Thanks so much to everyone who's read, and especially those who have reviewed! This story has gone a lot better than I originally planned, and that's thanks in large part to my faithful readers/reviewers. You have no idea how much you're feedback inspires and challenges me to get it right and keep it going. Now, before we get to the story, I'd like to thank my wonderful betas, Mrs.HarryPotter12 and Telwyn Dubois. They've slaved over this, trying to make it as wonderful as possible and easier for you to read and enjoy. THANKS!

Chapter Eleven Love's a Risk

"Cho?" Harry called cautiously, carefully closing the door behind him. He had breakfast with Ron and Hermione and was now going to break up with Cho. He had a speech planned, but he wasn't quite sure if he was going to use it. She was probably going to burst out into tears or something like that and Harry was nervous. He hated making her cry, but this was just something he had to do.

"Harry?"

Cho came flying into the hallway and threw herself at him. "I was so worried! Where were you?" she cried.

"I was at Ron and Hermione's," Harry replied, trying to pry her off him.

She let go and scowled. "You'd rather spend time with them than with your fiancée? I haven't seen you in almost half a year and when you finally come back, you spend your first night back with them?"

"Cho, they're my best friends," Harry shot back, "I can't just ignore them. We've been through hell and back and you don't want me to spend time with them?"

"No, I'm saying that you don't love me anymore!"

"Well maybe I don't."

Cho immediately stopped fake crying and narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" she hissed, moving closer to him.

"That's not what I meant."

"Well, what did you mean?" she shouted, her arms flailing. "We're supposed to get married and have kids. Are you telling me you don't want to?"

"Cho," he said, trying to calm her down. "What I mean is, I care about you. I really do-"

"Then why won't you marry me?" she wailed, cutting him off.

"Because I'm not in love with you," he told her gently. "I never was. I'm so sorry, but it's not fair to you if we get married because my heart will always be somewhere else."

"It's the Weasley girl? Isn't it?" Cho snarled, her usually attractive face wrinkling in disgust. "I can't believe you'd rather marry her."

"Cho," Harry sighed, feeling his patience slipping. "Please. Don't do this. You can keep the flat and everything in it. All I want is my clothes."

Cho spun around and stormed into their bedroom. Harry followed, but before he could make it into the room, a flurry of clothes came flying at his face. "Get out!" Cho screeched, waving her wand so everything was packed into three suitcases. "I never want to see you again!"

Harry picked up the suitcases and faced her. "I'm sorry Cho."

She sneered. "The only reason I wanted to get you away from that Weasley bitch was because you were famous."

Harry winced slightly at that comment and walked out the door.

--

Ginny stumbled into her apartment, stone dead drunk. She giggled loudly as she ran into the end table and collapsed onto her couch. It was five in the afternoon and she had been drinking for almost six straight hours. The first two hours she'd just been socially drinking, but the last four hours she'd bought three bottles, two beers and a glass of chardonnay. But the worst part of the whole pub experience was she still remembered why she had been there in the first place.

Her stomach jolted and she tried to run to the bathroom. She wandered aimlessly through the kitchen, clutching her churning stomach and fell into the bathroom. Scrambling to the basin, her stomach clenched and she felt the burning sensation in the back of her throat.

When her stomach settled, she leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and tried to banish the mental image of Cho and Harry living happily in their flat. Her stomach lunged again, but much to her relief she didn't get sick. She stood and leaned over the sink, running the hot water.

She washed her face, brushed her teeth and swallowed the little vile of hangover potions. Instantly her stomach settled and the bags under her eyes disappeared. Physically she felt better, but her emotions were still on a roller coaster.

A knock at the door greeted her ears and she sighed. It was probably Luc, coming to harass her into coming in early. The nerve of him, she thought bitterly as she crossed her living room. She opened the door, but shut it as soon as she saw who was on the other side.

"Gin," he called from the other side of the door. "C'mon, let me in."

"Go away you lying sack of crap," she shouted, pressing her back hard against the door. "I don't want to talk to you!"

"Gin," he pleaded, his voice cracking, "I came to apologize."

"Save it for when you explain why you slept with me to Cho," she yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. She brushed them away with the back of her hand quickly and closed her eyes to regain her composure.

"I broke it off with Cho."

Her eyes flew open. "What?"

"Cho and I are no more."

She stepped away from the door and opened it a little bit. "Why?" she asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Can I come in?" he asked, stepping forward a bit. "Please?"

She opened the door all the way, but when he tried to come in, she put her arm across the doorway. "Tell me why," she demanded.

"Because I didn't love her," he replied, looking straight into her eyes. "I love you."

Ginny's eyes watered again. "You've told me that twice before and every time you've ended up breaking my heart. What makes this time different?"

Harry stepped closer to her and gently touched her cheek. "I know I haven't given you a reason to trust me and I wouldn't blame you if you turned my away now. But at least hear me out. I love you, Ginevra Molly Weasley and I'd do anything to get you to come back to England with me. Anything." The desperation was evident in his voice.

She wanted to believe him, she really did. She wanted to forgive him, pull him inside and ravage him mercilessly. But she'd done that once and she had gotten burnt. She wasn't one to make the same mistake again. She was tired of risking it all and getting nowhere fast. She wanted stability, someone to love her unconditionally. Maybe he could provide that, but she was too sick and tired of trying to have another go at it. She reached behind her to close the door, but he stopped her.

"Gin," he started, but she cut him off.

"I'm not risking it again Harry. You burn me once, shame on you, you burn me twice, shame on you, but the third time isn't the lucky one. I'm not about to just throw it all away again so you can hurt me. I'm sorry, but I can't get my heart broken again."

"Love's a risk-"

She placed her fingers on his lips to quiet him. "And I think I've risked enough," she told him quietly. "Goodbye Harry."

She carefully closed the door and leaned her forehead on the cool metal. Love's a risk… And I've got nothing else to risk, she told herself. You still have your heart… No I don't, she reasoned, he broke it. And he can fix it… And then he'll get tired of me and break it again. You don't know he will… So? Love's a risk…

The words echoed through her mind. She'd risked too much, lost too much to try again. Right? Or was she just letting the best thing that could ever happen to her slip through her fingers?

She threw the door open and ran into the hallway. "Harry!" she screamed as she ran towards the elevator. When it didn't come fast enough, she ran to the stairwell and began descending the stairs. After three flights, she found herself in the lobby. Luckily her building had an anti-Apparation ward around it, so he couldn't have gotten far. She ran to the revolving doors and onto the sidewalk.

Snow was piled in drifts against the sides of the building and flakes were floating lazily in the brisk winter air. She looked from each side, trying to decide which way he would've gone. She sprinted left and began to frantically dodge people on the sidewalk as she flew by.

She ran almost four blocks before stopping and leaning against another building to catch her breath. The cold air stung her cheeks and her breathing was shallow and uneven. When her breathing evened a bit, she began to walk back to her building. Tears that had been held back for so long came streaming down her cheeks and soon she sunk to the ground, her body shaking with sobs.

She was unaware of the pair of arms that wrapped around her, or the hand that began to stroke her hair. "Ginny." Her sobs died down to hiccups, but she was still shaking violently. "Here."

She didn't need to see him to know who he was. "I'm so sorry," she gushed as he draped his cloak around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, I should have, I mean, I'm sorry!"

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. "It's okay, calm down, everything's okay now."

She hiccupped loudly and asked, "How did you find me?"

"I heard you screaming my name," he replied, leading her back to her flat. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but he tightened his grip around her waist as she continued to shake. "Are you just cold or upset?"

She leaned into him. "Both. I don't think I could've lived with myself if I let you go. But please," she begged, stopping him. "Don't break my heart again. Because if you do, I'll walk out and never look back."

"I swear I will never hurt you again," he replied, pulling her closer to him. "I don't ever want to leave you again."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm glad."

They finished their walk in silence and the moment they stepped into the flat, they heard a tap at the window. Harry crossed to the window and Ginny sat on the sofa. Harry let in an owl that flew directly to Ginny, and after she got the letter off his leg, he flew back out the window.

She unrolled the piece of parchment, and Harry moved to sit next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and watched as she read the letter. Her eyes were wide as she handed the letter over to him and he as he read, his mouth fell open.

Ms. Weasley,

We regret to inform you that as of eleven o'clock this morning, Arabella Sophia Black is a ward of state. Her legal guardian, one Draco Malfoy, was arrested and convicted of two counts murder in the first degree and has been sentenced to die.

You and Mr. Harry Potter are now the legal guardians of the child in question and are required to appear in court where an emergency hearing will take place to determine the best interests of the child.

The hearing is scheduled for December 28th, at 11:30 am. Failure to appear is considered a crime and will be punished by time in Azkaban.

Sincerely,

K. L. Meads

Department of the Affairs of Magical Children

Harry reread the letter, shocked. "Murder?"

Ginny nodded. "Can you believe it? This means Ara's an orphan."

"Do you think we could adopt her?" Harry asked, putting the letter on the coffee table and turning towards her. "I mean, do you think they'd let us adopt her? Being as we aren't married." Yet, he added to himself.

Ginny smiled softly at him and nodded. "Think of it as the beginning of our family," she replied, "If that's what you want, I mean," she amended quickly, breaking eye contact.

"That's all I ever wanted," he told her, taking her hand. "Now what do I have to do to prove it?"

She smiled and replied, "I can think of a few things. For later on," she added after seeing the look on his face when she said it. "I think for now we should be concentrating on getting Ara home safe."

"And just where might home be?" he asked, hoping she'd say England.

She took his hand and pulled him up. "We'll talk about it in the morning."

--

YAY! THEY'RE TOGETHER AGAIN! FOR GOOD, I SWEAR! And I know the thing with Draco was completely random, but if that hadn't happened, the story would've ended with this chapter. But, lucky for you and much to my creativity's dismay, I still have at least two chapters to write. So, tell me what you think, and constructive criticism and ideas/suggestions are always welcome!

Missie, the writer who's soooooo glad this chapter is done and can't stop typing