"Are you awake, then?" he asked and she sat up a little. The bed was huge but they both had gravitated to the middle of it.
"I apologize about last night." she said, again, to be sure. "I didn't mean to invade your personal space either." The light was harsh and her bravery had dissipated.
"If I had thought of you as an invasion, I – Ginny, you need to stop apologizing for everything." he said softly. He had never called her Ginny before. "I know that being the youngest of six and the only girl would have made you somewhat this way, but having you here last night was a good thing and I never want to hear you say otherwise again." he said. She lay back down in his arms with a sassy,
"Yes, Professor." But she felt relieved. "I really will miss you when you go back to school." she said. He kissed the top of her head, but said nothing.
At the ministry, later, Dumbledore pulled her aside.
"It occurs to me, Miss Weasley, that I have a solution to your problem." he said.
"Problem?" she asked, confused. She thought she'd been doing the tasks she'd been given well.
"After this is done, you will probably be in search of a job and yet you don't wish to be away from Severus. Am I right in my assumption?"
"About Severus…" she said, feeling the need to explain.
"He's happy, Ginny, and I can't question that." Dumbledore said kindly.
"Then yes, I suppose you are correct." she smiled, glad the headmaster approved.
"I am old." he said bluntly, "and with Hogwarts reopening after a year of war, there will be a lot more than perhaps even I will be able to handle on my own." he admitted freely. "So, would you, Miss Weasley, like a job helping run my office?" It took a moment to realize what had just happened.
"A job? At Hogwarts? With you?" she asked in disbelief. He was chuckling now. "Yes, sir, a million times yes!" she said, grinning. "Thank you."
She practically broke into a run to find Severus. He was in the main hall, putting the heads back onto busted statues. She leapt into his arms.
"He gave me a job!" she yelled and pressed her lips to his in glee. Suddenly, the mood changed. He pushed them back up until she felt a wall. He grabbed her face with his hands and started kissing her for all she was worth. She felt almost dizzy to have him so close – his hair around her, his nose pressed into hers, his tongue pushing against her teeth until she parted them and then, oh, she was on fire. Her knees were going to give but she didn't care because she knew he would hold her up. She couldn't breathe but it didn't matter and then,
"Hem, hem." That noise still made Ginny shudder in horror. Severus broke the kiss just enough to turn his head and kill whoever was interrupting them. "Hi, Ginny." It was Harry.
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, happy to see he'd checked himself out of the hospital.
"You said to come find you when…" he trailed off.
"Impeccable timing as always, Mr. Potter." Snape sneered. Ginny put her hand on his cheek.
"Will you excuse me?" she asked, quietly.
"Then will you explain to me what that was about?" he said, breathing into her ear and it made her quiver.
"I will." she promised. He stalked away towards a dark hallway and left them next to what was once a glorious fountain that had saved Harry's life. "Hello, Harry."
"Snape? SNAPE?!?" he said, looking like he'd just eaten something disgusting.
"You don't know him, Harry, and you've never tried to." Ginny admonished. "But, I am glad to see you." she hugged him.
"You look great." he said, sadly. "You really do."
"Best that I can." she said. They didn't want to talk about the horrible waste of her family's death. "Did you consider my offer?"
"Yes," he said. "I would… I would be grateful. Do you?" he pointed to where Snape had gone.
"I live at his manor now, yes, but Dumbledore gave me a job so I'll get to live at Hogwarts during the year." she said. "We were just – ah – celebrating."
"I really don't want to know about your celebrations." he said, holding up a hand. "But, congratulations all the same."
"I'll take a day and show you all the personality ticks of the burrow but for now, everything inside is yours. I've taken all I want." she said.
"Have you heard anything about Hermione?" he asked. She shook her head sadly.
"Still missing but no one has found… I mean, there is no proof that she's dead. You have to have hope." she said. He nodded, hugged her goodbye, and went to his new home. She wandered away to find Severus. He was waiting for her just down the hall.
"Dumbledore gave me a job in his office," She said. "which is why I came to find you. We'll both go to Hogwarts." she said. He managed a smile.
"You kissed me." he said, finally.
"Yes, I got a little excited. I did it without even thinking about how I'd never kissed you before but I rather enjoyed it all the same." she said.
"I never thought another woman would ever kiss me again." he said.
"Oh, I plan to kiss you all the time." she assured him. "Starting right now."