Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: I worked really hard on the big finale of the story, so here it is! Enjoy!

Chapter Ten Forgotten Carvings and Making Up

August 1st dawned a stormy, unpleasant day. Harry awoke around nine o'clock and looked out the window, groaning. At first he was disappointed about the weather (no Quidditch today!) but then he remembered the events of the previous night's party. It had started out wonderfully, but just like the weather, it had turned for the worse.

After his kiss with Ginny, he had gone up to his bed in Ron's room to think. Why did he have to kiss her? Or, more importantly, why did he have to kiss her? Ron's little sister! No, he had to get those thoughts out of his head. He had kissed her because he wanted to. For a while, she wasn't just his best friend's sister, she was Ginny. A girl that Harry really liked and wanted to be with. But the truth was that she was Ron's sister, and she and Harry could never go out.

He sat on the bed thinking like this for quite some time. When he finally went back down to his party, a good portion of the guests had left, and Ginny was nowhere to be seen. Hagrid was sitting at one of the tables, obviously very drunk by the way he was pounding his fists on the table. The Weird Sisters were droning on, half-asleep, while only Hermione and Ron remained on the dance floor. Harry watched them slow dance for awhile, but he found that it depressed him, so he decided to spend the rest of the evening sulking at the kitchen table, waiting to see Ginny come down the stairs.

When he went down to breakfast the following morning, only Ron and Hermione (who were sitting very closely together at the table) and Mrs. Weasley (who was making breakfast) were there. Harry sighed, and sat next to Ron, who wasn't concentrating on his food (for once), but his girlfriend. Mrs. Weasley saw them and tut-tutted, and then placed a huge plate of bacon and eggs in front of Harry.

"Good morning dear," she said cheerfully. Then she saw his expression and said, "Why the sad face?"

"It's nothing," Harry said quickly, casting a glance at Ron.

"All right, well eat up!" Then she walked briskly to the foot of the stairs. "Ginny! Come down for breakfast!" Harry's heart skipped a beat and his breath caught in his throat when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Then Ginny appeared, and he couldn't help but grin ear to ear when he saw her. She looked just as beautiful as always, and surprisingly cheerful. That is, she was cheerful until she saw Harry at the table.

"Good morning Mum, Ron, Hermione," she said, purposely skipping Harry's name. "I think I'll take my breakfast upstairs to eat," she added, and filled her plate with food to eat in her room.

Harry sighed, and put his head in his hands. Hermione and Ron, however, had not noticed the tension between Ginny and Harry, nor Harry's sigh when she left the room. "Too bad it's raining today," Hermione said, looking deeply into Ron's eyes. "We could have gone for a walk." He understood what she was implying and silently cursed the weather.

Harry's ears perked up. A walk! That was it! He could ask Ginny to go on a walk (once it stopped raining, of course) so they could talk everything out. He wasn't all that good with talking about relationships with girls, or his feelings (he's a guy, after all), but it was worth a shot.

So he waited downstairs for almost an hour, waiting for Ginny to come back downstairs. She won't be allowed to keep dirty dishes in her room, he thought. Her mum would never allow it. And sure enough, several chess games later, she crept quietly down the stairs, her dirty dishes in hand.

"Ginny!" Harry said her name so suddenly, she nearly dropped the tableware in her hands.

"Harry!" She placed a hand to her fast-beating heart. "You gave me a fright!"

"I'm sorry. Look, we have to go somewhere to talk." He wasted no time for chitchat. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

Ginny had gotten over being surprised, and looked at Harry warily. "It's raining outside."

He glanced out the window. "No, it stopped raining. It's just wet."

She sighed. She wanted to make up with Harry, but how could she after what had happened? She sighed again, and said, "All right. But make it quick." He led her to the same bench in the garden where they had kissed the night before. She cringed. "Why don't we go somewhere else? The bench is all wet." Harry nodded, and looked around the backyard for another place for them to be alone.

"Where could we go?"

"I know a place. Here, follow me." Ginny grabbed his hand and led him toward the woods. His heart sped up when she touched him, and he willingly followed her into the trees.

As they went deeper into the forest, Harry started to recognize some of the trees around them. This was where they had found Ron and Hermione those days ago! Then they stepped into a clearing which Harry had only seen from afar. But before he could get a good look around, Ginny spoke.

"You wanted to talk. We're alone. So talk."

Harry immediately stopped wondering where he was and began to talk on command. "Look, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I did last night. It was wrong and stupid, and I wasn't thinking. Or at least I wasn't thinking the right thing." He shoved his chanting thoughts out of his mind. "I really, really, like you," he said. "And I hope you'll forgive me."

Ginny folded her arms and looked at the mossy ground. When she finally looked into his eyes, she was drawn to him, and before she knew it, she had flung her arms around his neck. Harry was taken aback for a moment, but then wrapped his arms around her waist into an intimate hug. "Oh Harry, of course I forgive you!" She buried her face in his neck. The sweet scent of her hair filled his nose, and her breath tickled his back. Then she slowly lifted her head off of his shoulder to look into his eyes. Harry was pleased to see that she was not crying. With a grin, he leaned in and kissed her full on the lips.

Ginny melted into his arms as joy bubbled up inside of her. She was kissing Harry! And this time it was even more wonderful than the last!

The newly formed couple was reluctant to cease in their snogging, but Harry had started to wonder once again where they were. When he asked, she answered, "Oh, just some silly place where my brothers go to be 'alone' with their girlfriends."

"Girlfriends…." Harry said mock-thoughtfully. He caught Ginny's eye.

"Yes, their girlfriends." Ginny looked at him skeptically. When he didn't say anything else, she added, "What're you getting at?"

"Well," Harry said, looking playfully into her eyes, "I was wondering…."

"Yes!" Before he could finish the question, she had answered it, and once again flung her arms around his neck to kiss him passionately.

After several moments, they came up for air. Straightening his glasses, Harry said, "We've only been going out for thirty seconds and already we're finishing each other's sentences. I'd say that's a good sign, wouldn't you?" Ginny grinned, and pulled his head down to meet hers.

Another few moments later, they came to their senses and took some time to observe their surroundings a little better. "What're all these carvings on the tree?" Harry asked.

"When couples come here, they carve their names into the tree," Ginny explained.

He looked at her playfully. "I've got a penknife," he said, drawing his present from Sirius out of his pocket. "It's very handy for opening locks, or… carving things?"

Ginny squealed and planted another kiss on Harry's cheek. He took this to be her consent at making their relationship official, and started to look for a place on the tree to carve their names. "Wow," Harry said, looking at all of the carvings on the tree. "All sorts of people have been here." He read the names 'ArthurMolly', 'Hagrid&Maxime', and 'Sirius & Barbie' (he chuckled sadly). Then he went around to the back of the tree, where the carvings were weathered and moss-covered. But there was still one that was legible, although the bark was starting to rot.

"Oh my God," Harry breathed.

"What is it?" Ginny wanted to know.

"It's—it's my parents." And sure enough, right where he was staring, the words 'James and Lily Forever' were embedded in the bark. She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder as he reached over to touch the word 'Forever'. Harry stood looking at it for several moments before he came to his senses and started to carve his and Ginny's names next to his parents.

"Harry? Are you all right?" Ginny looked at her boyfriend worriedly as he carved vigorously into the tree bark.

He didn't answer, he just continued to carve. Once he was done, he blew off the sawdust that had accumulated, and sat back to admire his work.

"There," he said finally, taking Ginny's hand in his. "We've left our mark." She smiled and kissed him, and the pair walked back to the house.

They were almost to the backyard garden when Ginny asked, "Are you okay with us going out?"

"Me?" Harry said. "Of course I'm okay with it! Why?"

"I don't know, it just seemed like you needed Ron's approval to date me. You were kind of freaked out about it before."

He looked thoughtful. "You know what? I really don't care. I mean, it would be nice if Ron was supportive of us, but it wouldn't matter to me. I want to be with you, and no one could stop me. Not even Ron." Ginny smiled, and squeezed his hand as they walked in the garden gate.

Ron looked over at Hermione where she sat reading at the kitchen table. She's so beautiful, he thought. I can't believe she's my girlfriend! He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"So, it's pretty great that Harry's okay with us going out, isn't it," Ron said, wanting to steer the conversation toward the two of them.

Hermione looked up from her book and smiled. "Yes, it is." She looked back down, but then added, "I know he would be all along, of course."

Ron stared at her. "You did not!"

"Yes, I did."

"No, you did not! You were nervous about what Harry'd say!"

"I was not!" Hermione said hotly.

"Oh, yes you were! Believe it or not, Hermione, but you don't know everything!"

They were getting into another of their rows, and they both knew it.

"I know a lot more than some people! And I know a hell of a lot more about you than you know about me!"

Ron didn't even stop to think that Hermione had sworn, and quickly retorted. "Oh yeah? Well I know you're a stuck up know-it-all!"

"Yeah? Well I know you're a Quidditch-obsessed jerk!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah? Well -- I love you!"

"I love you too!"

Ron and Hermione stopped to catch their breath, and to realize what they had said. He took a step toward her and repeated, "I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Ron."

And so, Ron and Hermione were finally in love (at least, other people knew they were), Ginny and Harry were a couple, and all was right in the world at last.

THE END

A/N: Yay! I'm finally done! I'm also really sad to be finishing this story though. I love all you guys out there who read my story, or reviewed it! I wish I could thank you all individually! I love ya! Hugs to all!

Kelly

aka Lovely Lilacs