A/N: Lauren here! And I have chapter seven here for you! I hope y'all like it! Yep, I have a bit of a country twang today, don't know why. Anyway, I'm glad you guys liked the last one, and I'm glad you guys liked the alternate ending! Yeah, I admit, I was shocked when I actually read everything I had written. It was pretty dark, especially for me as a writer. And it was like, 10 pages long too, which was also a little out of the ordinary. But for some reason, I just couldn't stop writing, it was like this weird thing that kept pouring out onto the pages, and I just couldn't stop it, so…according to you guys, you want me to write some sort of epilogue for that thing, right? Well, I think I can do that for ya! One epilogue, coming right up! I always wanted to follow that up, but I wasn't sure if you guys would like it, which is why I didn't make it part of the actual story. But now I'll write you guys that epilogue. Yay! Alright, enough of my babbling, on to the chapter!

Lauren

Chapter seven

Sweet Settlement

Harry woke with a start. He felt something moving against him. Oddly enough, he had been dreaming of being in a snake pit, so feeling slithering against his skin really wasn't comforting at the moment. Not that it would ever be comforting, but…

He slid into an upright position and looked down. There, he saw the last thing he ever expected to be sleeping on his lap. Her head was snuggled in the space between his chest and his arm, and her lips were pressed against his chest. He heaved a very relieved sigh, and then realized exactly whom he was sleeping with. (haha, not that way, sillies!) He gave her a questioning glance, and then noticed that he was questioning a sleeping girl. Confused, but too tired to even bother, he slid back down, rested his head on the arm of the sofa, and went back to sleep.

A few hours later, Ginny was awoken by the bright sun peering through the windows. She rubbed her eyes, sat up, and yelped when she saw who was next to her. She clapped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Harry stretched out his arms, and it looked like he was about to go back to sleep, so she stuck her legs over the edge of the couch and went to stand up. It would probably be better if he didn't wake up with her there. Besides, how would she explain the current situation? She had sort of invited herself there…

As soon as she stood up, she felt herself fall back on the couch. Oh no! Is he waking up?!? Okay, okay, he's still asleep… Indeed, Harry hadn't moved. She waited a moment just to make sure, and stood up slowly. But as soon as she turned to leave—

"Oh, no you don't…"

Ginny spun around. Well, not voluntarily. Something grabbing her wrist had spun her around. And this something was looking at her with a smirk on his face. Don't panic, don't panic… she kept thinking.

"Where ya going?" he asked, almost laughing at the look of horror on Ginny's face.

"Um, I was uh, well…" Oh Merlin, I panicked! Stop! Stop!

"Well?"

"I was going back upstairs to bed, you see, because I came down here to check on you, that's all, and since you seem perfectly fine, I thought I'd just uh, go back upstairs! So uh, I guess I'll be going now…"

Okay, he's not that dense, Ginny…

No, he was not. He stood up, still holding her wrist, and looked into her eyes. She tried her best not to tremble under his stare, but those eyes, they just…

"Ginny, I-" suddenly, he wasn't really sure what to say. All this time, he had been hoping something like this would happen, but he had spent so long doubting it that he hadn't really expected it to happen. Do something, do something! he yelled inside his head.

He took her hands in his and smiled. Well, he tried to, anyway. For some reason he got really nervous. He felt his hands get a little clammy, and his knees went a bit weak, and-

Is he kissing me? Oh my gosh, he's kissing me…

A minute later, Harry pulled back, holding Ginny's chin in his hands. She looked up at him and felt her lips tremble. Neither of them knew what to say, or what to do, so they simply stood there, looking into each other's eyes, until…

Ginny and Harry both heard the footsteps coming down the stairs, but neither of them turned to see who it was. But after a second, the footsteps stopped. Now, if one of them had looked over, they would have seen Ron and Hermione, both looking very surprised. Pleased, of course, but surprised all the same. They were going to wake up Harry and take him down to breakfast with them, but…they decided it was best to simply make their way through the portrait hole without them.

Harry closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. She finally found the strength to move her hands, and placed them over behind his ears affectionately. He opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Ginny, I—I've just felt so…*sigh* I miss you. Terribly. I can't stand looking at you and knowing that I can't be with you, or talk to you, or hold you, because it drives me crazy. I- I just need you, that's all. Does that sound crazy?" he asked her in a whisper, relieved to have finally told her how he felt.

"Crazy?" she asked with a small chuckle. "Of course it sounds crazy…" She wrapped her arms around him tightly, not daring to let him go. It felt so wonderful to be back in his arms, something she had missed but had always underestimated the value of. He placed his hand behind her neck and pulled her head closer. He could hardly believe it, he was holding her again…

A couple hours later, Ron and Hermione returned from the library, figuring it was safe to return to the common room. Whatever had been said had probably taken all effect by now. They gave the fat lady the password, climbed through the portrait hole, and found Harry and Ginny talking on the sofa, and they were holding hands. When they heard the portrait hole open, Ginny turned around and smiled at the two enterers. Those two enterers figured it was best to let them catch up, so they headed up to the boys' dorms, hand in hand.

"I told you it was a good idea," Ron whispered in Hermione's ear. Hermione elbowed him, then leaned in and kissed him in the cheek.

"You sure did…"