Chapter 8

Ginny was shuffling silently around her room, making sure that she hadn't forgotten to pack anything. Last night she had done exactly as she planned – was passed out cold by seven o'clock. As she walked into the sitting room to pick up something she had left out there, her eyes passed over the trashcan in the corner, full with seven empty bottles that she had cleaned up this morning – or afternoon, rather. She hadn't woken up until noon, and had spent the rest of the day alternating between packing and crying her eyes out. At the time of her conversation with Harry, she had not had enough alcohol in her that she would forget what had happened – no, she remembered everything she had said, and everything he hadn't.

Back in her room, Ginny picked up a piece of parchment that was lying on her desk, with the label 'Hermione & Ron' in her neat scribble. It was a note she had written earlier that she was planning on leaving in Hermione's room, explaining to the two of them why she had left, saying she didn't know when she would be back – but that she would try to keep in touch (just because Harry had ruined her life, she realized that her friends and family didn't need to suffer as well).

She heard a distinctive CRACK in the living room, and sighed, being late already, she didn't want to have to deal with explaining herself to Hermione in person. With this in mind, she walked out of her room armed with the letter, and started, "Hermione, look, I...." But she couldn't finish. Standing in front of her was not Hermione, but the man she was running away from – Harry.

She swallowed. He was looking at her intently. Ginny dropped the letter on a nearby side table, and stalked to the kitchen. She stopped by the sink and picked something up. "I thought I told you-"

"I know what you told me," Harry interrupted, "but I couldn't listen to that without tell you a few things first." He waved his wand quickly, muttering a charm so quietly that Ginny didn't hear him saying it.

Ginny turned around to face him, hiding something behind her back, and said coldly, "Leave Harry. I may have been a little drunk, but I meant what I said. If you don't leave now, I'll-"

"You'll what? I saw your wand lying on the sofa, and I know that you couldn't actually use that knife you have behind your back in the way that you're threatening to."

"Don't try me." The two glared at each other – well, Ginny glared, Harry rolled his eyes.

He waved his wand, and said tiredly, "Go on, throw it at me."

Ginny did so, and realized too late that Harry had transformed the knife into one of Fred and George's fake wands... as she threw it, it turned into a rubber mouse and bounced off of Harry's chest. Realizing she was totally defenseless, she decided that the only way to escape this was to use the same apparition trick she had used last night. However, when she tried to leave, nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing.

She glared at him even harder.

Harry grinned. "Anti-apparition charm. Hermione taught it to me – must remember to thank her." His face turned more serious. "Ginny, you told me a lot of stuff last night, and now I need you to listen to what I have to say. You're stuck here for at least an hour; that's how long it takes the charm to wear off; whether you like it or not. So please listen?"

Ginny, finally understanding that she'd been had, sat down begrudgingly at the kitchen table, and with more than a touch of annoyance, looked expectantly at him.

Harry sighed and sat down across from her. Now that he was here, he still wasn't sure what he wanted to say, or how he wanted to say it.

They sat looking at each other for a few minutes before Harry bent his head and looked at his lap in order to more closely examine his fingers. Ginny muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "men" under her breath.

Still studying his hands, Harry finally began to speak. "I know I haven't been the best person in the last three years-"

"No shit." Ginny interjected bitterly.

Harry sighed and looked at her for the first time in what seemed like ages. "Ginny, please don't interrupt. I don't want to have to put a silencing charm on you, but I will if that's what it takes to get all this out in one go, alright?"

Ginny nodded begrudgingly.

Harry took a deep breath and continued. "Both you and Hermione made me realize that I've been hiding behind something, very similar to how you've been hiding your feelings, since the end of school. The thing is, I never meant to ignore you once I left Hogwarts – it's just that the combination of not seeing you as often, and that you always seemed so reluctant to be around me whenever we ended up at the same place, I drew the misguided opinion that you hated me."

"Quite the opposite, really." Ginny mumbled. Harry gave her a stern look, and she remained quite.

"Anyway, it was about then that I discovered my own way to hide and forget my feelings... London is a very easy city to lose yourself in, in more ways than one. Last night, you were absolutely right, I never cared a bit for any of those girls. I realized at some point after you got out of Hogwarts, when I started to see you more often, that you didn't hate me, and that was when we proceeded to make arrangements to meet once a week. Remember? Originally it was to catch up on all the stuff we'd missed in the year or so when we were fairly distant with each other, then it just kind of continued, I suppose…. In any case, I always looked forward to those Thursdays... they've always been the best part of my week. I made sure I was always open to meet you on those days. Thing is, the one real reason why I enjoyed them so much... Ginny, can't you tell why by now? You honestly have no idea?"

Ginny, thoroughly confused, shook her head.

Harry mimicked this, and sighed. "I've been such an idiot. I guess I always thought you knew but never cared, or some such excuse... Ginny, I love you."