By the time they had gotten home, Ginny was in tears. Her red hair was a mess.
"Ginny," Harry pulled her chin up to look her in the perfect blue eyes. "I love you. I will always love you." He had to put her face down, this reminded him of Snape's memories a few years ago. He could feel the tears filling his eyes.
"Let's go inside, Harry," Ginny pulled him by the wrist into the small house.
On the table was a stack of unread mail. It lay, ignored. Ginny pulled him down the hall into the bedroom. She took off his glasses and tucked him into bed. She kissed him on the forehead.
"I love you, Harry. I do a lot. I just. I need," try as she might, she just couldn't finish her sentence.
"Go. I understand," Harry said, pushing her away. Ginny apperated to the Burrow.
Harry slept late the next day, drained from his lack of sleep while away, and his horrible dreams. He opened all the mail, which was mostly ads. Then, he wrote a letter to Ginny saying to stay as long as she needs and that he understood. He would go home now too, but his parents were dead, and his house destroyed. He decided to eat some breakfast then go see how Hermione was, she was pretty shaken last night.
He walked to their house. It didn't seem right to apperate, seeing as he had nothing but time. They all came back two weeks early, so they didn't have to go back to work until mid-May. At the front door, he knocked. No one answered, so Harry went inside. The kitchen was cold, Hermione had certainly not been cooking. The telly was off. He walked down the hall, her bedroom light was on. Harry figured she was just reading a book early in the morning, after all, it was only 7 o'clock. He pushed open the door.
He heard soft sobs coming from the room. He looked inside and saw Hermione laying in her bed with an open book, unread, in front of her.
"Hermione?" Harry asked. She looked up and saw that her best friend was watching her.
"Oh god. I probably look awful. I haven't eaten since dinner last night, and I couldn't read anything. I just can't focus without Ron around. I miss him terribly, and have no idea where he went," she began, small tears pouring down her cheeks.
"I'm right here," said a voice behind Harry. It was Ron, he was standing in the doorway looking at both Harry and Hermione. "All I could think about was in your 7th year when I left you guys in the woods and didn't find you for ages. I'm sorry I left." Hermione's face softened a bit, but then became hard and stern.
"You!" she began, pointing at Ron. "Get out of this house. I don't want to see you again until you've really thought about what you did to me. Go. NOW!"
Ron opened his mouth to argue back but didn't he shook his head and walked out. Hermione's finger she had been pointing fell limply to her side. She had tears brimming around the edges of her eyes.
"Hermione. I know what you feel like. I've just let Ginny go. She went home to her mother. I didn't want her to go, but I had to. Remember when Ron was snogging with Lavender? Remember how jealous you got? Remember how much you and I tried to stay happy but we couldn't because we wanted the love of our lives to be happy with them? That's how I feel right now. There's nothing I can do about her leaving, I just have to let her work things out for herself," Harry spoke.
"I can't be here right now," Hermione said. She got up from her bed and walked to the window. "I'm going to stay with Ginny at the burrow. I'll see you soon and write you a lot, I promise. Good-bye for now Harry."
She kissed his cheek and walked out the front door. Harry watched as she evaporated from the sand.
"Bye, Hermione. Tell Ginny I love her," Harry softly said.
Ron didn't return for the rest of the week. Nor the next week. By the Monday of the following week he missed Hermione, Ginny, and Ron greatly. He went back to work. He worked everyday for the month. And the next month, and the next month. He hadn't spoken to anyone in so long, he doubted he remembered how. He would just go to and from work everyday, until one day he couldn't stand it any longer and he apperated to the burrow.
