Disclaimer: None of the wonderful characters created by JK Rowling belong to either of the collaborators on this story. The only thing we own is the plot of this particular tale. Even the plot ferrets don't belong to us. In fact, we're owned by a couple of cats. How pathetic is that? Urgh...

Conversations and apologies:

Molly cleaned up the breakfast dishes, after kissing her husband goodbye. Ron and the Twins were already gone to the the store for the day, for more stocking. Making sure the house was locked up, she walked over to the fireplace. She cast a critical eye over the small house, finally finding everything in order. She then took a pinch a powder from the pot on the mantle and threw into the fire. As Molly exited the fireplace in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, she looked over at the screens concealing Harry's bed and smiled. She turned now toward Madame Pomfrey's office. As she was about to knock, the door opened to a rather tired looking medi-witch.

Molly looked at Poppy and asked, "Are you alright? You don't look like you got so much a wink last night."

Madam Pomfrey shook her head and replied, "Harry had a rather bad night. I would have given him some dreamless sleep potion, so all three of us could get some sleep. Your daughter, however, did a wonderful job at quieting him. Some of the things I heard him say in his sleep, though. That poor youg man has been through so much. It still amazes me how well he's turned out."

They crossed the room to the partitioned area. Neither wanted to wake the young wizard, but they did want to make sure his healing was progressing as it should. Madame Pomfrey peeked around the screen to see him still sleeping. Stepping around the end, she held it open for Molly. They saw Ginny, fast asleep, curled up in a chair next to Harry's bed. Standing on the other side of the bed, Molly bent and kissed his forehead, whispering, "You're safe, now."'

As she straightened, Harry opened his eyes and smiled.

She looked down at him and said, "Sorry, dear. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."

Harry shook his head and replied, "You didn't wake me, my bladder did." He reached over to the bedside table for his glasses. As he put them on, he saw Ginny curled up in the chair near him.

Looking now at Madam Pomfrey, he asked, "Would it be ok for me to walk to the loo?" Frowning, he continued. "One thing thing I've learned in here is that I hate bedpans almost as much as I hate Voldemort.

The medi-witch stifled a laugh and said, "I don't think that would be a problem, Mr. Potter."

Both Molly and the medi-witch helped Harry out of bed. Leaning on them for support, he made his way across the wing and back without much trouble. Once he was safely back in bed, Madam Pomfrey took out her wand and ran it across his body. She checked him thoroughly, making sure that the leg was healing properly. Once that was completed, she exited. She returned a few minutes later with a tray of food and, placing it in front of him, said, "It's not much, but I don't want to see any of it left, when I return." The young wizard nodded, and they left him to to eat in peace.

As Harry ate the light meal, he thought back over the events up to this point, wondering what would happen now. He was roused from his musing by a beautiful young redhead smiling at him. Where did that come from? She's Ron's little sister, by Merlin's beard! Startled by this train of thought, the young wizard smiled back and said, "Morning, Gin, how are you? How did you sleep?" He remembered how some of his nightmares had ended up waking his mates in the dorm last year. "I hope I didn't keep you up all night."

She just said, "I'm fine and I slept just fine. As far as keeping me awake," She gave him a stern look. "Don't you worry about that. I was happy to help you get some rest."

Ginny then walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand in hers, asking, "Harry how long has this been going on? Why didn't you tell someone?"

Harry frowned and said, "I'm sorry Gin, but I'm not really up to talking about it right now."

Ginny sat there fighting back tears of rage for what had happened to him, and worry for the emerald-eyed young wizard, as it threatened to overwhelm her. She bent to give him a hug and said, "Just remember, when you are ready, I'm here."

Harry nodded, his face clearing a bit, as he said, "Thank you, Ginny. I appreciate that. When I can talk about it, I'll let you know."

She straightened back up now, taking hold of his hand. She looked him in the eyes as she said, "I'll hold you to that, Mr Potter, just see if I don't." Her face brightened then with a mischievous look. She had realized something. "You haven't gotten any of the letters I've sent you since term ended, have you?" He shook his head, and her face lit up. "Then you don't know what's been going on. Time to bring you up to date." She giggled now. "The second day we were home, Ron got a letter from Hermione. He ran straight up to his room with it, and spent the next three hours reading it. Now, I know for a fact, that not even Hermione would write something that would take my thick git of a brother that long to read. I looked in his door, and he was laying back on his bed, reading it over and over. I swear, the Twins could have set off a roomful of fireworks under his bed, and he wouldn't have noticed. He was that wrapped up in that letter. That's happened every time he got a letter from her, which has been every two days. The past few summers, I reckon he got one a week or so. On the days he wasn't getting letters, he was writing them. I've never seen a mound of balled-up parchment like that in my life. He was writing and re-writing for hours." She shook her head ruefully. "Hopefully, the goofy git will actually tell her how he feels about her, and soon. I don't know if I can take it much longer."

Harry was dumbfounded. "Erm, what do you mean, 'how he feels'?"

The young witch rolled her eyes at him. "Honestly, Harry. You're almost as thick as he is. Surely you know they're mad for each other? The trick is getting the two of them to admit it to each other."

He shook his head wonderingly, thinking back over the past few years, the last two especially. Things started falling into place, like tunblers in a lock. What stuck out most in his mind was the Yule Ball in fourth year. Ron had been furious, when he had discovered Mione had attended the Ball with Viktor Krum. The whole of fifth year, just the mere mention of Vicky, as his best friend had referred to the Bulgarian quidditch star, had been enough to incite some awe-inspiring rows between Ron and Hermione. Of course. Jealousy would be the only explanation that would fit. Harry started to chuckle, as he realized what had really been going on the whole time. Soon enough, the chuckles turned into full-blown laughter. Ginny laughed along with him, as she saw the new knowledge dawning in his eyes. She had worried about what his reaction would be. It was good to see this, as it was the happiest she had ever seen him.

The two of them happily spent the rest of the afternoon plotting ways to make Ron and Hermione admit what they felt for each other, each plan more devious than the last. Madame Pomfrey must have been busy, as both lunch and the evening meal were served by Dobby. The effusive little house-elf was more than happy to see them both. Harry was a bit conflicted upon seeing Dobby. While he was genuinely fond of the the elf, Dobby's over-enthusiasm every time he saw the young wizard did tend to grate on the nerves a bit. It was amusing, though a bit embarassing, to hear the house-elf refer to Ginny as 'Harry Potter's Weezy.' She didn't seem to mind, though she did raise a querying eyebrow at him upon hearing it. Harry assured her he'd explain it later. He breathed a small sigh of relief when Dobby took the dishes back to the kitchen after the evening meal.

Ginny stood and stretched and said she had to go find Madame Pomfrey, to ask her about something. That was when Harry truly noticed how much she had grown over the past couple years. Wow. When did she get curves? Stop, stop, stop! Can't do that! He mused to himself that, somehow, when he was busy being blind to her and pining idiotically over Cho Chang, Ginny had started developing into a very attractive young woman. Hermione had told him last year that Ginny had given up on him. No chance for you then, you great git. She finally decided to find somebody worthy of her That brought to mind the thing that had been hiding in the back of his mind all day. He remembered that she had another boyfriend now. Wraps it up in a ball, that does. She's already got somebody else, so of course you'd fall for her. Idiot By now, he was so busy telling the snide little voice inside his head to shut up, that he didn't even argue with the fact that he was falling for her. Her humor, liveliness, and spunk drew him in. She was also rapidly becoming a very good friend. Just as he was starting to wonder what she'd had to go ask Pomfrey about, she came back over and dropped into the very comfortable chair next to his bed.

Once she was seated, he asked, "So how are you and Dean getting on, then?"

She wore a look of confusion. "Dean? Dean who?"

Now it was his turn to be confused. "Erm, Dean Thomas. Your boyfriend, right?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

"On the train, after you told us about dumping Michael Corner, you said you were going out with Dean."

Her eyes lit up now, and she started laughing. "I only said that to wind Ron up. He'd been such a prat about Michael all year, and even if he was right about him, I still wanted to make sure he had a reminder that I'll date whoever I want. No matter what ickle Ronniekins thought. Besides, I already know all about Dean's reputation with the girls."

Harry tried not to feel too much elation about this revelation, no matter how relieved he may have felt about it. "Well yeah, I'd thought about mentioning something about that, but it would've just wound Ron up even more. Then again, that's just what you were looking for at the time, wasn't it?" At this, she just nodded, giggling. "Have you let him off the hook yet then, or does your brother still think the Stud of Gryffindor Tower is going to have his way with his little sister, when school starts back up?"

The redhead started laughing even harder now. "I told him about it three days ago. I don't know which was funnier. Watching him stew and picture all the possibilities his mind came up with, or the way relief fought with anger at being hoodwinked. I swear, by the end of the first week, he had stewed so much I thought he'd fall apart at a touch. He really was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Finally, Hermione wrote and told me I had to tell him the truth. She'd gotten a seven page letter from him, ranting about what he was going to do to Dean when he saw him on the train. Amazing really, that poor little Pig was able to carry a letter that size."

Once they both finally stopped laughing long enough to breathe, she finished catching him up on all the rest of the happenings around the house. Fred and George were doing well with the shop, already. Most of the business seemed to be by Owl Order, as everybody was very nervous these days, now that the Ministry had finally acknowledged Voldemort's return. Very few people were out and about these days, worried about their own safety and that of their families. Ironically, now that he was recognized for the threat he truly was, alive and well, the Dark Lord seemed to sink back into the ground. The consensus seemed to be that he was marshalling his forces, biding his time. There had been reports of him in some pretty strange places over the past few weeks.

Harry was starting to get curious as to her sources for all of this, as he was quite certain that Molly Weasley wouldn't have allowed her two youngest children to join in Order meetings. "So, how do you know all of this?"

They were both surprised to hear a voice from the other side of the privacy screen. "I admit to having some small curiosity about that myself." Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall came around to stand at the end of Harry's bed.

Ginny looked at the two teachers and replied, "Well, anyone who's been down Diagon Alley the past few weeks can see how nervous everybody is. Fred told me about the Owl Order stuff, and I also get the Quibbler, as well as the Daily Prophet. There's a lot of good stuff in there, if you know what to ignore."

The headmaster nodded. Both professors had a look of respect for Ginny's intelligence at sussing all that out, from newspaper and tabloid articles, and simple observations. Dumbledore chuckled, and said, "It's taken three weeks and reports from most of the members of the Order, to come to a conclusion remarkably like you have arrived at, Miss Weasley. Of course, we do have a bit more in the way of specifics, but essentially the same." He looked at McGonagall with his customary twinkle. "Perhaps we should simply subscribe to the tabloids, and let some of the more useful members get on with more active matters."

The Transfigurations professor rolled her eyes and answered, "If only it were that easy, Headmaster. I think not, though."

Dumbledore sighed and said, "You're right, as usual, Minerva." He then turned to the two students sitting before him. "However, we didn't stop by to discuss intelligence gathering techniques. Harry, I wanted to apologize to you. I never knew what was going on there. As Miss Weasley so ably pointed out to me yesterday, I have been quite derelict in my duties in regards to your safety. I concentrated solely on external threats, giving nary a thought to anything you may have faced from within. That seems to be a failing of mine." He trailed off, the twinkle in his eyes quite dulled at this point.

Harry was completely disconcerted by this admission on Dumbledore's part. He still wasn't sure he had forgiven the headmaster for concealing the prophecy from him all this time, but at least had an understanding why he had thought it a necessary step. He didn't trust himself to look at the old man, and looked instead at Ginny. His mind had registered that she had apparently told off the man that most assumed was the most powerful wizard in the world, the only one Voldemort himself feared. Harry's respect for her grew, and he made a resolution to himself to never get her angry. He'd heard reports of her Bat-Bogey hex, after Malfoy had been hit with it. He looked over at her, and she looked down, a tinge of pink spreading over her cheeks. Harry took her hand and gave it a little squeeze. She looked up at him then, and he gave her a smile. She smiled back, the blush fading now, and after a moment he turned back to look at the professors.

"What happens after I get out of here? Are you going to do a memory charm on them and send me back?" He was suddenly sure he knew what the answer would be, if not Privet Drive. He was absolutely certain he would have to go to Grimmauld Place. That would be too much, with all of the memories of Sirius that infused the house. He knew that if he had to spend the rest of the summer there, he would be insane from grief inside of a week. Just the thought of dealing with the portrait of Mrs Black, not to mention Kreacher, was enough to almost drive him round the bend. That brought forth the next question. "What about Kreacher?" The traitorous house-elf had taken too much a part in the demise of Harry's godfather. "What's happened to him?" If ever there was a house-elf that deserved to punish himself, it was that one, though as far as Harry was concerned, it would never be enough.

"Alas, Kreacher was found upon my return to headquarters, dead. Apparently, when Sirius fell through the veil, the portrait of his mother fell from the wall and burst into flames. With the loss of the last direct heir to the house, namely Mrs Black, or her portrait at any rate, Kreacher had no reason to continue, and let slip the bonds of life. I believe you would have a hard time recognizing the house right now. It has been much improved in the past few weeks."

Harry hadn't realized he was still holding Ginny's hand, until he felt her squeeze his. He turned to look at her, and she gave him such a look of support that it left him feeling as if he'd been stunned. He smiled back at her in thanks. The next words he heard though, were enough to make him whip his head around in shock.

"No, Harry. I have already assured Molly that you will not be going there again. Once you have healed sufficiently to leave here, you will go to the Burrow. If you agree, they would like you to permanently call their home yours."

The grin on Harry's face almost threatened to split his skull in half. "Professor, you have no idea how much I agree with that! That's brilliant! As far as I'm concerned, they're already my family." His face fell after a moment. "But, won't that place them in even more danger? I don't want..."

The headmaster raised his hand to forestall Harry's protests. "Already covered, my boy. For one thing, they would be at risk with or without you. Arthur's stance on the blood issue, full, half, or muggle-born, is well known. For that reason alone, he and his family would be a target for Tom, as well as any who associate with them. Also, the wards around the Burrow are being strengthened as we speak. By the time you are well enough to leave here, the whole area surrounding the house will be roughly the third best protected place in all of the British Isles. At the risk of sounding conceited, Azkaban will be slightly easier to access.

"Ironically enough, what with Arthur's stand on blood, the Weasley bloodline, and the Burrow, go back in wizarding history almost as far as the Potter name. Past the Founders of our school, if I'm not mistaken. Minerva would be more of an authority on this." He turned to her, obviously giving her the floor.

McGonagall looked like she might dispute this, but conceded after a moment. "Yes, well, I did a treatise on the older bloodlines for History of Magic, at university, when I was studying to become a teacher. I hardly think that makes me the ultimate authority in these matters, but I do have some knowledge of your two families. The headmaster is correct in saying that both go back to the days of Merlin. With as haphazard and chaotic as record keeping was in those times, not much can be easily traced farther back. Ginny, you may be interested to know that the land the Burrow inhabits was originally granted to your many times grandfather, Alric Weasley, by Uther Pendragon, father to King Arthur. History does not record what service was rendered to earn this boon, but it must have been considerable. Since that time, magic has soaked into the land around what is now your home, permeating everything there. That's why the wards around the Burrow will be almost as effective as those here."

Dumbledore's twinkle was back in full force now. "So you see, Harry, why I am confident that your presence there will not endanger the Weasley family, any more than they would already be."

Though Harry wasn't as sure as he'd have liked to be, he gave in. He was fairly sure that, with all the preparations, there was no way that Molly would hear of anything else. There was also the fact that, as worried as he was about endangering the Weasleys, it was an infinitely better option than any other would be.

"Thanks, professor. I really am looking forward to seeing the Burrow again. I haven't gotten to spend any time there since before my fourth year. I don't know if I could face Grimmauld Place, just yet. There's...just too many...memories there..." He trailed off now, obviously working hard to contain the grief they knew he felt. His head dropped, as he didn't think he would be able to look into anyone's eyes right now. He felt sure that all he would see on any of the faces around him was pity. That was something he just didn't think he could take right now, especially as he was still blaming himself for his godfather's death.

Ginny gave his hand a squeeze, trying to let him know that she was there for him. Over the past year or so, she had almost convinced herself that she was over Harry. She had dated Michael Corner, and while that was never anything really serious, it had helped to put a few things in perspective. She'd had fun with Michael, at least until that last game of the season. They had kissed once or twice, and while the kisses weren't exactly chaste, they were nothing to speak of, either. They especially weren't anything like Lavender and Parvati had gossiped about, with fireworks and all that. She was starting to realize that the Ravenclaw boy had been nothing more than a diversion, something to take her mind off of Harry. Her heart belonged to the teenage wizard next to her, but she had no idea if he would ever claim it. Watching him, his head bowed, she moved from her chair to the edge of his bed, her hand on his back, moving in small circles.

After a few moments of this, he looked up at her, grateful for the comfort. Somehow, he knew now that he wouldn't see the pity in her face that he'd dreaded. All he saw there was sympathy, underscored with support. He gave her a small smile of thanks, and she nodded back, smiling. She gave his hand another quick squeeze. Now, he looked over to where the two professors sat. The looks on their faces were sympathetic as well.

Dumbledore spoke up now. "Harry, I will drop by sometime tomorrow, so we can talk about arrangements for getting you to the Burrow. Do try to get some rest." He stood now, patting his pupil's free hand for a moment. Ginny still had the other firmly in her grasp.

McGonagall walked up now to take her leave. "Indeed, Mr Potter. I'll want my Seeker well rested, by the time Quidditch starts back up. Don't think you'll get out of it this season just because that toad of a woman thought she could make a ban stick. Life-time ban indeed!" she huffed, as she reached for his hand. He disengaged it from Ginny's, to clasp McGonagall's. She looked down as she took his hand and her eyes went wide. A small gasp came from her throat, as she saw the words still showing faintly on his hand, "I must not tell lies". "Albus!" The headmaster saw the look on her face and came back to see what had so concerned her. "Albus, she used a Bloodquill. Those were outlawed decades ago." Looking directly at Harry, she asked, "Did she have you use that thing every time you had detention with her?" At his nod, the blood drained from her face, and Dumbledore had to steady her. "Why did you never say anything?"

"Because I didn't think there was anything you could do about it. If you'd confronted her about it, she'd have had that great idiot Fudge write another decree, this time firing you. Teachers who gave a damn about what was going on around here were getting rather thin on the ground, given the fact that she had anybody she didn't like on bloody probation. What good would it have gotten for you to get yourself canned?"

"Why didn't you tell the Headmaster, then?"

Harry laughed, the sound of it not a little bitter. "I might have, if he'd been talking to me." Seeing the twinkle dim again in Dumbledore's eyes, he relented a bit. "I guess I understand the reason behind it now, but it sure didn't make things any easier last term."

The headmaster looked steadily at the young wizard. "Harry, the only defense I have at this point is that I wanted to allow you to keep some small aspect of your innocence, even if only for a while longer. I know that doesn't excuse it, but I hope it does explain it a bit. Please accept my apologies, for keeping you in the dark as I did."

"I'll accept that apology on one condition, professor. Please accept mine, for what I did to your office at the end of term." Harry remembered the way he had trashed Dumbledore's office, after the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries. "I'd like to replace anything that wasn't salvageable."

The headmaster waved away the offer. "My boy, as much as I appreciate the offer, I daresay I have entirely too many things in my office, so don't worry about replacing them. Besides," The twinkle was back now, almost full force. "That just gave me an excuse to find some wonderful new things. Most of these are a bit more durable than the last, so I have no worries about them." Dropping a wink in Harry's direction, he turned and left the infirmary.

Professor McGonagall made as if to leave as well, but turned back a moment. "Harry, as noble as your intentions may have been, and as frustrating as the past year assuredly was for you, please remember that all of us are here to take care of you pupils. Please give us a chance to do so, at least once in a while." Harry could have sworn that the professor's expression held a touch of pride in him as she turned to follow the headmaster.

The young wizard leaned back against the headboard of his bed, his eyes closed, and released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Sometime during the confrontation with his teachers, Ginny had moved back to the chair beside his bed. When she had, she'd also pulled the chair closer to the head, to make it easier to talk. When he opened his eyes, it was to see her chocolate brown ones looking back at him, with an expression of concern.

All she said was, "Alright then, Harry?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's just a lot to take in all at once. I mean, never having to go back to the Dursley's is amazing, and the thought of living at the Burrow is brilliant!" His face lit up even brighter at the other realization he'd just had. "I can't believe I'll be able to fly again. Merlin, but it'll be great to have my Firebolt back! It's the only thing I have from Sirius." Emerald eyes dimmed now, as this reminder of his godfather brought home to him, yet again, the fact that Sirius was gone. Tears welled from his eyes of their own accord, running down his cheeks. He turned away from Ginny, to keep her from seeing.

A knot came up in the young witch's chest, as she watched him. It killed her to see him like this. He looked like he truly felt alone at this moment. She moved back beside him now, her arms wrapping around him, as she held him tight. "Harry, I miss him, too. He was a good man. He was funny, clever, and came up with the best pranks. He loved you, too. I don't know if he ever told you, but he told me one night. He was so scared for you, and proud of you at the same time. He told me that he thought, no, he knew, your dad and mum would be proud of the man you're becoming." Her tears flowed now, as she did her own mourning for Sirius Black.

They sat there, arms around each other for a while longer, just giving each other comfort. Once they were both cried out for the time being, they slowly moved away from each other, but not much. They each sat wrapped in their memories a little longer, until Ginny quietly cleared her throat.

She looked shyly up at him.

"Harry, I don't think I ever thanked you, for saving my life, down in the Chamber. There just isn't a way to thank you enough for that." She leaned over now, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

He colored a bit at this, his cheeks tinged with pink. "I couldn't leave you down there, Ginny. When I heard that there was somebody down there, I had to go. When Ron and I heard McGonagall say that it was you, it was like all doubt was erased. I knew I had to get down there, and get you away from whoever was doing all that. When I saw you laying on the floor of the Chamber, it was like the bottom had dropped from the world. I couldn't let you die. I had no idea how I was going to do it, just that I had to." He shrugged, as something occured to him. "Maybe it was what Hermione said last year. The whole 'saving people thing'."

"Do me a favor, would you Harry?" At his quizzical look and nod, she continued. "Any time you want to save my sorry little arse, you just go right ahead, okay?"

Harry laughed a bit at this, and said, "Just for you, Gin." And a cute little bum it is, too He couldn't believe he was thinking these things. Though, he had to admit that his treacherous inner voice had a definite point.

"Well, that's alright, then. Now, budge over a bit. What's this about Dumbledore's office?"

Harry cringed a bit at the memory. "Dumbledore gave me a portkey to bring me to his office, after the balls-up at the Ministry. When he got back here, after seeing to everybody, he, erm, told me something." He debated with himself over telling her the prophecy. He would, at some point, probably when Ron and Hermione were present, too. "Something I was, well, quite pissed about, to tell the truth. I blew up at him." Almost to himself, he said quietly, "I just couldn't believe that he would keep something like that from me. Well, I kind of let my temper get the best of me."

"You didn't."

"Yeah, I did. I completely trashed his office. Stop giggling, you. It's not that funny."

Unable to hold her laughter in, she finally burst out. "Yes, it is!"

Seeing her laughter, he started chuckling himself. It was worth her laughing at him, as long as he got to hear it. He suddenly realized that the best moments he'd had today were when he had been able to make her laugh. It was dawning on him now, how thick he'd been. He was sitting there watching her, when she stopped laughing. She still had a smile on her face, as she saw him looking at her. A small blush slowly crept over her cheeks.

"What is it, Harry?"

He looked down at his hands for a moment, not sure how to say what he wanted to. Finally, he looked back at her, taking in her deep brown eyes, the nimbus of beautiful red hair surrounding her face, her delicate features.

With a sad smile, he said, "I've really been an idiot, haven't I? Now that you're over me, I finally see what's been in front of me this whole time. You've done nothing but offer me help, support, and friendship. Now, I've lost my chance. I hope that, the next time you fall for someone, he's smart enough to see it for the treasure it is." He looked back down at his hands now, unsure of what he would see in her face.

Ginny was stunned. Did this mean what she thought, hoped, it meant? Unable to speak for a moment, she sat looking at him. Finally, berating herself into gathering her Gryffindor courage, she put her hand under his chin, bringing his gaze back to hers. She looked into those brilliant green eyes. Hoping that what she thought she saw there was real, she spoke.

"Harry, I never said that I was over you. What I said was that I'd given up. When I saw you and Cho, I thought that there was no chance for me. I thought that, as long as you were happy, that was good enough. When I saw what she had done to you, it broke my heart. Personally, I think she and Michael deserve each other." She paused, and said what she really wanted to. "If you really think you want to go out with me, you'll always have a chance. Maybe you were a bit of an idiot, but it might've helped if I wasn't always sticking my elbow in the butter dish around you, not to mention sending you singing trolls."

"Actually, I thought that the singing get-well card my third year was brilliant. The voice was a bit off, but the card was brilliant."

Ginny went beet red at this. "Did you have to remind me of that?" She took a swing at his arm, and he caught her hand.

He kissed her fingers and asked, "Will you be my girlfriend, Ginny?"

She wrapped her arms around him and replied, "For as long as you'll have me."

They came together now, their lips touching, tentatively at first. Gradually, they became more bold, the kiss intensifying. Both mouths seemed to open at the same time, and their tongues touched, moving against each other. After a time, whether it was a few minutes or a lifetime neither was sure, they drew apart, her forehead resting against his.

The only thing Harry could say was, "Wow."

Ginny replied with "Yeah." Then she slapped him on the arm. "So what made you wait so long, you prat?" She snuggled in against him, as he lay back against his pillow.

He was running his hand through her hair, amazed at how soft it was. "You know, Ron is going to go spare, when he finds out." He let out a small groan. "I don't even want to think what the rest of your brothers are going to do to me."

"Are you kidding? Don't you remember, on the train, when I told him I'd chosen Dean? Didn't you see the look he gave you before I said that?"

"Erm, Gin, I was a bit pre-occupied at the time. Remember, I was on my way back to the Dursley's. The only place I would have wanted less to be going to was Voldemort's lair. You'll excuse me if I missed the occasional subtlety."

That earned a full blown laugh from her. "Ron? Subtle? Are we talking about the same guy? Red hair, taller than you, in your year, who hasn't yet managed to twig that Hermione's wanted him since forever? That Ron?" Once she'd finally quit laughing, she looked back up at him, still stifling the occasional giggle. "He's been wanting us to get together for a year and a half now."

"And the rest of them?"

"I really don't think they'll give you a bad time. The only ones you'll have to watch will be Fred and George. They'll prank you once or twice, you'll prank them back, and that'll be that. They wouldn't hurt their financial backer. They may be nuts, but they're not completely stupid. Charlie and Bill will welcome you, and Percy...Percy can bugger off, as far as I'm concerned. Ron told me about that letter Prissy Percy sent him. All I can say is that he'd better count himself lucky he didn't step between me and Ron when we were talking about it." Her smile was a little scary at this point. "What happened on the train to Malfoy and the dungbrain twins would have been merciful in comparison."

"Remind me to never get you mad at me."

Ginny moved up so that her head was resting on his chest. "Just give me a kiss, and you won't have to worry about it." He couldn't resist an offer like that, so he did as she requested. A few minutes later, he lay back again.

A moment later, tiredness overtook him, and he drifted off into sleep. It was the first night in a long time he slept completely without nightmares.