AN: Here, as promised, is the companion piece with Harry and Ginny! Thanks for the feedback and I would really appreciate some comments on how you think I did with the H/G relationship. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 3: The Road Less Traveled
Harry pulled on his socks, getting ready to go down to breakfast, when Ron finally woke up. He had a far away expression in his eyes, not seeming to realize that anyone else was in the room. His face spread into a wide grin, and Harry thought he might be sick, because he knew exactly what he was thinking about. Hermione. Or more precisely, kissing Hermione. Harry gave an involuntary shudder. Never think about that again, he warned himself. "Are you coming to breakfast?" He asked Ron, jolting him from his dreamland.
Realization seemed to dawn on Ron's face as his eyebrows arched. "Not yet." He said and went back to staring into space. Harry now had no idea what Ron was thinking about and he was quite positive that he didn't want to know.
Harry trudged down the steps leading to the Common Room, resigned to going to breakfast by himself, as Hermione was not anywhere in sight either. He was walking towards the Great Hall when someone ran right into him. He fell backwards onto the ground. He looked in front of him. Ginny Weasley was sitting in the exact same position he was. "Harry I'm so sorry! I was just hurrying to get these books back to the library." She said quickly pointing to four books that were scattered around. "I want to get to breakfast quick. I'm starving."
Harry nodded and helped her pick up the books. "It's alright. How about I go to the library with you and then we can go to breakfast together?" Harry asked her suddenly, feeling that breakfast with Ginny would be a lot more exciting than breakfast by himself.
"Alright," She muttered. "What are you doing down here by yourself anyways?"
"Ron and Hermione aren't awake yet, or at least they didn't want to come down to breakfast yet." He said, wishing he could tell her the story, but the promise he made to Ron rang through his ears.
"Oh, right. Hermione told me what happened yesterday. I can't believe you walked in on them!" She shouted through her laughter.
Harry smiled. "I didn't know she told you. She made me promise not to tell. It was rather funny, but I hope I never have to see it again. It scarred me for life."
They stopped laughing at exactly the same time, realizing the meaning of the comment. Ginny's eyes looked towards his forehead, but Harry saw something in her eyes that he didn't normally see. It wasn't reverence or awe as most felt when they looked at his scar. It was sadness. Her eyes shone with tears, but they did not fall.
"What's wrong, Ginny?" He asked her as they reached the door to the library. He was curious to know exactly what she was thinking at that moment.
"Nothing," She said. "I just-" She stopped talking once again. "Nothing."
Harry stared at her, hoping she would continue. He found her somewhat irresistible at that moment and he wasn't sure why. Her bright brown eyes had a somewhat faded appearance, and her vivid red Weasley hair was swept up in a messy ponytail. Harry blushed at having these thoughts about Ron's little sister, but he couldn't help it. She was different than everyone else, somehow. Different than the people who just saw a scar and not the person it belonged to. "Please?" He prodded.
She sighed. "I was just thinking that you shouldn't have had to grow up so soon with all the weight on your shoulders. The pressure and everything; it must be so hard sometimes." She dropped her books in the book drop and a whoosh was heard as they were magically placed back on the shelves. Harry suddenly felt more connected to her than any other person. She knew what it was like; how, Harry did not know. It was odd how he had always seen her as 'Ron's little sister.' Sure he had had conversations with her and eaten a meal or two with her, but they had never interacted in a way that suggested they knew each other so well.
"Do you want to get something to eat and walk around the lake?" Harry asked her. It's practically lunchtime. We can get a few sandwiches and just walk." He blushed again, though he wasn't sure why. It was just a walk, no harm in that.
"Sure," Ginny said. She smiled. "I would love too." Harry didn't know why, but the way he had asked her…it was almost like they were going on a date. Harry's mind almost didn't really care that it would be called that.
They walked towards the Great Hall in silence. Harry burned to ask her how she knew him so well, but he wasn't sure if he should. Was that too weird of a question?
When they reached the Great Hall, Harry saw neither Ron nor Hermione in sight. Had they not came down yet? Ginny seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Where are Ron and Hermione?" She asked. "Or do I not want to know?"
Harry snickered. "I'm going with the latter." Ginny laughed. They each made a sandwich and walked onto the grounds and began a circle outside of the lake.
Harry burned to ask the question he had thought of before, but he feared sounding like a prat. After a few minutes of contemplating this inside his head, he knew he had to ask her…or his insides would burst. "How do you know me so well?" He inquired quietly.
They stopped walking. "What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"It's just…what you said before. About the pressure and everything that just came with that thing when I was a baby. Well…you were right…I mean I still feel like everyone depends on me and sometimes…I know you're going to think this is horrible…but sometimes I just wish it would end. That everyone would stop counting on me and I could be a normal kid." He sighed. "I know it sounds callous, but I can't help it."
Ginny stared at him for a long moment before speaking. When she did it was in a soft soothing tone. "That's not horrible at all Harry. Everyone, at one time or another, wishes they were someone else. Do you think a day goes by where I wish I had never written in that diary? That I was someone else who still possessed the innocence of a child? I wish it could be like that too Harry. I guess I understand you so well because I can relate to how you feel."
Harry nodded and smiled. It was odd, opening up to someone. He had never traveled that road before, but with Ginny it seemed only natural. "I guess we both grew up a little too soon," he said. They smiled at each other and began walking again. Harry found himself telling her things he had never told anyone before. He told her how everyone he met assumed that he was some great hero when he really hadn't done anything to earn the title. He told her of people gaping at his scar and not seeing the person he really was. He talked about Malfoy and how hard it was to have people dislike him just because of his fame.
Ginny shared things with him too. She told him how the diary incident still made her feel weak and insignificant. How Tom Riddle haunted her dreams to this day and how people still treated her as if she were going to break at any moment.
Harry knew Ginny understood him at a level that Ron and Hermione couldn't comprehend. She had survived Voldemort too, and she related to his feelings so much that Harry could hardly believe he had never had a real conversation with her before. With Ginny, it wasn't so much of a struggle to reveal his feelings, it wasn't a pain when she asked him how he felt, and there was no annoyance at the thought that she expected him to talk to her about those sorts of things. It was all rather nice, really.
By the time they reached the end of the lake, Harry was wondering where the time had gone. He was already planning to ask Dumbledore if he could tell Ginny about Sirius. If they were to become good friends, he decided, he did not want to have such a large secret being kept from her. A part of him was unhappy at the thought of just being friends with Ginny Weasley, but he shook his head to clear those thoughts from his brain. He must have had too much sun today; to be thinking like that.
When they reached the Gryffindor common room, he walked over to Ron and Hermione who were talking at a table in the corner. He sat down with his friends and she with hers, but in the middle of their separate conversations, they looked at each other at the same time. Their eyes locked and an understanding passed between them. Harry knew he would be spending a lot more time with Ginny Weasley for now on.
AN: Well do you like H/G-ness or dislike it? Should I go back and forth between H/G and R/H or put more R/H with a little H/G on the side? Again, I would love to here your opinion on how (good or bad) you think I did the H/G relationship. Thanks!