Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Nor do I know the Muffin Man.

Chapter IV: A Voice Out of the Dark

Neville approached the front door to his shop with his wand drawn. The frazzled silhouette of a person, or at least he thought it was a person, was visible through the glass of the door. Neville opened the door slowly and cautiously. He drew in a deep breath, preparing for the worst, but he was surprised by what he met.

He was meet by someone with a mass of sopping wet hair. Moving down he saw a pale face with red blotches and red-rimmed brown eyes. "Ginny? What are you doing out there?" said Neville leading her inside.

"I...I am s-sorry. I j-just didn't know w-where to g-go," she stuttered.

"No, no that's quite alright, but you are soaked and look frozen. Here come up stairs. I am sorry but I was never able to master drying spells."

Ginny let out a small chuckle, despite her crestfallen face. "Neither was I."

"What's wrong?" asked Neville as he lead Ginny upstairs. Looking back at her, he found that tears had started to well up in her eyes. "I saw what happened at the debate. I am very sorry. I went to look for you, but you had already left."

"I couldn't stay another moment in the same building with that bastard," Ginny replied bitterly.

Neville didn't reply. He did not quite know what to say, so he rummaged around and found some dry, clean clothes to give to Ginny. He then showed her to the bathroom. Sitting on the couch while she changed, Neville held his head in his hands trying to compose what he would say. He was hopeless with upset women. He had had a few run-ins with them on his travels and he had never succeeded in consoling them. Of course, it did not help that they did not speak English or any other familiar language, so Neville could not understand a word of what they were saying.

Ginny came out of the bathroom changed. Neville offered her a blanket and they sat down on the couch. "Would you like to talk about it?" asked Neville while silently cursing himself for his lack of skill in these situations.

"I don't know," Ginny replied tears still trickling down her cheeks. "I just—It is too much. I really—I loved him."

At this, Ginny fell onto him and Neville patted her on the back awkwardly as she cried into his shirt. Immediately she backed away again. "I—I am sorry. I should not have intruded on you like this. It is quite unfair. I just have been keeping a lot of it in for a long time. There has not really been anyone I felt like I could talk to. I'm sorry."

"You can talk to me," said Neville giving her a soft, encouraging smile.

"I guess, since you are willing to listen...I just have been keeping a lot in for a long time. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all."

"Well, we didn't see much of each other during the War, so I had best start from the beginning. My family tried to keep me away from it as best they could, but I wouldn't have it. Harry broke up with me at Dumbledore's funeral. I understood a bit though, you know, it was just his nobility. He thought that I would be in more danger if we were still together. He failed to realize that either way I would be in danger. He failed to realize that there was no way I would sit back at home wondering whether everyone I loved was still alive or not. A few people understood this.

"My brother Charlie understood this the best. He also understood that we needed as many witches and wizards as possible to fight for our side. And so, he supported me against the rest of my family. I became part of the Order of the Phoenix at sixteen years old. I was a spy. Most people do not know it, but I am an animagus. I kept tabs on the movements of various Death Eaters. It gave me something useful to do while Harry, Ron and Hermoine went to find the Horcruxes.

"I saw Harry sometimes. Every once in a while he and Ron and sometimes Hermoine would take a small break to see us. Every time Harry seemed to have changed, physically and mentally. He always looked a bit paler each visit. He seemed quite bitter and sarcastic. Yet each time, he would tell me how much he loved me, that when it was over that we would have forever.

"I was foolish enough to believe him. Each time I saw him, he seemed more and more distant. After a visit one Christmas, I didn't see him for over a year. The next time I saw him was at the final battle. By this time Percy was dead and I, despite my mother's will against it, was about to pour my entire existence into defeating Voldemort. You were there; you saw the horrors of that night. What most people do not know is that Harry Potter almost died that night at Voldemort's hands. Harry had lost his wand and Voldemort had him cornered. My father had already died pushing him out of the way of a killing curse and I was desperate. I launched myself in front of Harry as Voldemort sent three spells at him. One, Avada Kedavra, missed and hit the wall above, but the other two nailed me. One was the same spell put on Ron back at the Department of Mysteries all those years ago, which made me quite loony. The other was Sectumsempra. Well, I do not remember too much more of the battle after that. I do remember the blaze of power from Harry as he killed Voldemort and I remember him looking down at me, as I fainted while I was whispering something about his eyes looking like fresh pickled toads."

Ginny took a breath, but continued. Neville was glad, because he didn't know what to say. "After it was all over, I was in St. Mungo's for a few months. I was quite hysterical and nightmares plagued me. They did not think I would recover. I couldn't control my magic either. I had some good days and I was allowed visitors then. My brothers, Mum, Hermoine, Luna and Phlegm would stop by regularly. Every time, I would ask about Harry. They would never answer me.

"When I finally recovered, I went into Auror training. There was a press conference one day, which Harry was attending, I tried to talk to him but it was hard to get up to him with the river of people trying to get his autograph. When I finally got his attention, he gave me his autograph. I thought he must have been just mistaken and over-whelmed by the crowd, so after much struggle, I got up to him again. He patted me on the head and made a big speech to the crowd about how I was one of his biggest fans, who went nutters because of the Chamber of Secrets incident and how he had saved me and how now I would claim that we dated. It was the most embarrassing thing in my life. It was even worse than that singing valentine I sent him my first year.

"Worst of all, it hurt. The pain was more than Sectumsempra. It was not that he lied and it was not that he didn't love me. It was that I loved him and would have given up anything for him, but he didn't care. What hurts worse is that in spite of this, I still love him..."

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Neville woke up stiff and sore. He could hear that it was still raining, but it seemed to be sometime in the morning. There was something heavy on him. He lifted his head up to see a mass of curling head hair. Confused, Neville tried to sit up a bit more. He was met by a beautiful face in repose. The night before came rushing back to him. Visions of a crying Ginny and feelings of animosity towards Harry flooded his head. Neville suddenly felt quite awkward, not just because of the night before, but with his comfort from Ginny's weight against him. As gently as he could, he tried to slip out from under her without waking her up.

Neville managed not to wake her up and went to check what time it was. He jumped when he saw that it was almost nine. He had ten minutes until he opened. He figured, also, that Ginny needed to get to work. He walked over and shook her gently.

"Five more minutes, Mum," she mumbled.

Neville laughed. "I am certainly not your mum. You need to get up if you have work today."

"Work!" said Ginny shooting up. "Wait a minute," she said looking confused until realization hit. "Oh, Neville I am so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on your couch—"

"It is quite alright. I—"

"Oh goodness! Hermoine! She probably thinks I am dead in an alley somewhere!"

"What?"

"Hermoine and I are roommates. She tends to worry too much. Can I borrow your Floo?"

"Oh, yes, of course," said Neville handing Ginny a small pot full of Floo Powder. Neville could not hear what Ginny was saying, but he could hear Ron yelling from the other end. A few minutes later, Ginny's head emerged from the fire.

"Well, that went well. Hermoine was very understanding, but she had contacted Ron, who had been in panic. He hit the ceiling when he found out I was here," said Ginny as she shook the soot out of her hair. "Don't worry, though, he calmed down and everything a fine," she added after seeing Neville's worried expression.

"Good. What time do you have to go to work?"

"I have to be there by nine. Moody will hex me if I am late."

"It is two minutes 'til," said Neville looking at the clock on the wall. He saw Ginny's eyes go wide. She suddenly sprinted to the bathroom. A minute later she was out, back in her clothes from yesterday with her messy hair pulled back.

"Thank you for everything, Neville," she said giving him a smile and a kiss on his cheek and then disapparating. Neville brought his hand up to his cheek, still able to feel the warmth of her lips on it. A grin slowly spread across his face.

He dressed and ate, causing him to open his shop a little late. It was a good and cheerful day for Neville. It made him happy that Ginny trusted him. Even though he knew that she still loved Harry, knowing that she at least trusted him, especially enough to confide in him, heartened him. It was especially heartening because he knew that Ginny was not the most trusting person. Although he was very happy, a slight sorrow clung in the back of his heart. He just wished Ginny could have the happiness she deserved.

Neville's happiness lasted for two days. On the third day he was visited by Ron, who although he had calmed down, was still furious that Ginny had spent the night at his flat, however innocent it was. He had to put up with a fifteen-minute rant on how he should have sent Ginny home. To make matters worse he then had to listen to another rant about Ron and Hermoine's argument after they had talked to Ginny. Ron's visit was nothing compared to the next few visits he would get, though. Neville would have rather faced Bill, Fred, George and Ron Weasley than his next visitors. He would even have rather listened to Percy Weasley's (may he rest in peace) cauldron bottom lecture.

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A/N: Thank you all for reading.

--Perplexity