Chapter Five - Ginny's visit.

Harry spent most of the following morning dozing on and off in the Hospital Wing. Ron skived off Divination and Hermione got special permission to be excused from Arithmancy to come and visit him. They were both extremely shaken by his disappearance and, along with the rest of the school and Wizarding World apparently, both dreaded that Voldemort had finally caught up with him. Ron was just telling Harry how smug Malfoy seemed about this, when Hermione suddenly realised they were ten minutes late for Transfiguration and with one last worried glance at Harry, they raced out of the room. Harry fell asleep after that and when he awoke, it was already late afternoon.
"Oh, good, you're awake," said Madame Pomfrey. "You've got another visitor, Potter."
She got up and made for her office. "Yes, you can come in now, dear!" she called as she closed her office door.
The hospital wing door opened slowly and a very pretty face with long sheets of fiery red hair looked in anxiously. Ginny walked in and closed the door quietly. Then she looked up and her eyes locked on Harry's and for a moment, they just stared at each other. Then she rushed over to him and stood by his bedside.
"Oh, Harry!" she cried, as she stood over him. "Oh, Harry....Harry…..Oh, Harry…"
Harry tried looking away, the ferocious flogging his heart had been taking for the past four days tripled as he looked at her eyes, but as usual, the mysterious power that radiated from Ginny's eyes hooked Harry's gaze. Close to, Harry saw she wasn't looking too well herself; she looked like she hadn't slept for days, her face was rather red and her eyes clearly told him she's been crying a lot. "Oh, Harry!" Ginny said again.
"Sit down," Harry said weakly.
Ginny pulled up the plastic chair next to his bed and sat down, without removed her gaze from his eyes. She looked more anxious and frightened than he'd ever seen her before as she bit her lip, looking like she was trying to say a lot of things at once and unable to say anything at all.
"Ginny, are you…?" Harry began but his voice seemed to trigger her back to her senses because she burst out, "Harry…everything I said before…after the Quidditch match…it wasn't me…I didn't…I didn't mean a word of it…he made me do it! I tried not to…oh, Harry I'm so sorry!"
"Whoa, slow down," said Harry quickly as tears began to leak down her face. "Calm down, have a glass of water or something…"
Ginny dried her eyes and took several very long deep breaths. Then she swallowed and said, "You know after our last Quidditch match, when we…well, when we…hugged…well, I heard…Malfoy was so furious they'd lost the match, he pulled out his wand and… when you lifted me into air and said you….I heard him whisper "Imperio" from behind us and he put this really really powerful Imperius Curse on me, much more powerful than anything Moody showed us in class…and he…he made me say all of those things…believe me, Harry, that was the last thing I felt like saying and…and I tried fighting off the curse, I really did but I couldn't do it…I saw him laughing as he made me run up to the castle…oh, Harry I'm so so sorry!"
Harry's head, already throbbing with physical pain had to work overtime to take all of this in. He could dimly remember seeing a pale, pointed face with cold eyes laughing at him through the rain as he took off on his Firebolt three days ago, with his heart ripped to ribbons.
"I was so worried about you," Ginny continued between dry sobs. "…everyone knows You-Know-Who's after you…you could have been killed…or died of pneumonia or something and it would have been my fault...Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!"
"It would have been Malfoy's fault," Harry corrected her quickly. "And you've got nothing to be sorry for."
Ginny sniffed.
"So…so you didn't mean anything you said?" Harry asked, fighting to keep the hope and delight out of his voice. "I mean, about the House team?" he added quickly.
Ginny seemed to see right through him. "I didn't mean a word, Harry," she said, drying her eyes. "Not a word about anything that was said. I didn't want to quit as Keeper and I never suspected you of letting me join the Gryffindor team for your own interests, because I know you're a very devoted Captain, and you gave me a very thorough audition…" her voice tailed away.
"So, are we still friends, then?" Harry asked somewhat nervously.
Ginny flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly, which didn't help his physical condition, but made his heart race and the knot in his stomach unravel. He wound his arms around her back and held her tightly to him.
"Yes, we're still friends," said Ginny quietly as they drew apart, then whispered, "we can be more than that, too, if you're still feeling the same way, Harry."
Harry's eyes widened. "Why, are you…?"
"I told you, I didn't mean a word Malfoy made me say," said Ginny with a beautifully mischievous grin. "I didn't mean what I said about not waiting for you. I've loved you for almost four years, Harry. I'm not about to stop now!"
Harry's jaw dropped. "you mean you still do?"
"More than ever."
"Wow," was all Harry could say. "You really mean that?"
"I'll prove it to you, if you don't believe me," she smiled.
She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips and it was a few moments before Harry could quite grasp what was happening. When he did, He placed one hand on the back of her head and pulled her in deeper as he began twitching his own lips into life. It was the most wonderful thing he'd ever experienced, he was surely in a dream, this was far too good to be real, he was bound to wake up any moment…but Snape's angry voice, taking more points off Gryffindor never came and Harry could hardly believe it. When their kiss drew to a close, Ginny smiled magnificently at him and her eyes glowed warmly.
"I love you, Harry Potter," she said quietly.

A/N. More to come. You haven't heard the last from me yet! Oh, and thanks ssoooooooooooo so very very very much to everyone who reviewed this story! I really really appreciate it and it means a lot to me, so thanks!