AN: Hi all! wow, this took forever. i was actually ready to update like a week ago, but the stupid site was messed up, so i had to wait. but finally, here is chapter 3. Enjoy and Review!

He chose walking over apparition. Her house was close enough, and the cold night air was soothing. He got to her house and hurriedly knocked on the door. He waited, but there was no answer. He knocked again, hoping he wouldn't wake her parents. He waited and just as he was about to knock again, the door opened.

Ginny stood there, rubbing her eyes, and dressed in a pair of black pajama pants and t-shirt that was two sizes too big for her petite figure.

"Oliver?" She asked. It was all she had time to say though, because Oliver took one step forward and fiercely pressed his lips to hers.

She tried to resist, but he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her deeper into the kiss. He felt her go limp in his arms and he held her tighter, as though he would never let her go. She started responding to him and he could have jumped for joy. He didn't though. He couldn't say how long they stood like that, wrapped in each other's arms, continuing to kiss and touch and feel.

"Ginny…" He whispered as he began to move his lips down her jaw to her neck. Saying her name seemed to jolt her back into reality though, and she quickly began pushing him away. When he wouldn't comply, she smacked him.

It was loud in the silence, and he let go of her and stumbled back. Both their breathing was ragged, and their cheeks were flushed and their lips were swollen from the kiss.

"What the bloody hell Oliver!" She shouted when she's regained her composure. He clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Do you want to wake your parents? And I could say the same thing." He murmured casually. She glared at him.

"Who do you think you are, coming here and," she faltered a bit, "and doing that!"

"I'm the person you were just snogging Ginny, and you were enjoying it, in case you forgot." He said smugly. This only infuriated her more, and he decided to take a different route. "Ginny, can we talk? Really talk, without all the stupid excuses and sarcastic crap." He clarified.

She crossed her arms over her chest and something in her eyes seemed to soften as she looked at his pleading face. It was a long time before she said anything though, and he was getting impatient, though he didn't show that on his face.

"Hold on." She closed the door on him. He stuck his hands in his pockets and waited. When she came back she was wearing a long trench coat and boots. She was dressed totally in black, and he couldn't help but think it didn't suit her. He always liked her in red, or green. She closed the door behind her and started down the porch. He caught up to her and they walked down the road for a long time before either one said anything.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ginny asked at last, wrapping her arms around herself as though trying to block out the cold.

"I've been dreaming about you." Oliver answered absently, not really thinking.

"Oliver Wood!" Ginny scolded, giving his The Look, the one all Weasley's were famous for.

"What?" He answered obliviously. "Oh, oh! Not like that, you dirty mind!"

She shook her head. "Sure."

"I dream your dead." He answered, his tone suddenly more serious.

"Well that's pleasant." She answered without missing a beat.

"It's a nightmare. And it's not just you. It's everyone." He watched his feet as they fell into sync with hers. She didn't answer right away this time, and he was content to just walk beside her.

"Well that's what happens when you try to ignore your past. It comes back to haunt you." She seemed to pull her arms tighter around herself, almost protectively, like a shell. He frowned at her.

"I haven't been running from my past." He stated indignantly. She shook her head and he realized he'd said something she hadn't. Running. She hadn't said running.

"Of course you have. Who hasn't? Everyone tries to ignore it. Everyone pretends it didn't happen." Her voice was bitter, and he hated hearing it like that.

"Do you?" He whispered.

"Of course not. I know better. But I know better than to bring it up in casual conversation." She snorted. He nodded. "Your nightmares, they're just people dying?" She asked after a moment.

"Pretty much." Then as an afterthought, "Your always there." He shot her a sidelong look and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"And why's that?" She stopped walking and turned towards him. He turned to face her without an answer.

"Because… I care about you." He whispered, reaching up to brush some stray hair away from her face. She watched his hand carefully, looking like a cat ready to pounce as soon as she was provoked.

"Well, you sure know how to show it." She narrowed her eyes at him and pushed his hand away.

"Ginny…" He mumbled, unsure of what to say. "What happened to us? After Bill… after he…"

"After he died?" She finished for him. He nodded.

"You just… you… I don't even know what you did! You just wouldn't talk to me, you wouldn't come near me, and you wouldn't let me help you… I didn't know how to help you." He admitted, running a hand through his bushy hair. She was watching him curiously.

"You never tried to come near me, Oliver. You never tried to come after me. You didn't try to help me." She corrected bitterly. He sighed and hung his head in shame.

"Maybe I didn't, but it's only because you wouldn't listen. I did try in the beginning, and I thought that maybe you were happier without me. But you're the one who pushed me away in the first place. And after all, I'm coming after you now." He took one tiny step forward, closing the short distance between them. They were effectively pressed together, their chests and legs touching, and Ginny being Ginny refused to back down.

"You're. A. Little. Late." She said slowly, leaving space between each word, as if talking to a child.

"Better late than never." He brought his hand up to her face. She didn't move away, just watched him. He was taller than her, so much so that he towered over her.

"Don't Oliver. Just don't." She whispered, her eyes beginning to tear. He brought his other hand to her face as well and cradled her cheeks. The tears began to spill over and, remaining perfectly calm, he bent down and kissed the tears as they fell. She was trying her hardest to control herself, he could tell, but she was losing it fast.

"Give me a chance. Let me be here for you now. I know I'm late, and I'm sorry, but I want to make up for that." He kissed her cheeks again, and kissed the tip of her nose. The corners of her mouth turned up a little and he grinned. She began to sob softly, and gently he tilted her head up and kissed her chastely on the lips.

She started sobbing louder then, and she unwrapped her arms from around herself to cover her face. She pushed his hands off and sobbed into her own for a minute, and he rested his on her hips. She continued crying for a while, and Oliver eventually moved closer to her to cradle her against him. He rocked her back and forth soothingly and the sobs began to quiet. When she pulled away from him she began wiping at the tears, trying her hardest to laugh at herself.

"Look at us! Look at me." She laughed nervously. "I haven't cried so much since the war ended, and here I'm supposed to be the strong one!" She quipped, trying to laugh at herself again. He didn't laugh with her though, only helped wipe one of her tears away.

"You don't have to be the strong one all the time, love." He whispered honestly, pressing his forehead to hers. She regained her composure, and suddenly the Ginny who'd smacked him earlier in the evening was back.

"So, what do you expect me to do, Mr. Strong One?" She pushed him in the arm when she said it and he rolled his eyes at the pun.

"I don't expect you to do anything. I just hope that one day… we'll be able to forgive each other." His tone was suddenly serious, and the goofy smile fell from her face. She wiped at her eyes again and looked away.

"Well, I don't think that day is today." She whispered half heartedly, and he could hear her choking up again. If it was hurting her that much, why couldn't she just give in to what she wanted?

"Alright." He tried to agree with her, but he was going to at least compromise. "Can we at least be friends, or hell I'd settle for civil, while I'm here?"

"People will ask questions." She warned.

"And we'll be able to honestly say that we are just friends." He held out his hand as an offering. She looked at it for a moment, and then took it and shook it firmly.

"Alright, but don't expect me to stop with the sarcasm."

"I'll never stop expecting that." He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and she swatted him in the arm, and for just a minute it felt like old times.

But like all minutes, it passed, and things were suddenly awkward again.

"I'd better get home." Ginny said at last, and Oliver nodded. "You are coming to the celebration aren't you? Believe it or not, the Weasley household got stuck hosting the reunion again." She laughed a little.

"Yeah, I think I might stick around for a party or two."