Chapter 10

They stood there like that, just looking at each other, for what seemed like decades.

Harry cleared his throat, and in trying to sound casual and not at all shocked, his voice squeaked at an octave higher than it had been for eleven years. "Whe- oh, sorry, ahem, when?"

Ginny, rightly upset at his reaction, sat down on the floor, and looked up at him, gesturing for him to join her.

Why is it that we constantly end up on the floor? Harry thought, but joined her down there anyway.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny began her speech, and for the second time in twenty-five hours, she confessed things that she'd been hiding for a very, very long time. "About a year ago, maybe a little more, I don't really remember. It was when I had first started drinking, and I was still kind of... experimenting with the amount I drank, and where I drank it. I got piss drunk at a pub, but the details are kind of blurry. I remember this guy trying to pick me up; we flirted for a little while, and we danced together, but after that I don't really remember what happened. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a room that I'd never seen before, naked, with that guy's arm draped over my stomach, kissing my shoulder. I screamed, leapt out of the bed, and ran out of the room, gathering my clothes as I went. I disapparated before he could follow me." She chanced looking at Harry. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of tears forcing their way out of his eyes.

"Sorry, go on, Gin."

She gathered herself together (tears were leaking out of her own eyes by then), and continued. "Once at home, I checked myself over to see what had happened. You see, I had just finished Healer training, so I knew what to do in this kind of situation. Okay, it was quite different doing it to myself, but very useful nonetheless. I quickly realized that I had lost my virginity the night before. This part I remember very clearly, despite the pounding headache that I had at the time. I sat down on the floor of my room... and..." she tried to calm down, but was crying too hard now to continue.

Harry leaned over and held her as she cried into his shoulder, a few of his own tears dripping onto her red hair. After her breathing steadied, they stayed in each other's embrace, but Ginny continued her story, knowing she had to get this all out now, or never. "And I cried. Cried that some man I had only just met had seen me naked, cried that I had done this to myself, cried that I could never get that moment of my life back... cried that it hadn't been you. Anyway, I must have been down there for hours, because that's how Hermione found me when she got home that night. I had forgotten to do the other tests that check for any infections or traces of possible pregnancy, which she made sure I did in quick succession. After assuring that I was otherwise okay, she helped to calm me down. I learned a lesson that night, though it obviously wasn't the lesson Hermione was hoping I had learned. I learned to only drink at home, so you can make sure you don't do things that you regret. That was the first and only time I had sex with anyone... and I don't remember it at all."

Harry's voice was thick, but he had to speak anyway. "I'm so sorry Ginny... I never knew... I know nothing can make that better, nothing I can say will take that away. I just wish you had told me sooner..." he sighed, "I wish I had told you sooner. I suppose that through all this, we've both done a lot of things we regret and can't take back...." He held her out at arm's length so he could look her straight in the eye. "But we can start making new memories, and doing things that we won't regret. Come on." He reached out and pulled her into a standing position, and grabbed her hand as he walked out the door. If Ginny was confused, she didn't show it, she simply followed him out of her room and into the sitting room.

The first thing he did was locate the remaining alcohol in the apartment, and with Ginny's help, tossed it into the garbage tank on the side of the building. Once back in the apartment, he smiled at her, and said, "Now, doesn't that feel better?"

Ginny laughed, and said breathily, "Oh, yes! I feel so free!"

They laughed together, and Harry picked her up and spun her in circles around the apartment. Then the two of them collapsed on the floor, feeling happier than they had in years.

They lay like that for a long time, Ginny's head resting on Harry's stomach as he stroked her hair. Soon, however, Ginny got back to thinking about what they had been talking about prior to throwing away the substance that had, only the day before, been ruining her life. A frown inched its way across her face, and abruptly, she sat up and turned to look at Harry, hugging her knees close to her body. Sensing that she needed to talk about something relating to their previous discussion, Harry, too, sat up and faced her.

"So... it doesn't bother you that I'm not a virgin?"

Surprised that that was what she was worried about, Harry immediately replied "Well, no... I mean, to be honest, how you lost your virginity does bother me some, but there isn't anything to do about that. And I guess it kind of bothers me that you didn't tell me all this time... but the actual fact that you aren't a virgin doesn't bother me. Why should it?" He looked at her perplexed.

Ginny smiled slightly, and shrugged. "I dunno... I thought that maybe you'd prefer it if I was one... I've heard other guys talking about how 'ice cream always tastes better if it comes with a cherry' and all that nonsense."

Harry let out a disbelieving "Hunh!" and then proceeded to reassure her, "Ginny, I want to be with you because you're you, not because of... well... to put it in your words, your 'cherry.'"

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good! I mean, it's just that I've heard you talk about sex a lot in the past couple of years, maybe not what you've wanted me to hear, but- hey, I think you're the one I heard use that 'cherry' phrase!"

Harry blushed. "I am?"

Ginny looked at him sternly. "I suppose you didn't mean that either, eh?"

Harry looked down at his lap, and said bashfully, "Actually, if I remember this right, you heard me saying that to Seamus, Dean, and Ron, correct?" Ginny nodded. "Well, I'd overheard someone use that phrase in a bar the night before, and I was testing out the waters on whether it got good responses in 'guy talk.' It got me a few laughs and slaps on the back, but then I realized what it meant, and..." he trailed off. "Let's just say I decided not to use that particular phrase anymore."

Ginny grinned, and stood up. As Harry was looking up at her, she held her hand out to him. "C'mon, lets go to bed." Harry accepted her hand, but once he was standing upright, raised his eyebrows at her comment. "Not for that... not tonight. I'm tired, and I want to go to sleep. Preferably wrapped in your arms."

Harry grinned his relief that she had taken that course of action, and gently placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the bedroom. They spent the night in each other's arms (fully clothed), finally happy, right where they were.

A/N: Midnight Lilly: s'ok. The thing is, I don't view it as Harry really driving Ginny to drink... I kinda see it as they both made poor choices, and then had to deal with the consequences.

Magsluvsaragorn: (luv u, btw!!) Thanks, and I hope this answered your question!! And thanks.. I'm really happy, I finished my history paper yesterday, so I've had a much easier day and all that... and good luck with exams!! I'm planning on avoiding it altogether (altho that means i hav to suffer through physics.. sigh). Oh well. Hope you enjoyed this one!

And as for everyone else - review!