happen. I may just need to run to the office to pick up the permit and the brooms."

Harry nodded and thought about that for a long minute. "Is there...is there a way to do it tandem, like the bicycle?"

"We do have a larger broom, but we generally use that for children going up with us."

"I'll stay close. Promise."

They shared a long smile and Ginny knew she'd do whatever she needed to get him up there with her.

Xxxxx

The broom ride around the Eiffel Tower was worth the six tours Ginny had to trade for Louis to put the paperwork through with an alias so that Harry could enjoy it without any press coverage or nosy people watching.

She and Harry hadn't said much on their flight, but had been nearly melded together on the broom. It was still chilly, but they'd bundled up and Harry had kept his arm around her waist. They'd been tired when they'd finally crawled into bed, but wrapped together and slept until later morning.

Harry insisted on taking her out for brunch, rather than letting Ginny cook for him. They'd ridden the bicycle again through the streets of Paris and finally ended up touring a few famous Muggle sites before finishing back at Ginny's flat to make dinner together.

"Your roommate is never around," Harry observed. They were shoulder to shoulder, sitting on the sofa while the dishes washed themselves. There was no music playing, but the assembly line of porcelain and cutlery clinking softly and the whoosh-whoosh of the sudsy water made its own harmony.

"She is," Ginny protested. "But when I told her you were coming she decided to make herself scarce. She doesn't mind. Her family lives a couple of hours away, so she went there for a few days."

"I don't mean to chase her away. That's not very fair; this is her home."

Ginny laid her head on his shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about her. Believe me, I've had to find places to be plenty of times over the years. Marie has a very...active social life."

Harry snorted. "I know the feeling. When Ron and I shared… You probably don't want to hear it."

She was quiet for a moment, contemplating that. She didn't want Harry to have to censor himself all the time just to spare her feelings. And, she was starting to admit that she was curious about her family and the lives they lived beyond the few snippets she got in letters now and again.

"No," she said. "I want to know. Harry...you can tell me anything. It may hurt, but...but I think I need to start dealing with it. I'm beginning to see that I can't hide from this forever. Eventually, I'm going to have to get over this."

"I don't think getting over it is the issue," Harry said. He shifted so that he was facing her, his foot tucked under his other leg. He tugged lightly on the end of her loose hair and wound the ends around his fingers over and over. "I think that anytime someone faces something like you did, they need more than just time to get over it. You've had the time, but you haven't had the emotional support. I don't know everything that went on, obviously, but I can't help but think they were wrong to ship you off."

"It wasn't like that-"

"Wasn't it?" Harry scowled. "All these years, I have to admit, I never understood. I...I blamed you-not for the Chamber-but for not being with your family. No one ever told me what happened, or what was going on."

"It wasn't their fault," Ginny protested. "I told you why I stayed away." Her heart was racing and Ginny wasn't sure she could face this after all. It was different hearing little bits and pieces of their everyday, verses dealing with the feelings of abandonment and betrayal. And Harry still didn't know how she'd been pushing them away for years, too.

"Both parties are at fault," Harry amended. "And I'm not going to take sides; I've done enough of that." He sounded a bit disgusted with himself and Ginny pondered that. He may not blame her for the Chamber, but it was clear that he had held some pretty deep feelings about Ginny being absent from her family.

"Tell me about Ron."

"I think we should talk about your family and what happened."

Ginny bristled. "Harry, I...not tonight, alright? We've had such a good visit."

"We have," he agreed, "but this doesn't have to change that. And we can't keep putting off the conversations. Ginny, you need to deal with-"

"You don't need to save me, Harry."

Immediately, she knew it had been the wrong thing to say. Harry flinched as if she'd hit him. But it was the truth.

"I'm not trying to-"

Ginny pushed off the sofa and began to pace in the room. "That's exactly what you're trying to do."

"Stop pushing me away," Harry said. His jaw was clenched and his fists were white as they sat in his lap. "You're doing just what you did to them."

She winced. It was a fair assessment, but GInny wasn't in the mood to fight fair right now. "Maybe I'm happy here where I am. Did you ever think of that? Maybe I don't need my family sticking their nose into everything."

"You don't mean that-"

"Don't I? Ginny threw up her hands. "If I lived there they'd all be telling me how to live, what to do with my life, who to date...it would never stop."

"It's not that bad. They...they mean well-"

"See? They even do it to you! Merlin, maybe it was good for me to get out when I did!"

Harry stood and ran his hands through his hair. "They're your family! Families care about each other, Ginny. Of course, they'd want to be involved-they do now!-but it's only because they love you."

She couldn't argue with that. Ginny just shook her head. "Listen, Harry-"

"And I don't buy for one minute that you're happy here, Ginny. If you were, then you'd want nothing to do with me."

"That's rich," she snorted. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I just like you? Or maybe not. Maybe I just needed someone to shag."

Harry's jaw nearly popped from all the grinding his teeth were doing. "I suppose now is where we get to the point where we say things that we don't really mean. I won't say something that's not true, Ginny, just so that I can hurt you. I like you. I like being with you-"

"Stop! Just stop!"

"What?"

"Stop trying to save everyone. You can't! You can't...save me."

Harry looked down at his feet, obviously feeling the sting of her words down to his bones. "What if I want to save you?" he said. "What if you're the most important one to save?"

Ginny's shoulders slumped and her head bowed, even as her fingers still clenched together in front of her. "How do you always do that?" she whispered. "You steal everything I'm mad about and just...just twist it until I can't think straight anymore."

They stared at each other for a long moment. Ginny's head was a mass of swirling thoughts clouded with emotion. He really was trying to save her, but not for the reasons that she'd assumed. It wasn't out of some sort of sense of loyalty to the Weasley family-or maybe it wasn't all about that-but he genuinely cared for Ginny.

"I just want to sit next to you and listen to everything you could ever say about anything ever, because I like you, Ginny, and I love your stories, and your voice, and...and your face...and the fact that you just...exist."

"Harry-"

"And, yeah. I guess I am trying to save you." He moved closer, his hand held out in front of him as if she was a skittish animal, ready to bolt at any minute. "But it's because I think you're worth saving."

She let him pull her into an embrace and her tears fell against the warm fabric of his t-shirt. "I'm not, I promise."

"I don't care what you think," Harry said as he smoothed her hair. "I think differently."

"I...I can't…"

"I push you because I know you can handle it, Ginny. I push because I want...I want you to stop hurting. And I want you to be okay. I don't want you to flinch everytime I mention your family. And I don't want you living out your life in exile because you've got this idea stuck in your head that it's okay to punish yourself. It's not. The past...it hurts, believe me, I know. And it's not fair what happened to you, or to any of us. But to put blame on anyone except who it belongs with, that's not right."

"How...how do I...?"

"I don't know," Harry said. He clung to her just as tightly as she clung to him and Ginny felt herself really take a breath. Harry was her anchor right now, the harbor she could rest in, if only for a short time before he would be gone again.

"But we'll keep trying," he promised. Gently, he lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "I'm far too stubborn to give up. And you're a fighter, too."

"I'm tired, Harry," she admitted. "Tired of fighting."

"I know. Let me fight for awhile, alright?" he said. "You just...you just try to find your strength while I carry you for a bit. And then, when you're ready, we'll stand up together and face what we need to face."

"It might be a long time."

"No, it won't," he said, a smile gracing his lips. "You're stronger than that. And...we're strong together. Just stop pushing me away."

Ginny couldn't answer. She nodded and burrowed into his embrace. Her entire body felt drained, but she continued to cry against him. Harry extinguished the lights with a spell and guided her to the bedroom. He helped her undress in the pale light of the moonlight streaming through her stained glass window.

"I love that window," he whispered as he crawled into bed behind her and gathered her into his arms. "I want one at my flat just like it."

Curiosity broke through the tension between them. "Does your bedroom face the morning light?"

"The window that's there right now doesn't," he said. "Maybe I'll make a new one."

xxxxx

Charlie was running late, but Ginny wasn't surprised; he generally was, mostly because portkeys from Romania weren't necessarily reliable unless you slipped a government official a little extra money under the table. And since Charlie liked to cause a little contention now and again, he wasn't above pointing out the corruption, even while standing in the portkey line. He'd been detained and had body cavities searched more than anyone, he liked to brag. Ginny wasn't sure why that was a record one would want, but Charlie was a different sort.

Ginny would wait patiently for him at Amis Enchantés. It was her day off, but Charlie liked the food there, so she'd offered to meet him and pay for lunch when he'd owled that he was going to be coming through France.

Spring had finally fully arrived in Paris and Ginny was enjoying the beautiful skies, the trees in bloom, and the flowers that seemed to be everywhere. She wished Harry could get away and spend the entire month-or even more than a few days-with her, but it wasn't meant to be. Now that the research side of his case had wrapped up, he had no official reason to travel to France and was still trying to work out how to get back here.

Ginny felt the pressing bubble of change headed her way, but wasn't sure exactly what it would bring. After Harry's last visit, and their revealing argument, Ginny could see the way that he'd been gently leading her toward the idea of moving back to England, even if he wasn't being overt about it. She'd asked him in a letter that he had yet to answer.

"Bonjour!" Ines and Jules, the other bartender for the café, passed by as they entered to begin their shifts. They invited her in to have a drink with them, but Ginny waved them off.

"J'attends mon frère."

Ines leaned over the little fence that separated the patio from the sidewalk and kissed her on both cheeks before they left her alone again.

Ginny sipped at her pumpkin juice and slouched a little in the chair, basking in the warm sunlight. She saw Charlie coming as he walked down the street and watched the casual, loping style of walk that he had. He was short, like she was, but broad in the shoulders with thick limbs. Charlie had always been a little different than the other Weasley brothers. He was quieter, but had a fun-loving side that rivaled the twins. He liked to watch things unfold around him, seemingly innocent, until you realized that he'd been behind any sort of chaos and shenanigans from the very beginning.

"Hello, Fluture," he said as he approached, hopped the low fence, and settled into the seat across from her, his thick forearms resting on the small table. "Do that magic that you do and get me something to eat."

"Hello, Charlie. Any particular requests?" He was ravenous and food came first when they met up. Always.

"That sample platter full of cheeses and meats-you know the one. And a beer. A good one. Make it two." He sighed in contentment and Ginny bit her lip to keep from laughing. She took the little writing tablet on the table and used the quill to record her order. After tapping it with her wand, she watched the ink disappear into the paper. It was a simple charm that Amis Enchantés had for ordering-the order would now appear on a board in the kitchen where the chef could see it and pass it along to the bartenders, too. Despite the fact that she'd gotten used to it after all the years of working here, Ginny still hated watching the ink dissolve into the paper. It reminded her too much of the diary.

"Are you ever going to tell me what that means?"

"What?"

"That name you call me."

Charlie smiled, his freckled face so like hers. "You'll have to learn to speak Romanian."

Ginny called him an ugly name in French, and he just laughed. "And you'll have to learn French to know what I just said."

"Don't have to," he said. "I can guess."

"How are you?"

"Good." He launched into a story about the dragon preserve and how his boss had been talking about promoting him. Ginny listened, but only halfway. He'd already told her most of this in his most recent letter, anyway. But Charlie liked to talk when he was comfortable.

"How about you?"

"Good." Ginny didn't elaborate and Charlie's eyebrow rose slowly, waiting for more.

"That's it?"

She shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, I mean...things are good."

"You always have a story about work, or your crazy roommate, or shopping, or something," Charlie scolded. "I come all this way to see you and I get 'good.' Things are either better or worse. They're seldom just good."

Ginny thought about what she could say to him. Things were better than good-her relationship with Harry was the highlight of everything that was going on. But things were also worse-the past was encroaching more and more. Harry had begun being more persistent in his letters, asking questions that needed real answers, not evasive ones.

Ines saved her from answering by floating a platter of food and drinks out to them. She stayed and flirted a little with Charlie, who shamelessly flirted back, before disappearing into the café again.

"I like her."

"She'd devour you like one of your dragons, you daft boy," Ginny warned. "Ines is...on the far side of wild."

Charlie laughed. "I can handle wild."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Please spare me the stories. I honestly don't want to think about the things that happen over there on that preserve."

He laughed and drank from his beer before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Nah, the preserve is pretty tame. We're all busy most of the time. It's in town where you need to watch yourself. There's this one woman-"

"Don't, Charlie!" Ginny winced. "I really don't want to know."

He laughed even louder and stuffed a bite of cheese and meat into his mouth. "I was just going to say that she hosts a good party."

"Right." Ginny picked at the edges of Charlie's platter, taking small bites from what he was devouring.

"There's really nothing more that you can say other than 'good'?"

Ginny sighed and let her head rest against the back of the chair. She took Charlie's second beer and drank from it. He just smiled at her and she knew she'd likely be ordering at least one more round, probably of food, too.

"Good is...about as good as it gets with me, Charlie."

"Don't get me started on that, Ginny." He gave her a knowing look and they sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Do you...do you think I close myself off?"

"Yes."

"Ouch."

Charlie sighed and leaned forward, looking over the remains of the food on the platter, being picky now about what he ate. "I don't lie to you, Ginny. Never have."

"I know." She sighed and looked down at her hands, noticing how bad her nails were and vowed to stop chewing on them. It was a promise that she made often and broke all the time.

"I think," Charlie said carefully, "that you're a little bit broken inside, still. And I think that's okay. We all are, honestly. But I also think that you worry about letting people into your life. You don't want to be responsible when they get hurt, because you always think that they will."

"Everyone gets hurt, Charlie," she answered, "even in a good relationship. We're human and we don't always watch what we say." Ginny thought about when Harry had been here last and she'd said those awful things to him about saving people and how she wasn't worth saving, and how she wasn't in their relationship for anything more than sex. She hadn't meant it, but Harry had been hurt all the same. Luckily, there was something about Harry Potter that could work through the hurt to get to the real problem. And maybe they hadn't fixed it all before he left, but they were at least better.

"Yeah, we all do stupid things. And our choices aren't always the best, but you can't protect everyone. I'm not even sure you realize you're doing it."

"I know very well what I'm doing," said Ginny. "It's been pointed out to my recently."

"That's good," said Charlie. "We all need a kick in the arse now and again. But I'm also talking about how you try to protect other people by limiting your connections with them. You saw what it did when you went to someone you loved and trusted with something big. You told Percy about the diary, and then he ended up getting killed."

"Don't," she whispered.

"But that wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could do to stop it, or even to mitigate Percy's actions. He made his own choices, Ginny. You don't seem to see that in the situation."

"Don't blame him," she bit out. "It wasn't his fault." Harry had pointed out something similar when they'd talked before, but Ginny wasn't ready to lay the blame at anyone's feet but her own.

"Why not? He was acting like a prat. There were people he could have gone to that would have helped. Instead, like he always did, Percy handled it himself."

"He was trying to protect me."

"Maybe," said Charlie, "but now can you see that his choices played a part in this? What about the twins? They saw that something was going on with you and didn't say anything. And Ron-"

"Not their fault." Ginny ground her teeth together, wondering if Charlie would bring Harry into it, too. She didn't think she could handle that. Harry, out of everyone, deserved to be left out of it. Merlin, he had saved her!

"What I'm saying, Ginny, is that you need to see the entire picture, not just the pieces that involve you."

"I'm being prideful," Ginny said. Harry had told her as much when he'd called her Claudine.

"Yeah, you are."

She winced and sat back in the chair. All of these thoughts swirled in her brain, making her heart race. Harry had been right. She was being proud and she'd let it get in the way of her relationships with everyone.

"What you went through…" Charlie shook his head and ran his scarred hand over his face. "Nobody should have had to do that, but...you did. And you're still alive-"

"Thanks to Harry."

"Yes, thanks to Harry. But you've survived because of you. Harry pulled you out of that place, but it's been you that's held yourself together for this long."

"I'm not together," Ginny protested. "Far from it, I assure you."

"That's something you can fix."

Ginny let his words wash over her. Charlie excused himself to use the loo and offered to bring back more food and drink. She just nodded absently as she thought about what he'd said.

Harry thought the same thing. Harry saw that she wasn't broken beyond repair, and he was offering to help her fix things. But it was ultimately up to Ginny to begin taking the steps.

Charlie returned a long time later, startling Ginny when he plopped another full tray of food down.

"I have a date tonight."

Ginny fought the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm telling you she's-"

"I can handle myself, thank you very much."

"Fine."

"Fine."

They both broke into smiles.

"Did you…"

"What?"

"Did you know about the plan to bring me to France?"

"Not until after."

Ginny hummed and nodded slowly. "And did you agree?"

"In a way," he said. "I understood the desire to want to protect you, as much as possible. We all felt helpless."

"But was sending me away the way to do it?"

"Hindsight is always easier," Charlie said. "It worked, in a way. You didn't have to fight in the war. And you were protected."

Ginny snorted and shook her head. "Ickle Ginny wrapped in cotton wool and tucked away for safekeeping."

Charlie's forehead crinkled as he thought about what she'd said. And Ginny hadn't meant it to sound so bitter. She'd been running the gamut of emotions lately with trying to get it all straight in her head, and oftentimes anger won out more than anything else. Anger was easy because she could let that strong feeling push away everything else.

"Let me ask you a question."

"Sure."

"Okay, two, then. First, why are you okay talking about this right now? You've never let me talk to you about this before. And, two, did you protest when mum and dad told you they were bringing you here?"

Ginny opened her mouth to snap out a response but then thought about it. She'd agreed with them, mostly because she'd overheard them talking about how broken she was and how there could still be darkness inside her.

"No, I didn't."

"Why not?"

The back of her eyes burned with unshed tears and Ginny swallowed past a thick throat. "Because...because I believed they were right."

Charlie sighed and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "What about now? Do you still think they were right?"

She wanted to answer yes, mostly because she'd always thought so, but Harry's insistence that she was worth saving was beginning to take hold deep inside her heart.

"I don't...I don't know. It's hard to say because I was protected, like you said. I was safe. And yet, I've had to deal with all of this on my own. And I know a whole lot of that is self-inflicted; that's been pointed out to me, too."

"Thank Merlin someone's getting through that thick head of yours."

"No thicker than yours." The barb melted into the air between them bringing them back into familiar territory.

"Ten years is a long time, Ginny. Maybe it's time to start thinking about-"

"I am."

"-forgiving them."

Ginny gaped at him. "Is that what you think I've been doing all this time, punishing them?! Charlie...it's more about punishing myself, I assure you."

"Then start forgiving yourself," he said, as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do.

"Easier said than done."

"I know."

"Charlie...did you leave because you couldn't forgive them for something? Is that why-"

"Me?" He laughed. "No. I left because I'm a barmy arse who loves dragons."

They finished eating-Charlie ate most of the second plate, also-and then he sat back again.

"Help me kill a few hours before my date, will you? Maybe one day you'll find your own bloke and we can go out together. On second thought, no."

"You don't think I should be dating?"

"Oh, I don't care if you date, I just don't want you hanging around while I work on my moves."

Ginny tried not to laugh, but it was just so hard when Charlie made her feel better. "You're disgusting. Don't forget that I have to work with her, please?!"