Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any characters contained within
this story, J. K. Rowling does, and she kicks ass, so I wouldn't steal her
stuff from her.
Chapter 2: How Deep Is Your Love
"Don't play with me!" Ginny yelped. A hand reached out and touched her stomach lightly.
His face smiled lightly at her. "I love to play with you. It keeps me, happy," he said. He curled Ginny into his arms and kissed her lightly.
A smile spread across her face and she brushed back her hair. "You? Happy?" she mocked. "My goodness, what would everyone think?" She giggled lightly.
They had met out in the gardens on the Hogwarts grounds during an hour or so that they both had free before dinner and after classes. It was a common time for them to see each other in the spring, but that afternoon had been warm and sunny, despite the December month.
They heard a rustle in the bushes and froze. "Ginny, did you hear that?" he whispered and ducked behind a bush.
Ginny began to panic, turning around, looking for the source of the noise. She silently cursed the magical grounds that meant anything could have produced the sound. Looking over a few hedges she saw nothing and knelt down next to him behind the bush. "I didn't see anything," she said. She kissed him and brushed her hair out of her face again.
She stood up again; he noticed she had the height of her brothers and the full figure of her mother. The perfect combination in his mind. "You are gorgeous," he said looking up at her. Her lightly freckled Weasley face blushed, he remembered the deep blush she used to display when she first arrived at the school, but now the slight rouge it added to her cheeks made her all the more irresistible.
He stood up and took her in her arms. "I love you," he said to her.
"I love you too," she said. "But I think it's time for you to go up to dinner, I'll be there in about fifteen minutes." He kissed her and began walking up to the castle.
Watching him walk away made her smile to herself. No one would ever understand what she saw in him, not in a million years and she knew it. But she didn't care; she was ready to do something for herself.
She turned around to begin taking a walk by herself, making an alibi as she went along. She had almost reached the castle when she saw Harry walking towards her from that direction. "Harry!" she squeaked as she saw him. She grabbed her heart and gasped. "What on Earth are you doing out here so close to dinner?"
"Sorry," he said. "I was just walking around, doing some thinking." He shoved his hands in his pockets; his robe blew lightly around him in the breeze. His scar was still as visible as ever as his hair whipped around his forehead. She remembered why she used to have such a crush on him.
She smiled at him. "Would you like to walk back up to the Great Hall with me?" she asked. "We could do some thinking together."
"That might be nice," he said, looking at her. She looked so different somehow; the breeze threw her bright red hair across her face and her hips swayed when she walked. She really wasn't the little girl he still thought of her as. "Ginny," he said to her, stopping. "You've changed so much over the past six years, Gin. For some reason I feel like it's taken me so long to realize it."
Ginny looked at him. "Thank you for finally noticing, Harry. I've been waiting for you to acknowledge that for years now." She reached out and took his hand. "You haven't changed a bit though, not since that first day you came to the Burrow. You've been the same Harry Potter I've known for seven years."
"Thanks," he smiled.
Ginny looked down at her feet. "That's not entirely a compliment." He looked at her like she had just petrified Hedwig. "I'm sorry, but this has been playing on my mind for quite some time now and this seems to be the only time we've had a real chance to talk." She looked back up and him and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face again. "Harry, you have to understand, things change. But you just never did. You never realized I grew up, or that Hermione did or Ron or anyone for that matter. Hermione does love you, Harry, but it's an innocent and very platonic love. If you really think about it, you probably don't even love her like you think you do. We've all changed so much, and you've tried to hold on so hard to the way things used to be. You've got to open your eyes Harry, to the way things are now." She looked at him happily. "I think you'd enjoy it."
"I don't really know what I should do with this information," he said, baffled entirely. He looked at her then at the ground and then to the castle. "I'm going in to the common room. I'll talk to you later. Maybe." He started to walk back across the grounds in a daze, his mind was reeling from the information that Ginny had just provided him with.
"Harry, come back!" she called after him. "Wait! I really didn't mean to say." But he ignored her. She could see him wiping his face fervently as he pushed back towards the castle into the wind.
Ginny hurried into the Great Hall, feeling extremely guilty for what she had said. Ron caught her just as she got to the doors. "Bloody hell! What happened to Harry?" he asked. "He looked like he was on one of Neville's potions gone very wrong and he walked right past me, stopped, turned around and said 'You could have told me earlier, you arse,' and then walked on."
"Harry's acting very odd," Hermione said as she walked up to Ginny and Ron. "What happened to him. He just gave me the look of death."
Ginny sighed. "I told him."
"About!" Hermione gasped.
Her eyes grew wide. "No!" Ron looked at the girls but quickly forgot the look they exchanged. He knew it was no concern of his and could only lead to women troubles. "I told him what we've all talked about time and again. About the fact that he hasn't changed in seven years, he's never moved on from where he was when he was twelve. He freaked just a little bit," Ginny said sheepishly.
"A little bit!" Ron yelled, coming back into the conversation. "I think you made him cry!"
Hermione sighed. "Stop exaggerating, Ron." She paused and thought for a moment. "You made him cry!" she yelled at Ginny, her eyes widening. She stopped again and pondered the best solution. "Maybe I should go talk to him."
"Nah, I'll go," Ron said. "He probably needs to talk to a guy about this sort of thing. You know how we men are." Ron puffed out his chest and the girls just rolled their eyes. "Don't worry, I promise I won't make it worse," he said dejectedly.
"Tell him I'm sorry," Ginny said as Ron trudged off up the stairs.
Ron tiptoed into the common room; Harry wasn't there. He went up to their room; he still wasn't up there. "Harry, where are you?" he called out. He heard a slight rustle on the bed. "Harry, are you under the invisibility cloak on the bed?" he asked, cocking his head at the bed.
Harry pulled off the cloak and looked at Ron. "Why didn't you guys tell me sooner that I was still treating everyone like we were twelve? I feel horrible," he said. "It feels like you betrayed me, not telling me sooner. I thought we were all closer than that."
"You can't force someone to realize something like that, Harry. And you didn't do it on purpose, and that's the most important part, it really is." Ron sat down on the bed with Harry. "You can't force Hermione to love you; she just might love someone else. You can't look at Ginny like my kid sister; as much as I hate to admit it, she's a woman now, and boy does everyone notice. And you can't treat me like second banana, I'm on the Quidditch team, just like you, and I was a prefect last year."
"That doesn't excuse the fact that you all lied to me! What were you trying to protect me from?" He glared menacingly at Ron. "It hurts more than this damn scar!"
Ron scoffed. "That bloody scar, always the bloody scar!" He pushed back Harry's hair and touched the scar. "Everyone always thought you would self-destruct at any moment because of that damn thing. That's why everyone put up with you treating us like you did, because you were special, you were Harry Potter. You'd dealt with more by the time you were a year old than we had all dealt with in our entire lives combined! Don't get me wrong, we're all very thankful, but you were cut some slack. It's just time to wake up and smell the pumpkin juice."
Harry looked at the bed. "Where have I been the past seven years? Everything really has changed. And I'm really sorry for treating you like 'second banana,' I never meant to treat you as anything but equal. And the scar isn't an excuse. It seems to be fine, has been for a while. Maybe I can even have that little bit of a normal life, huh?" Harry smiled weakly, offering up his apology to Ron.
Ron smiled. "We're square, Harry," he said. They shook hands and hugged quickly. "You might want to come down to dinner and talk to the girls. They look worried. And I know Ginny is sorry for the way she told you what she did. She never meant it to sound that way."
They got up and began to walk out of the room, Harry slapping Ron on the back. "That's Ginny for you, she never really did have that Weasley tact that the rest of you have," he said sarcastically.
"I resent that," Ron smiled as they made their way to the Great Hall. As they entered Ginny and Hermione immediately stood up and ran to Harry. "He's ok girls," Ron said. "You didn't kill him or anything."
Harry looked at Ginny. "Thank you for telling me, I had no idea that I had never grown up. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think you could have gotten through to me any other way than just telling me. I thank you very much," he said. Ginny's eyes welled up with tears and she hugged him. "And Hermione," Harry said turning to her. "I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry for everything."
"I am too, Harry," she said. "And I do love you." She threw herself into his arms and began to sob.
Harry laughed lightly. "You girls and your emotions." She let go of him and wiped her eyes. "You don't have to go to Yule Ball with me if you don't want to, if you want to go with someone else you really do love, just in case another man's won your heart or something like that." He winked at her.
"Nah," she said, lightly hitting his arm. "I think I'll stick with you."
As they all walked to the Gryffindor table, Ginny saw him and their eyes locked for a minute. "Potter," he inwardly scoffed. "It's always Potter." He stopped for a second and realized what he was saying. "I'm jealous of Harry Potter. What is this world coming to? I'm jealous of Potter because he can be with Ginny when I can't be."
His eyes spoke it all to hers and she looked sympathetically back at him. "One day," she thought. "One day soon we can finally be together always."
Chapter 2: How Deep Is Your Love
"Don't play with me!" Ginny yelped. A hand reached out and touched her stomach lightly.
His face smiled lightly at her. "I love to play with you. It keeps me, happy," he said. He curled Ginny into his arms and kissed her lightly.
A smile spread across her face and she brushed back her hair. "You? Happy?" she mocked. "My goodness, what would everyone think?" She giggled lightly.
They had met out in the gardens on the Hogwarts grounds during an hour or so that they both had free before dinner and after classes. It was a common time for them to see each other in the spring, but that afternoon had been warm and sunny, despite the December month.
They heard a rustle in the bushes and froze. "Ginny, did you hear that?" he whispered and ducked behind a bush.
Ginny began to panic, turning around, looking for the source of the noise. She silently cursed the magical grounds that meant anything could have produced the sound. Looking over a few hedges she saw nothing and knelt down next to him behind the bush. "I didn't see anything," she said. She kissed him and brushed her hair out of her face again.
She stood up again; he noticed she had the height of her brothers and the full figure of her mother. The perfect combination in his mind. "You are gorgeous," he said looking up at her. Her lightly freckled Weasley face blushed, he remembered the deep blush she used to display when she first arrived at the school, but now the slight rouge it added to her cheeks made her all the more irresistible.
He stood up and took her in her arms. "I love you," he said to her.
"I love you too," she said. "But I think it's time for you to go up to dinner, I'll be there in about fifteen minutes." He kissed her and began walking up to the castle.
Watching him walk away made her smile to herself. No one would ever understand what she saw in him, not in a million years and she knew it. But she didn't care; she was ready to do something for herself.
She turned around to begin taking a walk by herself, making an alibi as she went along. She had almost reached the castle when she saw Harry walking towards her from that direction. "Harry!" she squeaked as she saw him. She grabbed her heart and gasped. "What on Earth are you doing out here so close to dinner?"
"Sorry," he said. "I was just walking around, doing some thinking." He shoved his hands in his pockets; his robe blew lightly around him in the breeze. His scar was still as visible as ever as his hair whipped around his forehead. She remembered why she used to have such a crush on him.
She smiled at him. "Would you like to walk back up to the Great Hall with me?" she asked. "We could do some thinking together."
"That might be nice," he said, looking at her. She looked so different somehow; the breeze threw her bright red hair across her face and her hips swayed when she walked. She really wasn't the little girl he still thought of her as. "Ginny," he said to her, stopping. "You've changed so much over the past six years, Gin. For some reason I feel like it's taken me so long to realize it."
Ginny looked at him. "Thank you for finally noticing, Harry. I've been waiting for you to acknowledge that for years now." She reached out and took his hand. "You haven't changed a bit though, not since that first day you came to the Burrow. You've been the same Harry Potter I've known for seven years."
"Thanks," he smiled.
Ginny looked down at her feet. "That's not entirely a compliment." He looked at her like she had just petrified Hedwig. "I'm sorry, but this has been playing on my mind for quite some time now and this seems to be the only time we've had a real chance to talk." She looked back up and him and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face again. "Harry, you have to understand, things change. But you just never did. You never realized I grew up, or that Hermione did or Ron or anyone for that matter. Hermione does love you, Harry, but it's an innocent and very platonic love. If you really think about it, you probably don't even love her like you think you do. We've all changed so much, and you've tried to hold on so hard to the way things used to be. You've got to open your eyes Harry, to the way things are now." She looked at him happily. "I think you'd enjoy it."
"I don't really know what I should do with this information," he said, baffled entirely. He looked at her then at the ground and then to the castle. "I'm going in to the common room. I'll talk to you later. Maybe." He started to walk back across the grounds in a daze, his mind was reeling from the information that Ginny had just provided him with.
"Harry, come back!" she called after him. "Wait! I really didn't mean to say." But he ignored her. She could see him wiping his face fervently as he pushed back towards the castle into the wind.
Ginny hurried into the Great Hall, feeling extremely guilty for what she had said. Ron caught her just as she got to the doors. "Bloody hell! What happened to Harry?" he asked. "He looked like he was on one of Neville's potions gone very wrong and he walked right past me, stopped, turned around and said 'You could have told me earlier, you arse,' and then walked on."
"Harry's acting very odd," Hermione said as she walked up to Ginny and Ron. "What happened to him. He just gave me the look of death."
Ginny sighed. "I told him."
"About!" Hermione gasped.
Her eyes grew wide. "No!" Ron looked at the girls but quickly forgot the look they exchanged. He knew it was no concern of his and could only lead to women troubles. "I told him what we've all talked about time and again. About the fact that he hasn't changed in seven years, he's never moved on from where he was when he was twelve. He freaked just a little bit," Ginny said sheepishly.
"A little bit!" Ron yelled, coming back into the conversation. "I think you made him cry!"
Hermione sighed. "Stop exaggerating, Ron." She paused and thought for a moment. "You made him cry!" she yelled at Ginny, her eyes widening. She stopped again and pondered the best solution. "Maybe I should go talk to him."
"Nah, I'll go," Ron said. "He probably needs to talk to a guy about this sort of thing. You know how we men are." Ron puffed out his chest and the girls just rolled their eyes. "Don't worry, I promise I won't make it worse," he said dejectedly.
"Tell him I'm sorry," Ginny said as Ron trudged off up the stairs.
Ron tiptoed into the common room; Harry wasn't there. He went up to their room; he still wasn't up there. "Harry, where are you?" he called out. He heard a slight rustle on the bed. "Harry, are you under the invisibility cloak on the bed?" he asked, cocking his head at the bed.
Harry pulled off the cloak and looked at Ron. "Why didn't you guys tell me sooner that I was still treating everyone like we were twelve? I feel horrible," he said. "It feels like you betrayed me, not telling me sooner. I thought we were all closer than that."
"You can't force someone to realize something like that, Harry. And you didn't do it on purpose, and that's the most important part, it really is." Ron sat down on the bed with Harry. "You can't force Hermione to love you; she just might love someone else. You can't look at Ginny like my kid sister; as much as I hate to admit it, she's a woman now, and boy does everyone notice. And you can't treat me like second banana, I'm on the Quidditch team, just like you, and I was a prefect last year."
"That doesn't excuse the fact that you all lied to me! What were you trying to protect me from?" He glared menacingly at Ron. "It hurts more than this damn scar!"
Ron scoffed. "That bloody scar, always the bloody scar!" He pushed back Harry's hair and touched the scar. "Everyone always thought you would self-destruct at any moment because of that damn thing. That's why everyone put up with you treating us like you did, because you were special, you were Harry Potter. You'd dealt with more by the time you were a year old than we had all dealt with in our entire lives combined! Don't get me wrong, we're all very thankful, but you were cut some slack. It's just time to wake up and smell the pumpkin juice."
Harry looked at the bed. "Where have I been the past seven years? Everything really has changed. And I'm really sorry for treating you like 'second banana,' I never meant to treat you as anything but equal. And the scar isn't an excuse. It seems to be fine, has been for a while. Maybe I can even have that little bit of a normal life, huh?" Harry smiled weakly, offering up his apology to Ron.
Ron smiled. "We're square, Harry," he said. They shook hands and hugged quickly. "You might want to come down to dinner and talk to the girls. They look worried. And I know Ginny is sorry for the way she told you what she did. She never meant it to sound that way."
They got up and began to walk out of the room, Harry slapping Ron on the back. "That's Ginny for you, she never really did have that Weasley tact that the rest of you have," he said sarcastically.
"I resent that," Ron smiled as they made their way to the Great Hall. As they entered Ginny and Hermione immediately stood up and ran to Harry. "He's ok girls," Ron said. "You didn't kill him or anything."
Harry looked at Ginny. "Thank you for telling me, I had no idea that I had never grown up. And to be perfectly honest, I don't think you could have gotten through to me any other way than just telling me. I thank you very much," he said. Ginny's eyes welled up with tears and she hugged him. "And Hermione," Harry said turning to her. "I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry for everything."
"I am too, Harry," she said. "And I do love you." She threw herself into his arms and began to sob.
Harry laughed lightly. "You girls and your emotions." She let go of him and wiped her eyes. "You don't have to go to Yule Ball with me if you don't want to, if you want to go with someone else you really do love, just in case another man's won your heart or something like that." He winked at her.
"Nah," she said, lightly hitting his arm. "I think I'll stick with you."
As they all walked to the Gryffindor table, Ginny saw him and their eyes locked for a minute. "Potter," he inwardly scoffed. "It's always Potter." He stopped for a second and realized what he was saying. "I'm jealous of Harry Potter. What is this world coming to? I'm jealous of Potter because he can be with Ginny when I can't be."
His eyes spoke it all to hers and she looked sympathetically back at him. "One day," she thought. "One day soon we can finally be together always."