Disclaimer: To my eternal regret, I didn't create the Harry Potter universe. I merely force the characters to do my evil bidding. It's the one joy in my life, please don't sue and deprive me of it.

Chapter 16

Hoping there was no one waiting behind the door, and wondering whom it would be if there were, Remus opened the door with trepidation. Peering around it, he was pleased to find himself welcomed by an empty hallway. Opening the door wider, he stepped out and glanced toward the stairs. Spotting no one, he sighed in relief and turned to re-enter the room. As he was about to go back in, he spied a stooped figure with fiery red hair leaning against the wall.

If he didn't have so much composure, Remus would have started hitting his head against the wall.

He eyed Ginny warily, and moved slightly in front of her so as to block her from the view of those inside the room, who were craning their necks to see who else had found out about Harry. Remus cursed their curiosity. Giving them a warning look, he carefully shut the door.

Crouching down next to her, Remus looked at her for a moment. Ginny didn't seem to notice that he was there. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

Startled, she looked up at him, brown eyes wide and bright.

Hoping against hope that she had heard nothing of the goings-on inside the room, Remus asked kindly, "what's wrong, Ginny?"

She looked at him, still looking lost. He felt his heart pang in sympathy for the poor woman sitting in front of him. But then Ginny's face took on a new expression. Anger was etched firmly in her features, and she stood up suddenly.

The group gathered in the room saw a swift flurry of motion in the hallway, but still couldn't identify the person Remus was blocking from view, no matter how hard they tried.

However, during another bout of action, Fred and George were able to discern a swishing gown and red hair. They looked at each other, stomachs squirming uncomfortably, and steeled themselves for what they knew was coming next.

Face contorted into so many emotions it was now unreadable, Ginny pushed past Remus and stepped, blazing, into the room.

Harry looked up, and fount himself mesmerized by the brown eyes he had seen just as short while ago. He could feel his stomach doing the familiar flip-flops as he took in her appearance, not all that different from the night he had left seven years ago.

"You," she said, her voice dangerously quiet. Harry said nothing, and neither did anyone else. They sat there watching, knowing the scene would play out whether or not they interfered. Ginny was shaking, though no one could tell if it was from anger, sadness, or joy.

She gave Harry another hard look, breathing heavily. "What are you doing here," she demanded, eyes flashing. Before he had a chance to do more than open his mouth, Ginny noticed all the people gathered in the room.

"You knew?" she shrieked, backing away from them. "You all knew?" They looked at each other guiltily, unwilling to meet her eyes. Fleur lowered her eyelids and looked away, unable to stand the sight of Ginny's pain that was so similar to her own.

Ginny shook her head disbelievingly, and looked accusingly at each member of the group in turn. "I can't believe this," she muttered angrily.

"Ginny," Harry started, having finally regained his powers of speech.

"Don't you talk to me," she whispered. "Don't you dare talk to me." Turning swiftly, she ran out of the room.

Everyone stared after her in silence, with the exception of Harry. Driven to action by the rapid beating of his heart, and the fact that every fiber of his being was howling for him to follow her, Harry stood up and began to make his way to the door,

"Harry, wait," said Remus. "Give her time." But it was too late; he was already gone.

Forgetting caution, Harry ran into the hallway, wanting nothing more than to find Ginny, to talk to her, to just be with her. He hated the way she had looked at him.

Ginny tore through the house, unable to breathe properly. To have him sprung on her like that! She needed space. Harry continued to rush after her, heedless of the attention he was attracting.

"That can't be," gasped one witch who he had nearly trampled. Her companion stared after him in shock.

"But he's dead!" They looked at each other, and then they ran off to tell their friends that they had seen Harry Potter.

As his breath began coming in short spurts and he started to feel a cramp in his side, Harry found himself fervently wishing he had kept up with Quidditch training. Ginny sprinted further in front of him, taking so many turns that he was merely following the sound of her steps echoing through the halls.

He turned a corner, not paying attention to anything except his goal of catching Ginny, and slammed into someone who had been standing there, knocking her to the ground. Groaning, he began muttering apologies and trying to help her to her feet, but the brunette didn't move. He looked up to find her face white and her eyes wide, staring at him unashamedly. It was only then he noticed her white dress.

"Harry?" Hermione asked in wonder. Temporarily forgetting about his pursuit of Ginny, Harry crouched down next to his old friend.

They looked at each other for several long moments.

"I can't believe you're… This is…" Hermione's eyes began welling with tears, and she threw her arms around him. Suddenly something clicked in her brain.

"Ginny was running," she began, doing her best to restrain the tears that were threatening to start falling. "She saw you, didn't she?"

He nodded grimly. "Along with half the world," he said, noting the small crowd that was starting to form a few feet away. Hermione chuckled weakly.

"Did you see the…" she began, looking at him inquiringly. He nodded, grinning, as he hadn't in years.

"Congratulations," he said. Hermione smiled.

"Does Ron know?" she asked, trying to imagine her husband's reaction.

Harry shared her thought, and shook his head. "No," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "he doesn't." Hermione laughed and embraced Harry again.

"It's been so long," she whispered into his shoulder. He nodded sadly.

"It has," he agreed, staring down the hallway Ginny had ran down. Hermione noticed where he was looking.
"Go get her," she said, smiling wider than ever. Squeezing her hand, Harry went to do as he was told.

Unfortunately, Harry had a bit of trouble picking out Ginny's path from the mess of hallways the Grangers called their house. He spun in circles despondently, trying to get some hint of where she had gone, when he saw a flash of red out the window. Seeing Ginny's figure flee towards the garden, he raced outside.

"Ginny!" he yelled, but she ignored him. He groaned and continued to run after her, the stitch in his side more pronounced than it had been before.

She looked back and saw him following her. Giving a little scream of frustration, she maneuvered herself over a wall and into a neighbor's yard. Harry paused at the wall she had climbed over, examining it, frustrated. There were many things he loved about Ginny Weasley, but her obstinacy was starting to grate on his nerves a little bit.

Sighing, Harry scrambled over the wall, ad looked to see where Ginny had gone. He spotted her sitting in the garden, and walked over to her quietly, so as not to alarm her.

Reaching her, he put his hand on her shoulder. Ginny gave a strangled sob and turned to face him.

"I've missed you," she admitted, tears streaming down her face. "I've missed you so much."

Harry patted her back comfortingly. "I've missed you, too," he said, voice cracking with emotion. "You're all I think about," he whispered. Ginny shivered, and she suspected it had nothing to do with the wind that had picked up.

The stayed their for a few moments, finding comfort in each other's arms. Then Ginny pulled away.

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you leave?"

Harry shook his head and replied quietly, "I can't tell you that."

Ginny's temper flared up again. "You think you can just leave without telling anyone you're going, without telling anyone why? You think you can do that, and then come back, pretending nothing's wrong?" she cried.

"No!" Harry said. "I wasn't planning on this, Gin!"

"Don't call me that," she yelled, wrenching herself from his grasp. "You have no right! You left me, Harry!"

"You don't know why," he said. "If you knew—"

"Then tell me!"

"I can't!"

Ginny glared at him, and he looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry," he said.

"'Sorry' doesn't make up for it, Harry," she said quietly. He hung his head.

"I know. But it's a start," he added hopefully, cupping her chin in his hand and turning her to face him.

"Seven years," she whispered, forcing herself to look anywhere but his eyes. But it was of no use; her gaze finally met his, and she, as she always had, got lost in the depths of his eyes.

She could feel herself slowly yielding to his touch, moving closer to him, head tilted. She saw his eyes getting closer, until she closed her own and trembled as his mouth met hers.

Fireworks exploded in her head as he kissed her, gently at first, but getting slowly more passionate. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him right next to her body, deepening the kiss.

When she felt his tongue gently scrape her lower lip, she pulled away.

Eyes narrowed, she slapped him hard across the face. She nodded in satisfaction when she saw the outline of her hand etched into his cheek.

"That," she said curtly, "is for leaving." Getting up with difficulty, as her body had lost all feeling when he kissed her, she ran away.

Author's Note: I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Please, for my benefit and the story's, review so I know what I'm doing well (a short list, I should think) and what I need to improve (a rather longer list). Look for an updat by January 21. Thanks!