"Hermione, please wait," Harry begged her, walking quickly to keep up with her fast pace. He almost tripped as the staircase they were on shifted position.

"I don't want to be late for class," she replied coolly, still clearly upset with him. And now she was also irritated at needing to take a longer way around.

That was one thing she had in common with Ron, he thought to himself. They both held onto their anger. Ron had refused to talk to him that morning, leaving for breakfast early instead. Harry supposed he deserved the cold shoulder. He had told him that he and Ginny were both miserable at magic and then that they were going to die.

In Harry's defense though, they likely would. It was why he knew he would need to face Voldemort without the aid of his friends.

He moved to block Hermione's path. "I want to say I'm sorry."

She stopped walking. "Really?" She looked skeptical.

He smiled at her, though it was half-hearted. "Yes, really." He reached up and pushed some stray hair behind her ear so he could clearly look at her. "I'm sorry for everything."

She didn't know what he was sorriest for he hadn't done yet.

They waited in silence for another stairway to rearrange itself.

"Did you apologize to Ginny and Ron?" she asked when they resumed walking, at a slower speed this time.

"I will," he promised. His apology to Ron had been left in the form of his broom and an accompanying note that wished him luck in the final game. Harry had quit the Quidditch team the year before, viewing his role of Seeker as a waste of time. As for Ginny, he was planning to find her as soon as classes were done for the day.

Draco eyed him with suspicion. "You found a way to beat Veritaserum."

"No." Harry looked back at Draco, his serious expression never wavering. This wasn't a game. He removed a small parchment from his pocket and handed it to him. Then he withdrew his wand. "Lumos."

Taking the paper, Draco quickly read it. His eyes narrowed into slits as he went, and not from lack of light. "This is a confession to putting me under Imperius."

"Yes. It will free you of any blame should you need it."

"Imperius is an Unforgivable, Harry."

Something dark slithered across the ground by their feet.

"I know." Giving that to Draco was taking a huge risk, but Harry knew he wouldn't do anything stupid like turning it in to Dumbledore now. It was to be held as a safety net for if Draco agreed to his request. If he were to be held responsible, he could then accuse Harry.

The confession was signed in blood.

After rolling the parchment back up, Draco slipped it into his own pocket. "That won't start on fire later, will it?"

"No."

Draco nodded, believing he was indeed telling the truth. Yet he still watched Harry with deliberate regard. "Who do you want me to kill?"

Harry pressed his lips quickly against Ginny's and kissed her. Not exactly the apology he'd had planned, but... at the moment he didn't care about plans.

He slowly withdrew his lips and waited for her to speak. When she didn't, he did. "Do you still ever think of this, Ginny? Of us like this?"

She touched her hand to her lips. "No," she answered in confusion. That had been when she was a child. Harry had never shared those feelings.

Harry kissed her again, noting that she didn't pull away. He parted his lips and used his tongue to encourage her to do the same. She allowed him to deepen the kiss, although it held no passion.

But it did feel nice. Harry's mind screamed at him that the Weasleys were like family, making Ginny like his little sister. And yet his body enjoyed how this felt. His placed his hand on her hip, tempted to trail his fingers up to her small breasts.

Ginny wasn't exactly a little girl anymore, but not quite a woman either. Harry wondered if she'd get the opportunity to finish growing up. He wondered if he could have sex with her without letting strong emotions get involved that would alert Voldemort through their link. Wondered what it would be like to not worry about the Dark Lord seeking to hurt all those he cared about. Wondered what falling in love would feel like, because he knew he didn't love Ginny in that way.

He wondered if he even regretted that he was likely going to die a virgin.

Did Ginny care if she did?

Compared to everything else they were going to miss if they died soon, it seemed like a rather small thing. He ran his fingers through Ginny's red hair. They were both so young. A tear escaped and slid down his cheek.

He regretfully ended the kiss. And he searched her eyes. "Do you still have a crush on me at all?" he asked. "Because if you do, Ginny, I want to know. We could be together tonight. I could..."

Harry wondered what he'd been about to say. That for one night he could pretend to love her? That this was his apology to her. That he was offering her himself, as if it truly was more about her than about what he wanted.

If she still had any of those feelings for him, he wanted her to say it. She'd never have the chance again. He wanted to tell her to not think about it, to live in the moment and without regrets.

Selfishly, he knew he wanted her to say yes. He didn't want to sleep alone. And if they were together, she might see the dark mark that bore such a heavy weight on him. And then one of his friends at least would know the terrible secret he'd chosen to carry. He wanted her to know everything he couldn't tell.

"I don't," she finally answered.

Harry supposed that was for the best. He removed his fingers from where they still played with her hair. It was better he not allow himself to be that close to her. Because he likely would have told her.

"Harry, are you okay?" she asked a moment later, watching him with concern.

He wasn't.

"Fine. I'm fine," he replied quickly, a bit too quickly. "I'm sorry, Ginny. Can we just forget I said anything? I'm sorry. Sorry."

He turned to flee before she had a chance to try to talk to him. Harry didn't want to talk about it. He never should have kissed her in the first place. If Ron ever found out about this, he'd kill him. Harry almost laughed aloud as that thought crossed his mind. Ron killing him.

TBC...

Would you guys rather have longer parts less often, or should I stick with short ones?

Nyoka Li - yes, the italics are the past

Cyndi - get on IRC, I miss you!

shloonktapooxis - thanks for reviewing