Ginny Weasley stood before Headmistress McGonagall in her office, dripping rainwater onto her pristine floor, broom still tucked under her arm and her Quidditch uniform covered in mud.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting Headmistress, I came as soon as I could from practice."
The lady smiled. "I can see that, Miss Weasley. As can my floor, but luckily it doesn't have eyes. Congratulations on your victory over Hufflepuff the other day, I must say I am most impressed with your captaincy skills. You give Oliver Wood a run for his money, if I do say so."
"Thank you, Headmistress, but why am I here? I assume you didn't summon me here to talk about Quidditch, although if you did I could have asked that it not be late at night after a grueling two and a half hours in the pouring rain, respectively."
"Indeed, Miss Weasley, I didn't ask you hear to talk about Quidditch. I came hear because you won my contest."
"The pumpkin one?" Ginny asked, surprised.
"Yes, the pumpkin one. You do recall that the prize was a trip to Higsmeade, as well as 50 points for your House?"
"I do," Ginny replied, crossing her arms.
"Your pass is for tomorrow."
"For Halloween?"
"Yes, Miss Weasley, for Halloween. It's an all-day pass, so use it wisely. There's someone there who wishes to see you rather badly."
Ginny stood at the entrance of Hogsmeade, black peacoat pulled close, shivering slightly in the brisk wind. Today was Halloween. To her, it was an ordinary day, a Muggle celebration of getting free candy from strangers and wearing creepy costumes while doing so. But today, for the person she thought she was about to see...
A pair of hands covered her eyes, a body pressed up close behind hers. If it had been someone else, she would have frozen, then proceeded to haul them onto their asses or hex them to high Heaven. But not him.
"Boo," the mystery person said.
Ginny whirled. "Was that really necessary, Harry Potter?" she drawled.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." Ginny laughed and pulled him in by his scarf, arms wrapping around him as they hugged tightly. Something that had been coiled with tention within her eased, at knowing he was okay, that he was here, with her. Although he said he was fine in their twice-weekly letters, she could tell that's sometimes he was just putting on a brave face for her sake, which frustrated her to no end.
Harry placed a light kiss on the top of her head, letting go and readjusting her own scarf so that it fitted more snugly.
"Fussing, are we? Since when do you fuss like a mother hen?" Ginny said with a smirk.
"Since the cold is practically arctic out here, and I don't want you to freeze to death," Harry replied with a smile.
"So sweet of you. And people say chivalry is dead."
"What can I say? I like defying expectations. Now, have you got somewhere you want to go first? This is your day, after all," he asked her.
Ginny frowned, brow furrowed. "I thought McGonagall orchestrated this."
"No. You won the contest all on your own."
"So she really liked my cat?"
"You literally couldn't have chosen two better themes to win her over. Even though you could have done a better job with the tail. It looked like a sausage."
"It did not," Ginny protested, smacking him on the arm. Hard.
"Ow, woman, looks like someone's been taking Quidditch seriously."
"I have."
"Well then, tell me all about it."
So she did. They traversed the many shops that lined the streets, from Zonko's to Honeydukes to Dervish and Banges, laughing as they came across Madame Puddifoot's, since neither of them were particular fans and found the place utterly ridiculous in every conceivable way.
"So, are you going to spill on whatever you're thinking so intensely about, or do I have to get it out of you through more sweets?" Harry asked teasingly as the two had a quiet lunch together at the Three Broomsticks. Ginny couldn't remember the last time they'd had a normal meal together.
"There's no bribery required here, Mr Potter. I was thinking about Draco's close friendship with Hermione."
Harry almost spewed his Butterbeer all over his girlfriend. "Draco and Hermione are 'close' friends? Love, are you sure your drinks not spiked?"
"No, it's not. Surely she must have mentioned it to you; you saw the article in the Daily Prophet. I bet even the Muggles saw that, it was so publicized."
Harry looked thoughtful. "I know that he helped her out in the summer, that they'd been spending some time together. But I had no idea they were close."
"I hope you're not upset."
"Harry looked offended. "Of course not. He saved our lives at Malfoy Manor, his mother saved my life in the Forest. He threw me his wand at the Battle. I'm not a first year, anymore. House squabbles are long behind me, especially after the year we've all had. The unexpected surprises."
Ginny knew he was thinking of Professor Snape, who had been a secret spy for the Order, and who had loved Harry's mother, in his own way. Ginny also knew that where the wizard was concerned, Harry's emotions were still conflicted. He had been cruel to him for so many years, yet had tried to save him on numerous occasions, had tried to do his best to keep his mother safe. But life was never black and white, and nothing was ever easy. Harry would likely always feel that way, ad he had every right to.
"I just wished she told me."
Ginny clasped his hand in her own across the table. "I know. I don't think even Hermione knows how close the two of them have gotten."
Harry narrowed his eyes through his glasses. "What evidence brought you to that conclusion?"
Ginny laughed, letting go of his hand. "Look at you. Two months at the Ministry and already you've got the master sleuth lingo down."
"Not funny. I'm just saying, you wouldn't tell me unless you were sure, since you wouldn't want to upset Hermione."
"True. I don't know. It's just little things, things other people probably wouldn't pick up on. They spend most of their time together, studying in the library or having lunch or just hanging out. And she smiles more when she's with him. Like she used to, before the world went to shit. And he's different around her, too. You can see it in his eyes. I don't know," Ginny repeated, "maybe I'm just seeing things."
"I don't think you are."
Ginny looked up. "You don't?"
"Of course not. If you're sure then you're sure. Do you think he has a thing for her?"
"Look who's drinks spiked now?" Ginny shot at him. Harry mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like, 'should have known she'd throw that in my face at the first opportunity.' Ginny smiled triumphantly, fingers running along the handle of her mug, making patterns in the condensation. "Honestly? I'm not sure. If he does, I don't think he even realizes it himself. After all he's been raised to believe, I think his heart and his brain may not have caught up to each other."
"Don't," Harry warned.
"What?" she questioned, hands in the air, the portrait of innocent ignorance.
"Don't go meddling, Ginny. Let them figure things out for themselves."
"I wasn't going to," she said, eyes blazing. "And since when do I 'meddle'? Sounds like something a teenage sleuth would do."
Harry laughed, although Ginny didn't know why. "I won't answer that, since I want to see tomorrow." Harry checked his watch. "It's getting late. Do you want to head back? Or did you want to check out the new Quality Quidditch Supplies shop that they just started setting up?"
Ginny grinned. "You know me so well, don't you."
Indeed, the two spent over half an hour staring at what was basically an empty storefront, minus a Quaffle, broom stand and set of hoop rings, formulating ideas on what they could get. The two were walking back to Hogwarts, arm in arm, when Ginny released her grip, turning to Harry with a serious expression he rarely saw. "What's wrong?" he asked her, voice heavy with concern. She hated that tone; it brought her back to Dumbledore's funeral, to the Battle, to the days after Fred had died.
"Nothing," she said, "well, nothing serious. I had a talk with Madame Hooch last week. About my Quidditch skills."
"Okay."
"She thinks I could go pro, within the next year, if I work at it."
Harry's smile was brilliant, beaming at her in full force. He picked her up, twirling her around and kissing her passionately on the mouth. "That's fantastic! I'm so proud of you, you deserve this." Harry pulled back, reading her face like no one else could. "Wait, why aren't you more excited?"
Ginny took a breath, mentally preparing herself. "Because I don't want this to affect you. You get hounded by the press enough as it is, and I know how much you hate it, and I don't want to add to that. And I don't want to just go off and leave you, Merlin knows what my schedule would be like and..."
Harry silenced her with another kiss. "Ginny, darling, you're talking nonsense. I love you, and will support you in whatever you do, in everything you do. And screw the press. If they do print stuff about you, stuff about how incredible and talent and smart and passionate and beautiful you are, then I'd put it in a frame and wave it in everyone's face until the day I die. Because you and me? We're forever, so long as you'll have me."
"It's not like I could take you back and ask for a refund, is it? And Harry? I want to be with you forever, too. So was that like a proposal?" she asked.
"A promise. I think Molly would freak out if you showed up at the Burrow at Christmas with a ring on your finger."
"I don't know; she'd probably be excited to plan another wedding, minus the Death Eaters."
Harry laughed. "Yeah, minus the Death Eaters."
Ginny and Harry sat in the Gryffindor common room, since everyone else was at the Halloween Feast. The two of them had snuck dinner from the kitchens, the house elves bowing at the sight of the wizard who had defeated Voldemort. Harry had waved the praise away, and she knew it grated on him, the unnecessary praise. Some of it was genuine, but so much of it wasn't, and sometimes the two were difficult to distinguish between. Ginny laid her head against his shoulder, backs pressed against the couch. She was half asleep, but she could tell something was eating at her boyfriend.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she murmured softly, voice barely audible over the crackling of the fire burning in the grate. They'd had multiple conversations about the War after it happened, most lasting long into the night. The fears and dreams and memories that still plagued him, that would likely always plague him. But there was things they had not yet discussed, this day being one of them, what had happened all those years ago.
"I was just thinking about them." For him, there would always be only one them. "About how different things would be, if they hadn't..." Harry trailer off, voice cracking, head heavy with sorrow.
"Hey, hey, you can't think like that, Harry. You can't wonder about things being different when you can't change what happened."
"But they died. They died because of me, defending me. If they had lived, everyone else would still be alive, all our friends and family who died. I could barely walk through the castle without breaking down on the stairs," Harry rasped.
"I can't walk through the courtyard on my own," Ginny admitted. "All I see is Hagrid carrying your body, how you looked so small, how it didn't look like you," Ginny admitted without shame.
"I'm sorry I had to put you through that. If there had been another way..."
"Then you would have taken it," she finished for him, grasping his face in her hands, wiping the tears that had got caught up in his glasses. She leant her forehead against his, sighing deeply. She had expected this, and was prepared, for she knew that was the real reason he had come to see her, today of all days. The day. "This guilt you have, Harry, it's not good for you. I don't want you to end up like-"
"Ron?" he finished for her.
"Yes, like my brother. It's why you came, isn't it? Did you want to see me at all?" she asked honestly.
Harry took her hand, placing a delicate kiss in the centre of her palm. "I want to see you, every minute, every day. I meant what I said earlier, Ginny. I missed you. It's been terrible without you, and while this thing at the Ministry is fine, I don't think it's what I want."
"I can see that, Potter, I do have eyes. Is it all the attention you're getting?"
Harry shook his head, glasses slipping down his nose. He pushed them back up and looked her in the eye. "No, Ginny. I spent my time at school battling a Dark Wizard, have had his shadow looking over me all my life without me even knowing it. While it's good work, and it's helping people, making the Wizarding World a safer place, I just don't think it's going to fulfill me, make me happy."
"So what is going to make you happy?" asked Ginny.
"You. You're all I need to be happy."
Ginny laughed. "While that's sweet of you, I don't think you can make a career of being my boyfriend."
"I don't know, Gin. I was always happy here. It was the first home I ever had, before I had the Burrow."
"Well, we'll figure it out. Together. But don't rush it. You may like being a Dark Wizard Catcher. You can practice your people skills."
"'People skills?' That's what you're going with?" Harry raised a brow at her.
Ginny smacked him in the chest. "Hey! It sounded better in my head! At least I made an effort."
"That you did, love. That you did."
Ginny settled back against Harry's chest, his arms around her. He peered down at her, smiling faintly, the light of the fire turning the end sit his hair a burnished red-gold. "I think they would have loved you. A lot. My dad would have adored you, since you're so awesome at Quidditch, and a general incredible person. I think you and my mum would have loved teasing me incessantly about my hair, and my habit for trouble."
Ginny chuckled, the sound echoing into his chest. "I know I would have loved them, Harry. And I'm sure wherever they are, if there is indeed a life after this, they are so very proud of you. And your hair."
It was Harry's turn to laugh, tickling her in the side in retribution. "Shut it, Ginevra, my hair is majestic!" This caused Ginny to completely lose it, erupting in a symphony of cacophonous giggles.
After she'd settled, Harry's face grew serious. "We're going to be okay, aren't we? We're going to help Ron, make sure Hermione helps her parents, that all our friends are safe and happy? I'm going to be okay, aren't I? I'll only believe it if you say it, only you."
"Of course. It won't be like this forever Harry, only for now. The now is what makes the later so much sweeter, so much more precious. This parts dark and uncertain, but the rest is yet to come."
Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Happy Friday! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was challenging to write at first but I think I'm getting better at writing Harry. Do you agree? Let me know! The next few chapters will be more Draco and Hermione based, since we haven't seen them much, and this is their fi, after all. I hope you have a lovely weekend.
All my love, Temperance Cain.