Chapter 10

Moving Along

Harry spent most of the first few days teaching Ginny what she needed to know to blend in with muggles. She was a quick study, but had a tremendous amount to learn. The number of simple muggle things that magicals didn't know about was mind boggling.

It truly was a wonder that the Statute of Secrecy was still intact.

The ship soon made its first port of call, and since it was at a European city, they decided to stay aboard. There was simply no sense in tempting fate. It was doubtful that anyone would be looking for them this far out, but any carelessness on their part could still be exceedingly costly.

Instead, Harry took Ginny to one of the shipboard shops.

The elves were magnificent, of course, but there was only so much they could do. It had taken Winky quite a lot of effort to obtain the few muggle outfits for Ginny that she had managed before their departure. There were two entire decks full of shops, restaurants, and casinos, though, so they at least had some options.

Ginny's eyes were big as saucers, her head turning this way and that as she tried to take it all in. He was sure that she had rarely been shopping at all, let alone in a place like this (not that he was much better off in that regard). Normally he would have wanted to shop in a port — it would be much less expensive — but she really did need a few things, and it wasn't like he didn't have the money.

"Are you sure about this, Harry?" she asked faintly.

"I'm sure, Gin," he smiled. "You need a few outfits."

She blinked up at him for a moment, but was too overwhelmed by their surroundings to say anything else.

They finally found a shop that sold what they were looking for, and while she was hesitant, she followed his instructions and picked out a few outfits. Jeans and blouses, socks and underwear, and even a purse which she desperately needed. She hadn't had one at Hogwarts, but carrying a backpack around here would be seen as a little bit odd.

She was quiet and subdued as they left the shop, but it wasn't what he expected. It was more that she was just confused about something. He left it alone; had he tried something like this with Ron, he would've gotten an earful. That she was accepting it at all, he considered a win.

And then they came upon a shop that sold swimsuits.

"We should stop here too," he decided.

She followed his gaze and frowned thoughtfully. "Swimming costumes?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah," he nodded. "There's a big pool on board, plus the jacuzzi. I don't have decent trunks, and I'm not sure if what you have would be appropriate or not."

Ginny slowly nodded and allowed him to guide her into the store.

And then she went beet red upon seeing what one of the mannequins was wearing — or not wearing as the case may be.

"Er…"

"Relax, Gin," he smiled. "They have things like that, but they'll also have more modest stuff. Get whatever you're comfortable with."

Ginny looked up at him and blinked a few times, before his words finally registered. She blushed and nodded. "Thanks, Harry," she said quietly.

Harry rubbed her back for a moment. "Go on," he smiled. "I'll find something for me."

He spent the next ten minutes finding a decent pair of trunks, even as his mind churned over his reactions to Ginny. His comfort with her was truly baffling. He didn't touch people, and yet he had just rubbed her back without even thinking about it. He didn't like to be touched, but had no issue sleeping in the same bed with her snuggled up to him.

It was deeply confusing.

Harry had long since started to notice girls, but it was more in the abstract than anything else. He thought girls were pretty, and certainly had the usual desires and reactions, but could never get past the idea of getting that close to someone. It was far, far too personal of a thing for him to ever be comfortable with, or so he thought.

But now he wasn't so sure. While Ginny was certainly pleasant company, and very attractive, those things were hardly the issue. Cho Chang was beautiful too, but he never would have actually considered going out with her. Not seriously, anyway.

But Ginny?

He trusted Ginny.

She had known his plans in the abstract sense for much of the year, and had never breathed a word of it. He had written to her about some of his darker secrets — especially the issue of the Dursleys — and she had never once thrown it in his face. He honestly believed that she truly cared about him, and that was a new and novel concept.

Beyond his parents, and maybe Sirius, nobody else ever had.

The closest he had ever come was the elder Weasleys, but that never felt right. He found it ironic that he had never truly trusted Molly and Arthur. There was just something… off there. He still to this day didn't know what it was that bothered him about them.

Ginny had at first been in awe of him — and he suspected that even she would admit that — but that had clearly passed. The way she acted this year suggested that she genuinely wanted what was best for him, even were it at her own expense, and simply because she felt it the right thing to do. Her comments when he told her he was planning on leaving said it all.

He still wasn't even sure why he had so easily admitted his goals to her. He'd been hiding them for a long time, and it should have scared him senseless, but it just didn't for some reason. It was as though he trusted her to the very core of his being.

He was going to have to think about this; he wasn't sure what it meant, or what, if anything, he should do about it.

Ginny appeared at his side again, a faint blush lingering on her features. She was clearly a bit more sheltered than he would have expected given that they went to a boarding school. He didn't mind though; it actually made him a bit more comfortable for some odd reason.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "This is all really expensive, though."

"That's why we're only getting a few things, Gin," he told her as he steered her toward the cashier. "We'll get more when we can go visit a port. That'll be a lot less expensive."

"Okay."

Harry paid for their purchases, and by unspoken agreement they turned in the direction of the elevator to go put them away. Neither said anything else at first; they were both content to enjoy the silence. It was another thing for Harry to think about; when someone was silent around him it usually meant trouble, but he didn't get that sense with Ginny.

"Can we go swimming?" she finally asked as the elevator started moving.

"Sure," he nodded.

Ginny frowned up at him, and he realized that he must not have kept his feelings entirely hidden. She was far too perceptive at times.

"Are you sure?" she asked gently. "We don't have to."

"It's fine, Gin," he told her, shaking his mood off. "I just don't know how to swim is all."

The elevator deposited them on their deck, and she continued staring at him in surprise as they walked to their cabin. "Didn't you swim in the Second Task?" she finally asked.

Harry opened the door to their cabin, and ushered her inside. Only when he finally had the door closed did he answer her.

"I was using gillyweed," he told her. "Without that I wouldn't have known what to do."

She studied him for a long moment. "Well," she said slowly. "You're teaching me about muggles, maybe I can teach you how to swim."

Harry thought that was the best idea she'd had yet.

===[~]===

The weather was perfect, and Ginny genuinely loved the pool. She had never seen one this size, and the water was a crystal blue that she'd never even imagined before. And best of all, she got to be close to Harry while she taught him to swim.

It was almost too bad that he learned so quickly.

He was doing just fine within half an hour, and then they spent the next few hours enjoying their time in the water. It was a freedom she had rarely experienced, and she didn't have to ask to know he felt exactly the same. It wasn't even the activity; it was the fact that they were left to their own devices, for as long as they so chose.

Her mother had always been very controlling, and the children had to fight for every last scrap of freedom. She had long suspected that fact as being what drove Bill and Charlie and even Percy from the house upon graduation. They could have stayed and lived for free, but none of them did.

To have such freedom was truly a gift. She knew that there would be difficulties in their future, but they would get through it. In the now, they could do whatever struck their fancy.

That said, Harry was sending her some rather mixed signals, though she didn't think he was doing it on purpose.

He was never quite as closed off he always was at Hogwarts, but he did frequently drift inward, seeming lost in his own world. At other times, he did little things that really made her wonder. Like that moment in the shop when he rubbed her back so naturally.

And then there was the fact that he had no problem sleeping with her snuggled up to him. To say that she was shocked about that would be an understatement. She knew he didn't like to be touched, but had really needed the comfort that first night, and so went for it.

She expected to be rebuffed — and would have easily accepted it — but it was not forthcoming. And more importantly, he genuinely seemed fine with it. Were she any less cognizant of his issues, she would have thought that tantamount to a declaration of love coming from him, especially given that it continued in the nights that followed.

Fortunately for both of them, she knew better than to read anything into it.

That said, she was starting to think that she was going to have to talk to him sooner rather than later. She had some very strong feelings for him, and they were only getting stronger. If she waited too long, he might be blindsided by it, and that could ruin any chance she might have with him.

Not that she was going to force the issue, though. Their budding friendship was honestly more important to her than any kind of romance. She wanted the romance to be certain, but she outright needed the friendship. Even if friends was all they could ever be, she would still want him in her life.

But that was for later; right now they had just finished dinner in one of the restaurants. It was wonderful, but she had concerns. They had remained silent throughout the meal, simply enjoying each others' quiet company, but she had questions. She had seen several other patrons pay for the meals, and nobody just got up and left.

"Harry?" she called quietly. "Is this included in what you already paid?"

Harry shook his head and took another sip of his soda. "Some meals are," he explained. "The nicer restaurants like this aren't covered, though."

"Please don't take this the wrong way," she frowned, "but should we really be spending money like this?"

She knew she wouldn't have to explain her concern more deeply — they were dependent on whatever finances he had brought along with them — but she was surprised when an amused look appeared briefly on his face. She had no idea what that was about.

"It's fine, Gin," he smiled.

"You're sure?" she checked. "I mean, I'll pay you back for it eventually, but you know that's going to take years."

Harry looked genuinely shocked by that statement, and then studied her carefully. His response was delayed, however, by the waiter bringing their check. He told the waiter to charge it to their cabin, and signed for it before finally returning his attention to her.

"C'mon," he said. "Let's go up."

Surprised, Ginny rose and followed him out of the restaurant, and once more they had a quiet trip to their cabin. This time she was confused; he didn't seem offended, but he hadn't answered her either. The only conclusion she could come to was that he didn't want to have the conversation in public.

And she was right, as it turned out.

He led her over to the couch and sat down, and she quickly joined him. She was less worried now about crowding him, but still gave him a little room. While he might be okay with her being close, she figured that part of the reason was that she respected his personal space.

Once they were settled, he turned his full attention to her, and the look in his eyes was very serious. This was important to him for some reason, she thought.

"A couple of things, Gin," he said. "Firstly, the most important thing is that you don't owe me anything for this. This isn't a loan, and it isn't even a gift. It's a necessity. You need it, and I have it to give, so that's that."

Ginny was honestly surprised by that. "We're talking about a lot of Galleons here," she said quietly. "At the rate we're going, it'll be more than ten thousand when all is said and done. That's a lot more money than my father makes in a year."

"I know," he nodded. "But that doesn't change anything."

She studied his him carefully, and what she saw only confirmed her thoughts. It was important enough that he wasn't going to budge. She supposed she would just have to accept it with good grace.

"If that's what you want," she said softly, "then thank you. But if you change your mind, I will pay you back someday."

"I won't," he smiled. "And as for worrying about how much we have, there's no reason to."

"Why not?" she wondered. "I saw that you have a lot of Galleons in one of those trunks, but what about muggle money? And from what you told me, you have to pay off what you put on the card."

Harry chuckled, to her surprise. "I have a muggle bank account," he told her with a smile. "That's what'll pay for all this. I have access to millions of pounds, Ginny. We would have to work very, very hard to even make a dent in it. And I have far more than that in Galleons."

Much though she tried to suppress her reaction, she couldn't help that her eyes widened. She knew better than to think he wasn't serious — but how did he have that much money? It never even entered her mind that he might have stolen it, so she had no idea what to think.

"How?" she asked faintly.

His smile dimmed, and for a moment she thought she'd asked the wrong question. "My family was more than just well off," he sighed, his voice going distant. "I found out last year, but couldn't let anyone know I was aware of it for obvious reasons. That's when I opened the account."

"Oh," she frowned. She could tell that something was bothering him, but wasn't quite sure what until–

"Nobody ever told me, Gin," he sighed. "I only know about it because I stumbled across an old statement in my trust vault. Even the goblins don't know I'm aware. Dobby found some gold bars in the family vault, and that's how I managed to get the account set up. It took some doing and a bit of elf magic to keep them from questioning things, but it's done."

Ginny nodded slowly. "Isn't that in England, though?" she asked quietly. "How will you use it?"

"Muggle banks work differently," he explained. "I picked one that has branches in America, and we can get at all of it from there."

Ginny nodded, and was aware of him watching her while she absorbed it all. It should have come as no surprise that he was rich, but nevertheless she had never even thought about it. Not since discovering that he wasn't a fictional character, anyway.

Finally she looked up at him, and reached up to brush his fringe off his forehead; he really needed a haircut. His eyes were sad at the moment, and she could completely understand why.

"I'm sorry," she offered quietly. "They really should have told you."

"And we can guess why they didn't," he said quietly. "Dumbledore has it out for me. I doubt I'll ever know why."

===[~]===

A/N: A bit of fluff to get things moving on this fine Sunday. Thank you for all of your kind reviews; I really do appreciate them. I would answer more for this chapter, but most of my answers would give bits of the game away. =)

Prewishjay13: Luckily this is already completely written barring a few minor edits here and there, so potential burnout is not an issue. =)

Note that I have an appointment tomorrow morning, and I've not quite figured out when I will post the next chapter. It might be later today; we'll see.