FINALS ARE OVER!!! I'm so excited! ;)  Sorry this chapter took so long. I'm suffering from writer's block like JK Rowling.

Title: It's Never Too Late

Key Characters: Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermione

A/N: Song Fic to a wonderful Faith Hill song.

Chapter Four: Cry

            Harry was numb. His green eyes had lost their shine and his face looked pale and yellow. He was a nightmare at Quidditch practice, running into his housemates while searching for the snitch on his new racing broom, The Vortech. He avoided Ginny like the plague, and generally avoided conversations that required him to say more than yes or no. Once again, he was miserable, but even more so than before.

            "Ron, I don't know what to do… it's dreadful! Maybe we could get her to talk to him or something," Hermione whispered one night, a week and two days after Harry and Ginny's encounter in the tower. "I still can't believe she told him no…" Ron said, his voice trailing off. "In a strange way," Hermione sighed, "I admire her." Ron looked over at his girlfriend with a look that said "Have you gone mad?" Hermione smiled, snuggling closer to Ron on the couch in the common room. "I only say that because she has been after him for so many years, and he was always finding excuses to get away. And then, after he and Cho broke up when she graduated, he lied to her and told her that he couldn't go to the Yule Ball with her because Cho would get mad! I mean, honestly! That wasn't very nice. She deserves to make him feel like-"  Hermione said, speaking a word that Ron never thought he would hear come out of her mouth. "Well, I guess you're right in a way," Ron said, glancing over at Harry, who was sitting at a table in the common room trying to do his homework.

            Rain was beating against the windows as Harry tried to finish an essay for Professor Binns' class, History of Magic. He was practically heartbroken, but he was trying not to show it. Over the past week, he had tried to remain silent about his discussion with Ginny, telling only Hermione when she prodded him. He showed no outward signs of being upset, but Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid could tell that something was obviously bothering him. Harry avoided Ginny, but only to avoid making a scene; he knew that the next time he was alone with her, he was going to explode.

            Rubbing his eyes in exhaustion, Harry looked up and happened to see Ginny climb in through the portrait hole. He quickly looked back down, trying to avoid her eyes. However, to his horror, she made her way over to the table where he was sitting, and sat her books on the table. "Is this seat taken?" she asked, her voice tight. Not looking up, Harry shook his head and she sat down. They were silent for a few minutes as both Harry and Ginny pretended to be working on their homework. Harry was lost in his thoughts until Ginny cleared her throat, startling him back to reality. "Uh, Harry?" Ginny said, her face going bright red. "Hmm?" Harry replied, not trusting himself to open his mouth. "I… I'm really sorry about last week. I didn't mean to make you upset," she said softly. Continuing to stare at his books, Harry said, "It's fine. It's not a big deal. It was nothing, really."

            Time seemed to stand still for a second, and then Ginny jumped up and bolted out of the common room. "Ginny!" Harry yelled, jumping up to follow her. Ginny had always been a fast runner, so by the time Harry was out of the common room, Ginny was out of sight. "Ginny, please! Come back here! You shouldn't be wondering around at night!" Harry pleaded. He waited a few seconds for a response, and then climbed back inside the common room to fetch the Marauder's Map.

            Curious eyes met his as he walked to the seventh year boys' room. "Harry, what's up, mate?" Ron said, dragging Hermione up the stairs in pursuit of Harry. Harry looked up, catching Ron's eye. Seeing the expression on Harry's face, Ron took a step back, giving his friend some space. Harry quickly pulled the aged piece of parchment out of his trunk and muttered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Glancing over the map, Harry whispered, "The pond…" and ran out of the room. "Harry! It's freezing outside! Besides, you shouldn't go out after dark!" Hermione yelled after him. "Then take five points from Gryffindor!" Harry yelled, climbing out of the portrait hole and sprinting to the main entrance. "I should, just for his tone!" Hermione said huffily. "Hermione!" Ron scolded.

            Ginny was soaked, but it didn't really bother her much. Harry said "it was nothing." The whole situation wasn't "a big deal" to him, and she was pissed about it. She was sure that if she saw him, she would slap him. "Ginny?" she heard someone call, just as she pondered the thought of slapping Harry Potter. As soon as she saw him, her insides started to boil. As he opened his mouth to say something, she drew her arm back and punched him right in the face. "I hate you, Harry Potter!" she screamed, pushing him as he held his eye with one hand and his broken glasses in the other. "Why are you so upset?!" Harry said almost harshly, raising his voice. Bursting into tears, Ginny sank down onto a nearby rock.

A/N:  If you're doing a sing-along, start the song now! J

If I had just one tear running down your cheek,
Maybe I could cope, maybe I'd get some sleep.
If I had just one moment at your expense,
Maybe all my misery would be well spent.

            Ginny hid her face in her hands, trying to shelter herself from Harry Potter. "I hate you," she said again, this time sadly. He kneeled down, his eye swelling. "Ginny," he whispered, "tell me what's wrong, please. I'm begging you."

Yeah... Could you cry a little?
Lie just a little.
Pretend that you're feeling a little more pain.
I gave, now I'm wanting
Something in return.
So cry just a little for me.

            Breathing erratically, she looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, "After all of the pain I went through, chasing after you, being there for you when people let you down… so then, you decide that you finally share my feelings."  "I do Ginny, I care about you-" Harry began, but stopped when Ginny held up her hand.


If your love could be caged, honey, I would hold the key,
And conceal it underneath the pile of lies you handed me.
And you'd hunt those lies;
They'd be all you'd ever find.
And that'd be all you'd have to know,
For me to be fine.

            "But Harry, am I supposed to forgive you? For all of the pain? For all of those lies that you told me while you were with Cho?" Ginny said, spitting the words from her mouth. Harry's eye was almost completely swollen shut now, but he was oblivious to the pain; he was staring intently at Ginny, memorizing her every word.


Yeah... And you'd cry a little,
Die just a little.
And baby I would feel just a little less pain.
I gave, now I'm wanting
Something in return.
So cry just a little for me.

            "I want you to feel what I felt! I want you to hurt! I want you to know how it feels!" Ginny said, screaming at the top of her lungs. Harry's eyes were filling with tears as she yelled at him. "I want you to know what it feels like to be lonely… to be at the bottom of someone's list. And I want to see it! I want to see that it bothers you," Ginny said, her face falling back into her hands.

Give it up baby.
I hear your goodbye.
Nothing's gonna save me,

I can see it in your eyes.
Some kind of heartache,
Darlin', give it a try.
I don't want pity;
I just want what is mine.

            "You're right. You're so right, Ginny," Harry said, his face growing hot from the tears and emotions threatening to spill over, "I'm so sorry." Ginny's eyes met his and she calmly said, "Don't feel sorry for me. Just make it up to me. Prove to me that you really care about me, and that you're serious about me. And then, I will know that you know how I felt."


Yeah... Could you cry a little?
Lie just a little.
Pretend that you're feeling a little more pain.
I gave, now I'm wanting
Something in return.
So cry just a little for me.

            "I'm going back inside, Harry. You should have your eye looked at by Madame Pomfrey," Ginny said, standing up to walk to the castle. Her hair was plastered to her head and her clothing was soaked. "I'm so sorry Ginny!" Harry called as she walked away.


Yeah... Cry just a little for me…

Whoa Whoa… Could you cry a little for me

            "Then prove it." Ginny said, turning to look at him one last time before walking away.

            Sitting on the bed in the hospital wing, Harry's heart pounded. "What am I going to do? She hates me!" he thought to himself, wringing his hands as he waited on Madame Pomfrey to return. "Potter, I don't know how this happened, and I'm not even going to ask, because I'm sure I don't want to know, but you're fine. You're just going to have a black eye, but I can fix it," she said, walking back over to him. "No… leave it. I deserved it," he said, hoping down from the bed. "Alright Potter. Come back if you change your mind," Madame Pomfrey said, shooing him out off to Gryffindor Tower.

To be continued…