Lying in bed early one morning, 15-year-old Ginny Weasley reflected on the last seven weeks.  It had been strange how one minute she had been in Australia in hiding with her boyfriend and a strict but kind-hearted old Auror, attending a school for people with exception magical gifts with no contact from her family and now there she was lying in bed at home but wishing that when she got up she would see Harry and Ara instead of her family.  Laughing softly to herself she realised quite how strange that was when for months all she had wanted to was her mum and to be far, far away from Arabella Figg their temporary guardian and Harry's Godmother, but now she didn't want her mum, she wanted dear Ara who knew all about the events of the past year. 

Whilst she loved her mother dearly she did still expect her to be the little girl who had left, who wanted her mother to kiss it better and make all the pain go away.  Arabella would never treat her like a child, realising that while in terms of age alone she was halfway between childhood and adulthood the horrors she had endured over the last 11 months meant that childhood was but a mere memory for both Ginny and Harry – something they had left far, far behind.

Snuggling closer to her duvet, the young healer pushed the thoughts of the tough times away and tried to concentrate on one of the happiest days of her life, not just of the last year – the day she became the Girlfriend of Harry Potter.

*****

They had been sent out by Arabella for some fun, she had scolded them that their friends and family left behind in the UK wouldn't want them to be miserable and that just because they were hiding under the Fidelius charm it didn't mean that they had to stay inside, under her feet the entire time.

They had been on their way to meet two of their new friends who they were training with, Leah DeWitt and Matt Hughes.  After walking slowly along for a while taking in their new surroundings and trying to find there way to the park where they were supposed to meet their friends, Ginny suddenly spoke up mentioning a subject that neither of them had discussed before although they had both wanted to.

"I never did say thank you, did I?"  Ginny said softly as they walked along by the water in Darling Harbour, a part of Sydney more magical then muggle although you wouldn't know it if you looked.

"Thank you?  What for?" Harry questioned unsure as to what she meant

"M-My first year.  S-Saving my l-l-life" she struggled slightly over the words that held so much emotion as she remembered a time she would much rather forget.  "Not many people would risk themselves and face someone who had killed their parents and made two attempts at killing them, just to save the baby sister of their best friend, would they?"

She walked on fast needing space after saying those words that she had spent three years needing to say, but unable to say them.  She walked so fast and was so lost in thought that when Harry stopped dead and grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a stop next to him she nearly fell over from the shock of the sudden movement, and it was only Harry's arms going around her that kept her standing.

The world stopped for Ginny as she felt his arms around her.  She shook herself slightly and forced herself to pay attention to what he was saying,

"Ginny."  His voice was firm.  "Look at me."

Slowly, somewhat unwillingly she turned to face him, not quite meeting his eyes.  His hand was on her chin all of a sudden forcing her head up and making her look into his eyes.  She could see the sincerity; see the emotion behind whatever it was he was about to say but the only thing was she thought it was pity.

"It was nothing." He said, brushing off something that most definitely was not nothing and that had to have hurt him more then it had hurt her.

"Yes it was," she argued.  "Thank You." She said again.

"and anyway, Ron had nothing to do with it.  I did it because you're Ginny, because you're you not because he's your brother."

Unable to believe what she was hearing she slowly pulled herself away from him and started walking again.  Catching up with her, Harry took her hand and they walked along in a companionable silence, both reflecting on the recent turn of events, or their new found friendship and getting used to the strange sensations that holding hands was producing in both of them…

Finally they reached the park where they were to meet their friends and had a very enjoyable evening, both trying to hide quite how badly affected they had been by their earlier close contact and to mask the feelings each had for the other.

They almost managed it too had their friends not noticed that as soon as the young Brits thought they were alone to walk home to their hall of residence they started holding hands to.

They had walked on for quite some time as they headed home, occasionally pointing out a new landmark to the other, but mostly in silence.

As they came up on the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge and so were near to the hidden A.A.G., he reached out and snagged her waist with his free hand, forcing her once again to come to a stop.

Moving his arms so they were around her and she was facing him, he pulled her closer to him and Ginny could feel the sexual chemistry in the air.

"I did it because you're you and I love you," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her.

*****

Distantly, Ginny heard her mother calling her and pulling herself out of bed she was determined to put the thoughts of her boyfriend out of her head and get on with another normal day at the Burrow, and forget about the two plus weeks before she could see her lover again. 

Problem was, that day was destined to be anything but normal.  Although she was to get her wish of seeing Harry, the price she would pay would be so high that she would end the day wishing she had not.  She had felt his arms around her, heard his voice and seen the terror in his eyes as he leant in to kiss her, thinking it might be the last time he did that, and that would haunt her for the rest of her life….