Chapter 3
Disclaimer um, if I owned the stuff, do you really think I'd be posting it for free online?
A/N well, kids, this is the last chapter. I hope you like the ending…if you don't, review and tell me what I can improve on next time. I'm really sorry it took me like over a month to post this chapter. I went on a mission trip with my church at the end of June for a week and then I went to the Steubenville ATL retreat. I've been writing this chapter in between all that…plus our computer completely died for like 3 days. I almost cried cuz I thought it didn't save this chapter, but it did, so I was happy, and I hope you will be too! Thanks to those who reviewed:
- HGandRHrforever – You're so sweet…and I love your story too!! (The Beginning of the End)….keep writing!
- Katelet – Thanks for reviewing! You're so encouraging! I hope to see you soon…we have to watch the Pianist! (YAY FOR ADRIEN!)
- Bowserbabe – I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing!
- Alaskenchick – Thanks for your review. I'm not sure about a sequel, but maybe this last chapter gave more of a finishing touch than just leaving the story at chapter 2. We'll have to see…I'm glad you like it enough for a sequel!!!
- WickedTeaspoon27 – Thanks Kel! I liked those lines too. And I think I understood the part about the balance of fluff and nonfluff…in a psycho, just-gotta-accept-that-it's-Kel kinda way, but I love getting reviews and hopefully you'll be happy with chapter 3…if you're not, deal with it! Jk…well, not really…
- Heart of a Lion – Thanks for reviewing! I hope you like chapter 3 as much as the other 2. As soon as I post this chapter, I'm definitely gonna read yours and I'll definitely write you a review. I bet it's awesome! Thanks for your encouragement!
And now……drum roll………chapter 3…………
Everyone in the Great Hall sighed a mixture of relief and disappointment as the last song ended. Harry would have been disappointed had he not been trying to stay awake. It was only midnight, but he was exhausted. It didn't really help that Ginny was leaning on him to stand straight up either. Harry was sure that if they stopped moving, both he and Ginny would wind up falling asleep standing straight up and would wind up on the floor the next second.
To Harry's surprise, Ron and Hermione were laughing jovially and didn't appear tired at all. Harry wanted to kill both of them in the hopes that their energy could somehow be channeled to him, but then he thought, at least they're laughing and not arguing. So he let it go and he and Ginny tried to drag their feet up to Gryffindor tower.
Most of the way was spent in silence, with an occasional yawn thrown in. Harry wondered if it would be easier to just throw Ginny over his shoulder and carry her up to the common room. But that would require me using energy to get her there. So he decided against it.
About twenty yards and ten minutes later, Harry stopped in the middle of the corridor. Just as he'd suspected, Ginny fell flat asleep. He wrapped one arm around her waist, bent so his shoulder was against her stomach and stood up so she was hanging over his shoulder. He thought she woke up for a moment, but she was quickly drawn back into her deep sleep.
It was a much shorter journey than it had been with Ginny walking alongside him. Everyone was already in the common room when Harry walked in with Ginny. Climbing through the portrait hole with Ginny on his shoulder proved to be a somewhat difficult task. Fred and George were visiting Hogwarts for the holidays (they were "taking a break from the busy joke shop") and when they saw Harry and Ginny, they couldn't help themselves.
"Now Harry," began Fred.
"You know what the drinking age is…" George continued.
"…and you know that our dear sister…"
"…Ginny…"
"…is not quite of that age yet…"
"…so, as her older brothers, we feel that it is necessary…"
"…to take a picture of this. After all…"
"…she won't remember what's happened…"
"…and we wouldn't want that …"
"…now would we?" George finished.
Harry had gotten lost trying to keep track of which twin had been talking and he wasn't sure that he'd even caught what they'd said. Something about drinking ages and pictures. He probably would have tried to run away from them, knowing that they were up to no good, but he didn't have the energy. When the twins came back downstairs with cameras and started flashing them in Harry's eyes, he practically dropped Ginny and fell over himself.
When Fred and George finally went away satisfied, Harry turned to Ginny whose eyes were wide open before she turned on her side and went back to sleep on the floor. Harry couldn't help laughing out loud with everyone else at the sight. Ginny curled herself into the fetal position when she went to sleep. Harry stood up and felt some energy return to him.
"Need some help getting her upstairs?" Ron asked, seeming to be perfectly adjusted to Harry and Ginny as a couple.
"I don't think we can do anything about it, Ron," Harry said. "We're not allowed in the girl's dormitory. We're not even allowed up the stairs."
At the same time, Harry and Ron looked at Hermione.
"No, no, no," she said. "I can't carry her upstairs! I'm not strong enough. Besides, I can barely get my feet to move. Nothing's going to happen if she just sleeps down here. A lot of people are already asleep," she finished looking around at all the people who'd fallen asleep in their chairs.
Harry assumed that most of them had fallen asleep downstairs on purpose. It was something about walking up that extra flight of stairs to the dormitories that made his feet hurt even more. "Alright," said Harry.
He lifted Ginny up off the floor and set her down on the couch. He stood there looking at Ginny sleeping for what seemed like hours, then he turned his attention to the dormitory staircase. He walked up and barely made it into his pajamas before he crashed into bed and fell asleep. He didn't even hear Ron come upstairs.
Harry woke up from a nightmare at three in the morning. He couldn't remember what the nightmare was, but knew it had to have been a normal one because his scar wasn't burning. At this he smiled. He tried to go back to sleep, but after ten minutes, decided that he would go down to the common room and look through Quidditch Through the Ages until he felt tired again. Besides, Ginny was sleeping down there. It would be nice to be around her without feeling like Ron was watching his every move.
When he hit the bottom of the stairs, he saw that the fire was already lit and a red-head was sitting in front of the fireplace reading a book.
Harry walked over to the couch and sat down next to Ginny. She had apparently been very engrossed in her book because she looked up after about two minutes and practically fell out of her seat from shock saying, "Harry, you scared me! When did you get here?"
"A couple of minutes ago. Why're you up? You couldn't stay awake a few hours ago and here I find you wide awake at three in the morning," Harry teased.
"I had a really weird dream. I was hanging over someone's shoulder and then the next thing I knew, I was on the floor seeing flashes of light, and then I woke up on the couch. Strange, huh?"
"Not really. That must've been when you woke up while I was trying to get you back from the Yule Ball," Harry said, smiling at Ginny's expression, which was a mixture of amusement, amazement, and astonishment.
"You carried me all the way from the Great Hall?" she asked, choking down her laughter.
"What's so funny?" Harry asked, bewildered.
"Nothing, nothing. I just….well, I wouldn't think…not that you're not strong or anything, it's just…" Ginny tried to say.
Harry was caught between laughing and dropping his jaw in a "no you didn't" kind of way. Ginny started to laugh hysterically.
"That's a nice thing to say to your boyfriend," Harry snapped teasingly. He knew he was skinny for his age and didn't take it offensively, especially since he didn't think he would've been able to carry her either.
"Wait, I said that I didn't think you would be able to, but I was proved wrong, now wasn't I?" Ginny said.
"You know it," Harry answered. He liked being able to talk to Ginny without awkwardness. He was worried that they would have to be especially nice to each other now that they were a "couple," and he was sure it would make things awkward. He was, however, relieved that they were still friends…but now they were just friends with benefits.
"So how far did I actually make it?" Ginny asked.
"You made it up the first staircase on your own feet, but we weren't making much progress while you were awake, so I stopped, you fell asleep, and I put you over my shoulder," Harry answered. It was actually funny when he looked back on it. At the time it had seemed more like torture.
Ginny leaned closer to his face. "Well," she said, squeezing his biceps jokingly, "you're certainly stronger than I thought you were. Thanks for not leaving me for Filch to find in the hallway." With that, she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and leaned back on the couch again.
Harry knew that Sirius would be so disappointed in a kiss on the cheek. He had to respect his elders, right? "Ouch," Harry said, sarcastically.
Ginny looked over and knew immediately where he was going, but decided to play along. "What's wrong?" she asked in an overly exaggerated worrying tone.
"Oh, nothing…" Harry sighed, looking at the ceiling.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh Harry…you can tell me anything. I promise I'll be a good listener," she said, blinking really hard a few times to make it look like she was trying to bat her eyelashes.
"It's just…no, it's too embarrassing," Harry dragged on.
"I promise I won't tell anyone," Ginny urged sarcastically.
"Well, alright," Harry said, giving in. "My shoulder hurts from carrying you."
Ginny was taken aback for a moment. She looked into his emerald eyes and tried to read them. He didn't sound sarcastic, but she was sure that had not been what he was going to say.
Harry took this as his opportunity. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips, savoring the moment and letting Ginny be the first to pull away. When she finally did, she smiled widely.
"I knew your shoulder didn't hurt," she said teasingly.
"Oh yeah," Harry said, grabbing his shoulder dramatically. He looked at her for a minute and then finished, "ow."
She laughed and leaned on his shoulder and he put his arm around her. They opened Quidditch Through the Ages and looked at the pictures, ignoring the words around them. They stayed awake the rest of the night, flipping through picture books and pictures of their first few years at Hogwarts, recapping on all the funny stories and the "looking back on them, they're funny" stories. They didn't seem to notice the sun rise or the fire dim. They were too focused on the sound of the other's voice.
Hermione was the first to come down to the common room that morning. When she saw Harry and Ginny, she walked over and took a seat in one of the big chairs next to their couch in front of the fire.
"How long have you two been awake?" she inquired.
Harry and Ginny both looked up, apparently surprised to see Hermione right there. They hadn't heard her walk in.
"Not too long…Harry came down like an hour ago. The sun hasn't even…oh, wait," Ginny said, pointing to the window where the sun was shining brightly through it.
"Good observation Ginny," Hermione teased.
"Hush. We weren't doing anything. We were just looking at some pictures, that's all," Ginny defended.
"Wait a minute," Harry said. "It's not like the 'you like him' scandal or whatever it was anymore, Hermione. She is my girlfriend now, remember?"
"Er, oh yeah," Hermione said, suddenly remembering the Yule Ball and looking dazedly happy. "Where's Ron?" she asked, smiling.
"I think he's still asleep. I haven't seen him yet. You should go wake him up," Harry suggested. "Don't get mad if he tells you to go away either. He's one of those people you avoid in the mornings," Harry warned.
Hermione jumped up and ran up the girl's staircase.
"Other one," Ginny called.
Hermione came scurrying back down the staircase and ran up the other one without saying a word. Harry heard her open and close the door to their dormitory.
"How come girls can go up to our dormitories, but we can't go up to yours?" Harry wondered aloud.
"Because no girl in their right mind would want to see the boy's dormitory. It's probably infested with bacteria or something gross," Ginny replied honestly. When he didn't answer, she turned to see a half-smiling, half-offended facial expression staring back at her.
"Don't look at me like that," she said, smiling. "You and I both know that it's true."
He thought for a moment and then answered, "Yeah, you're right."
Ginny opened her mouth. She had to say it.
"There's no need to say, 'I told you so,'" Harry said without looking at her.
Ginny closed her mouth.
After breakfast, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all decided to go visit Hagrid. They knocked on the door to his hut and was met by a friendly, hairy face.
"How yeh doin'? C'mon in," he said, waving a massive hand, motioning for them to come inside. "I jus' got a fire goin'."
They talked about their next semester classes and how excited they were about Care of Magical Creatures with Hagrid. Consequently, Hagrid started talking about how they would be learning about Smowgles, a mix between a cat and an owl, which made Hermione start talking excitedly about how they would be learning to change a chair into an owl in Transfiguration class (she had apparently been asking Professor McGonagall about her lesson plans). Eventually Hagrid got around to asking them how the Yule Ball had gone since he hadn't been able to be there (he had "Hogwarts business" to take care of).
Immediately, the Weasleys began blushing out to their ears. Harry just smiled as he thought about the previous night. When he saw Ginny blushing, he reached out and grabbed her hand. This did not help her blushing subside.
Hermione smiled widely and began telling the story of how Ron had asked her to be his girlfriend. Ginny "aw"ed at all the right parts.
"Well," Hermione began. "He said he needed some fresh air, so we walked out to the Entrance hall and out onto the grounds. We stopped at the bottom of the stairs and then he offered his arm to me and asked if I wanted to take a walk with him. I obviously said yes and he led me to the lake and we walked along the edge of the lake for awhile. Neither of us said anything. He was obviously very nervous about something because when he started talking again, his voice was really shaky. He said, "Hermione, I was just thinking…," and then he stopped, so I pushed him and said, "Yes, Ron?", "Well, er, you look really nice tonight." I would've been very flattered had I not known that he wanted to ask me something else. So, I stopped walking and he turned around to face me. He was really red and I knew that he wouldn't ask if I didn't make him, so I said, "Ron, just spit it out!" and he asked reflexively, "Will you be my girlfriend?" And that was it," she finished, smiling as she stared off into space, reminiscing about the event.
Hagrid was speechless as he looked at Ron. "Ne'er thought yeh had it in yeh t'ask her. I'm so proud!" He said as he patted Ron on the back while he wiped a tear from his eye. He looked over at Ginny and Harry and saw their hands.
"Are yeh gonna tell me or do I hafta ask?" Hagrid pushed.
Ginny looked at Harry, who looked at her and said, "You'll tell it better than I can. Plus, I really don't want to talk about how I almost screwed it up, so go ahead."
Ginny laughed and told Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron their story. Hagrid had to wipe another tear before looking at Harry and scolding, "Yeh're lucky she didn't jus' push yeh outa the way and get inside 'fore yeh could tell 'er what yeh meant. She's a Weasley, so she woulda had no trouble makin' yeh move."
"I know. Thanks for the advice, Hagrid," Harry said sarcastically.
"I guess it's abou' time fer lunch, then," Hagrid said, standing up. Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny followed suit. They put their coats on and left Hagrid's hut, and made their way up to the castle for lunch.
Once they reached the castle, Hagrid sat down at the staff table and the other four sat down at the Gryffindor table and dove into their food. They had been hungrier than they thought they had been.
Later that afternoon, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny decide to go for a walk on the school grounds while their food digested. What started off as an innocent walk quickly turned into a heated game of snowball throwing. They played all afternoon until they were hungry for dinner again. They had played with every variation of teams had been imaginable (Harry and Ron vs. Hermione and Ginny, Ron and Ginny vs. Harry and Hermione, and Harry and Ginny vs. Ron and Hermione.) The team that everyone ended up favoring was the Harry/Ginny vs. Ron/Hermione for many different reasons.
Drenched in melted snow and ice, the four made their way up to the castle for dinner. When they finally changed their clothes, they all came downstairs wearing the sweaters they'd received from Mrs. Weasley for Christmas. Although no one said anything, all four were relieved that they hadn't had to worry about buying presents for their "significant other."
They all played Exploding Snap in the common room until they were tired and decide to sit down in the big, comfy chairs and sofas in front of the fireplace. By default, Harry and Ginny sat in the two big chairs on either end of the fire and let Ron and Hermione sit on the couch.
Both Harry and Ginny were worried that Ron wouldn't be able to deal with them sitting close together in front of a fire yet, so they wanted make it an easy transition. It was almost like dealing with an abused puppy. They had to take it slow with Ron.
They all talked about nothing and everything until they were sleepy-tired. Hermione and Ginny went upstairs first and Harry and Ron left only moments later. As Harry laid on his four-poster, he thought about the past day and how wonderful it had been. He couldn't believe that he'd almost messed things up when he was trying to ask Ginny to be his girlfriend. Of course, he was glad he hadn't and figured that he would've been able to set things straight, but how long would it have taken? He knew he was lucky for it to have worked out. He thought about that morning when they had talked for hours and hadn't even noticed. He thought about how beautiful she was and how she hadn't said no to him, a scrawny sixth year with messy hair and round glasses. Harry Potter smiled as he fell into a pleasant sleep.
The next months passed by unnoticeably quickly. Before he knew it, it was ten weeks before end of term exams and Hermione was scrambling to make up study schedules for Harry, Ron, and even Ginny. Ginny found this rather amusing. Harry and Ron didn't even notice. She always got frantic about exams even when they were nowhere near taking them. They simply wrote it off as typical Hermione behavior.
Harry and Ginny were still together as where Ron and Hermione. Harry thought that Ron and Hermione had become more of a couple, however, than Harry and Ginny had.
Harry and Ginny would still hold hands and talk to each other about everything, but Harry had never done anything truly special for her. He wasn't really creative in that way. He'd wanted to tons of times, but he threw away every idea he came up with. Harry was determined to sweep her off her feet, but had no idea how to do it. He'd thought about asking Hermione a few times, but she was either studying or off somewhere having "alone time" with Ron.
One Friday night in May, Harry was sitting alone in the common room late at night. Ron and Ginny had already gone to bed. Hermione came bustling through the portrait hole muttering something about library hours being too short. She stopped when she saw Harry.
"Well, I'm off to bed," she said. "You should get some sleep too. You look a little stressed."
"Yeah, I'll go up in a few minutes."
"Alright, goodnight."
Harry paused. "Hermione, can I talk to you about something?" he asked tentatively.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said. "I was just wondering…I wanted to do something special for Ginny, but I can't think of anything I think she'd like. Do you have any ideas?"
Hermione almost burst with laughter.
"It's not funny!" Harry replied defensively. "I just want her to know that I think she's special…I haven't really done anything for her and I've wanted to."
"Harry…" Hermione choked. "I'm pretty sure she knows that you care about her."
"I know she knows that…it's just that I want to make her feel really special. And I have to do something. I can't just tell her," Harry said. "And it has to be perfect."
"No it doesn't," Hermione said. "Ron does things for me all the time that aren't perfect. It doesn't have to be perfect, Harry. It just has to be from here," she said, placing her hand over her heart. "Ginny'll love whatever you do. Trust me."
Harry sighed and nodded in defeat.
"Goodnight, Harry."
"'Night," Harry said. As she started walking up her staircase, he added, "and thanks."
Hermione smiled and continued on her way upstairs. Harry's mind started racing and he wondered what he could do. He knew he would do whatever it was tomorrow night and it had to be good. Not necessarily perfect, but good.
When Harry awoke the next morning, he found that his mind was still racing with different ideas about what he could do for Ginny that night. He wanted it to be romantic, but not will-you-marry-me romantic. He thought of a picnic, and then dismissed the idea. He also thought of walking on the grounds with levitated candles around him, and then decided that he'd better not deal with moving fire. Then he decided on a more direct approach…he really hoped that she would like it…
Harry asked Hermione to tell Ginny to meet Harry on the steps outside the Entrance Hall at 8:00 sharp that night. He'd set everything up and was waiting nervously for her to open the doors of the castle.
He watched from a distance as she looked around for him and then found a piece of paper that said, "Follow me." When she touched the note, footprints appeared on the ground in front of her. Harry saw her smile the way she always did when she thought something was adorable and couldn't help but relax a little.She walked along the footprints until she reached the next note, which was attached to a dozen pink roses. The note read, "Smell me." So she picked up the flowers, smelled them, and as soon as she touched the note, more footprints appeared on the ground in front of her, and so she followed, wondering where Harry was hiding.
As she continued along the footprints, she came to another note randomly lying on the ground that said, "Watch me." As soon as she picked up the note, small candles seemed to appear out of the ground and make a lighted path around where the last set of footprints appeared. She followed the footprints and when she walked around the last tree by the lake, Harry was waiting for her. He didn't say anything.
She looked at his eyes and nervous smile, and then she let her eyes trail down to his chest. Pinned to his shirt was a note that said, "Kiss me." Ginny smiled as she looked back up at him and then bent down and kissed the note. She looked back up at his face. He tried very hard not to laugh.
She looked into his eyes for a moment before standing on her toes to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she put hers around his neck, both not wanting to let the other go.
Harry and Ginny made their way back to the castle much later that night and decide to walk through the halls under his invisibility cloak. Neither complained about having so little space to themselves under the cloak.
They walked into the Gryffindor common room, holding hands. They pulled off the cloak and saw Ron and Hermione sitting on the couch talking quietly with their heads close together. When they heard someone come in, Ron turned his head to see who it was and when he saw Harry and Ginny, he yawned and turned back around.
Harry walked Ginny to her staircase, gave her a quick kiss, and waited until he heard her dormitory door close after she walked upstairs. Then he said goodnight to Ron and Hermione and headed upstairs, reminiscing about the events of that night.
The rest of the school year passed very quickly for Harry and he was sad to see the Hogwarts Express arrive at Platform nine and three-quarters. Saying goodbye to his friends and his girlfriend was very difficult, but he knew he would wind up at the Burrow that summer (he always did).
When they all dismounted the train, Harry saw the Uncle Vernon's huge, purple face and bushy moustache and turned back to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Harry smiled.
"Harry, are you sure you'll be alright?" Ginny asked worriedly, seeing Uncle Vernon.
Harry grasped both her hands in his and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll be fine…I always am," he said, trying to make her feel better.
Ginny half-heartedly smiled and nodded.
Hermione pulled Harry into a tight hug and said, "I'll send lots of owls, I promise." And when she finally let him go, he saw her eyes watering and couldn't help but chuckle a little. Then he turned to Ron.
"See ya, Ron," Harry said, tentative on whether an embrace was appropriate or not.
Ron looked at him the same way he had since Harry and Ginny had started "dating." With a mixture of friendliness and betrayal. There was an awkward pause before Ron pulled him into a one-armed, brotherly embrace.
"We'll come get you again. Don't let those muggles suck the magic outa you," Ron said, grinning.
"I'll see you guys soon then," Harry said, walking to his trolley. After being attacked by hugs from Mrs. Weasley, Harry turned around and walked toward Uncle Vernon. As he approached, he couldn't help but smile. He couldn't help but think about the past year…especially his time well spent with Ginny. Even the gruff, "we don't have all day" remark from Uncle Vernon didn't get to Harry.
Harry wouldn't let the Dursleys get to him this summer. He had too many great memories to think of when they locked him in his room. No, the Dursleys wouldn't get to him, not this time around.