With the arrival of her new boyfriend, Michael, the months swam by easily for Ginny. Michael was just...she couldn't quite explain him. He was nice. He paid attention. His blue eyes smiled at her constantly. It boiled down to the fact that, unlike any other time in her life, this one person made her feel important. When she was with him she could tell that he wanted, truly wanted, to be with her, which was a nice change, as she was the runt of a litter of seven red headed children. The only difficult thing for her was whether or not to cheer for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as she had (between Michael, Billy, and Cat) fully immersed herself into the Ravenclaw world. Good thing the Quidditch season had been called off in order to allow time for the Triwizard Tournament.

Third year was wearing to an end, much to her pleasure. As far as academics went, it had defintely been the hardest year yet, as she would have expected. But what threw her really off guard was the fact that her professors were already bringing up the topic of O.W.L.S., which were a good two years off.

"O.W.L.S. practice this, O.W.L.S. practice that. Remember this, it will very possibly show up on your O.W.L.S.. When you go to the loo, take your books with you so you don't waste any time not studying for your O.W.L.S.!"

"Whoa!" Michael laughed, putting up his hand to halt Ginny's rant.

"Well! It's...it's just annoying." she kicked at the grass to let out the rest of her tension. It was a beautiful afternoon, bright and warm. A light breeze played through her hair. She had just completed her last exam and the two had decided to take a quick trip outside before the evenings main event. The final task of the Triwizard Tournament was that evening, an event that was making the tensions of the entire school hit a fever pitch. Harry, the reluctant fourth Triward, was currently leading the pack with 85 points, tied with Cedric Diggory. Ginny was one of the few Harry supporters, she had even had to talk Michael out of wearing a 'Potter Stinks' button to the second event.

Her mother and brother had surprised everyone that morning by arriving unnannounced, to show their support for Harry. This was what made Ginny more tense than anything. Her mother was on the grounds, a tid bit of information that she truly didn't want to divulge to Michael. As much as she liked him, she was nowhere near ready to introduce him to the family. But quite the opposite, Michael spoke volumes about how he couldn't wait to 'become an honorary Weasley' or 'see where Ginny got her beautiful eyes'. She'd practically had to bribe him not to introduce himself to her brothers as her boyfriend. Explaining that she simply just didn't want him killed.

"Ooh, look, our tree's empty!" He smiled and gingerly led her over an old and shady tree by the lake, one that was regularly occupied by one snogging couple or another. He settled his back against the tree as she sat down beside him, his hand never daring to leave hers. He snuggled up against her.

"Ginny, this is just grand, no?"

"What is?" She turned to him. He smiled up at her, almost dizzily.

"Just...just us." He mused. "I just think you're lovely."

"Thanks Michael, I think you're quite lovely too." He flushed slightly, nervous to continue. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." His ice blue eyes turned sheepish, he swept his sandy brown hair off of his forehead nervously and turned to the tree trunk he had been leaning on. He unlaced his fingers from hers and lightly traced a carving of a heart with two initials. "It's just wonderful isn't it? These people wanted to be together so much that they had to declare it forever."

She gulped. Michael was not talented in the realm of subtlety, it was suddenly obvious to Ginny why he had brought her to this exact spot so close to the end of the year, and she wasn't having it one bit. She scanned the tree, reading the many carvings graffitied on its trunk. 'RM YL', 'HT loves WG' 'JP LE forever', and one that made her laugh audibly "SB loves IM, MS, EV, BB, AT, PY, Himself" The 'Himself' obviously having been added by a different hand.

"This SB guy definitely liked the ladies!" She laughed, trying to change the subject.

"Not me Ginny, you're the only girl for me." She winced slightly. She could tell by the glint in Michael's eye that he meant every word. And for some reason, a reason for which she could not place, it made her feel queasy. And not the butterflies in your stomach sick, the vomiting sick.

"So, shall we?" He asked, exictedly pulling out his wand, casting a charm so the tip burned like a coal ember. He inched the wand to the tree, smiling from ear to ear.

"No!"

Startled, he quickly pulled back his wand, staring dumbly at Ginny. She thought fast.

"I, uh, well, I don't want to hurt the tree."

"Ginny, we're not hurting the tree." He laughed, stroking her hair like a child,"Look at how many people have done it before us!"

"Well," she scoffed, trying to make her arguement fool proof. "Just because others have done it before us doesn't mean we should. This tree's a living thing too, you know."

"I know that, but--"

"No 'buts' Michael, it's disrespectful to the tree."

"I never knew you cared so much about, er, plant life."

"Well, I do, it's-- Oh, look at the time, it's time for dinner, I do have to run and catch up with my brother. I'll see you at the task?" She pecked him quickly on the cheek, and without allowing him any time to respond, she stood up and began to run, at full speed, to the castle.

She shook her mind, trying in vain to figure out why she had needed to get away from him so badly. But she didn't get much chance to think about it as she ran headlong into Bill, her mum, and Harry, who were taking a stroll around the grounds. Harry, luckily, had been excused from exams due to his Triwizard status, and had these days off.

"Hullo darling! Where are you coming from in such a hurry?" Her mother asked, smoothing down Ginny's flyaway hairs wuth her hand.

"Oh! Oh, nowhere." Ginny panted for breath. "I was just down at the lake with my, er, friends, and I saw you guys up here so I wanted to run up and say hi. So, Umm, Hi."

Harry smiled at her, "Hi." looking quite at ease. It was a far cry from how he had been the day of the first, and even the second task. He looked in control, if not even a bit confident. Ginny smiled.

"Nervous?" She asked, falling into stride with the three of them.

"Well, of course, who wouldn't be."

"Oh. I know I wouldn't be. No, not one bit. In fact, I think you're be a bit of a nancy boy, actually, for feeling any nervousness at all." She giggled as he nudged her, making her trip slightly.

Ginny found it so much easier to spend time with Harry, joke with Harry, and generally just be with Harry, now that she had a boyfriend. Among the many wonderful things Michael had done for her, he had gotten her over Harry, a feat that at many times in her past, she had deemed impossible.

Sure his striking eyes, quirky smile, messy hair, how cute he looked when he would push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes almost crossing as he stared at his finger. Those few things were still a major weak spot for the petite red head. But she could live with the occasional pang from within in comparsion to the Harry shaped quaffle that had lived in her stomach for her first two years at Hogwarts.

As they neared the castle doors, he walked up, holding it open for her. "Hey Harry, if you win the cup, will you let me hold it?"

"Definitely."

The stands were packed as she sat with her family, Hermione pushed up close against one side, Bill on the other. Fred and George had donned round glasses, and dyed their hair black for the occasion.

The champions had been in the maze an extrodinarily long time. The stands were getting restless. Ginny could even see that Hagrid was looking slightly unnerved.

"You know, I wonder what kinds of things are actually in the maze. I didn't think it was going to take this long. We trained for everything we could think of. Oh, I hope he didn't run into something he didn't know how to deal with!" Hermione said through her teeth, chewing on a nail and staring straight out to the maze.

"Yeah, you wouldn't remember that the last one took over an hour, would you Krum's most treasured person." this topic still succeeded in making Hermione blush.

"Yeah, I guess you're--LOOK!" the girls stood up promptly as not one, but two bodies appeared from nowhere, sprawled across the ground, holding the Triwizard Cup. She cheered with the rest of the crowd, realizing that it was Cedric and Harry. The erupting crowd made it difficult to see what was going on, everyone was jumping up and down, hugging, screaming, paying out their bets, and the like. But slowly the cheers turned dark and quieted as it became clear that the boys on the ground wern't moving, well, one of them wasn't. But just as Ginny noticed, the boys became covered in bodies moving in to investigate. Without a second thought, she, along with Ron and Hermione shot out of the stands and onto the pitch, trying to get as close as they could, but all she could glimpse was- and she gasped. Harry was clutching Cedric to him for dear life.

"Dead!" "He's Dead" "CEDRIC!"

----------------------

"Yes, but how is Harry?" She urged them. The Great Hall was humming in a way that she had never heard, the voices were dark, confused. Ginny had taken Harry's place at the Gryffindor table for breakfast beside Ron and Hermione.

"He's..." Hermione bit her lip.

"He's fine." Ron cut in. "He's just. Well..."

Hermione shot up from her seat, not even having touched a corner of her toast. "I'm going up to him. Do you guys want to come along?" Ron nodded and stood up, Ginny naturally began to follow, but she quickly caught glimpse a brown haired boy bobbing over to her, knowing that she was stuck.

"I'll uh...I'll meet you up there" she called as they exited.

Michael proceeded to milk Ginny for information about what had happened. Every time she answered a question, he shot right back with another one. His eyes wide with curiousity and fascination. To Ginny, the day before had been a terrible tragedy. To Michael, it seemed to have been gossip.

"Yes, but, has he said what he looked like?"

"Michael." Ginny sighed, she had had enough. "I don't know. Look, I've got to go and find my friends, I'll see you later." This time she left him with no goodbye peck on the cheek, not even a smile. She regretted her curtness to him later in the day, but at that moment she just had to get away from the barrage of questions.

As she quickly made her way to the hospital wing, she dug her mind to try to figure out why all of Michael's questions about Voldemort, the portkey, the death, were gnawing at her. And then she realized. The series of questions were strikingly similar to the rush of questions that had haunted her two years prior after her ordeal with the chamber. She shuddered. She never wanted to relive that, and Michael's incessant drilling for answers had opened up the scar.

Entering the hospital wing, she knew to be as quiet as possible. Madam Pomphrey wasn't keen on visitors anyway, and she could only imagine how strict she was about people visiting Harry after what he had just been through.

She tip toed into the room filled with beds, noticing the screened in one right away. Peering around the screen she saw Harry, his eyes half open. And then she smiled at an adorable sight. Her mum, splayed across one of the visitor chairs, mouth agape, her red hair flailing across her face. It was obvious that she had spent the night at Harry's bedside.

Harry caught Ginny's eye. She stepped in meekly. Ginny couldn't help but notice as she sidled closer that his eyes looked dead. Blank. Like he didn't have the strength to light them up. He stared at her.

She couldn't help but writhe in the awkward silence. "Um...have Ron and Hermione been here?" She definitely hadn't expected to be standing there alone. She shuffled her feet nervously and twirled a thin strand of hair in her finger as he answered her.

"They got kicked out." He whispered. "Ron started yelling about something or other. Your mum didn't even stir though." A faint smile played across his lips. "Thanks for stopping by, Gin."

"Of course. How are you?" She asked, easing her body into the chair next to his bed, pulling it close to him as so that they could speak as quietly as possible. He remained silent, obviously pondering the question, his eyes staring down at the sheet covering him.

"Honestly?" and with that he looked up. His emerald eyes were back alive, but he was staring at her with an expression she had never once seen on his face. Pain, terrible pain, bled out of his beautiful eyes. She was so close that she could make out every little fleck of his irises, each one searing with pain. His deep painful eyes bored into hers, pleading with her, searching hers for something, asking a question that didn't have words.

Her heart sank. Harry, that invincibile boy who had saved her life, who had saved the entire wizarding world, that hero was in agony.

She didn't know what possessed her at that moment, nor did she care.

She reached forward, taking his hands, which had just endured so much horror, within her small ones and grasping them tight. His eyes jumped quickly, alarmed by the touch, but she didn't look away. She held them tighter, willing him to know that he was not alone. He did not pull away. Instead, he grasped on harder. Clinging. He needed her. But all that mattered to Ginny at that moment was taking his pain. Silently, noiselessly, she let him tell his story. She let him drain his pain into her.

And like this, they stayed, motionless. Neither of them trying to talk. That wasn't what he needed. She knew, he just needed...well...he needed love.

How long she sat there like that, pumping herself into him through his hands, she didn't know. But with one last meaningful look, they slowly let go and she stood up.

She turned to leave, but Harry tugged on her hand, causing her to turn around and gaze at him again.

"Yeah?"

"Just...thank you."

She smiled. Leaning down she stroked away a chunk of his black hair and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "That's what friends are for, Harry."