Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, etc. I only own the plot... No lawsuits please!

Almost Paradise

8:23 AM

Yawning, I struggle to pull my covers off my body. Moments later I emerge the winner and am about to celebrate, but when I stand I'm overcome with dizziness and the urge to vomit. With my eyes shut I blindly grope my way towards the bathroom. What happened last night? As I rest my head against the cool tiles near the toilet, I search my brain for the answer to that question. Let's see... Harry appeared at the Burrow. I went to work, very angry. Talked to Luna, what else?

"Oh!" The immaginary light bulb turned on. I went to the Leaky Cauldron to get smashed with Luna. She brought me home, didn't she? Of course she did. Hmm... bright lights, mum, Harry helping me, asking Harry about- "Oh. My. God." Why, oh, why did I ask Harry about that?

"I'm the worst drunk. Embarrasing myself in front of my family, bringing up the past, sobbing like a complete idiot..."

I get off of the floor and look myself in the mirror. My face is paler than usual, my eyes red and puffy, make-up smudged, and my hair tangled. I look down at my clothes. Blouse stained, loose vest buttons, and wrinkled pants. "Bugger." Quickly I stip and jump into the shower. Turning the faucet so the water will be scolding, I try to scrub away the memories of last night. I feel slightly better after a shower and I pull on a baggy t-shirt and my favorite pair of sweats. I walk out of my room and walk quietly down the stairs. Taking a moment to pause, I brace myself for the worst before entering the kitchen. I take a few tentative steps into the kitchen, expecting everyone to be eating a pleasant Saturday breakfast, but to my horror the one person I was planning on avoiding was sitting at the table. Alone. Waiting. For me no doubt.

"Good morning Ginny." He says.

I manage to reply, "Uh... hi. Harry."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm, er... fine." Nice. Keep it short and simple. Maybe he'll get bored and leave. "Yea right." I mutter.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Um... where is everyone?"

"Your mum shooed everyone out. She, well, she wanted us to have some time alone."

"Why?" I'm flabergasted. How could she do this?

"You know why."

"I'm sorry, I don't."

"We need to talk."

"I'm listening." Keep your cool Ginny.

"We need to talk about what happened."

"Are you talking about how you left me? Broke my heart? Made a complete fool out of me?" Ignoring Harry's pained face I continue, "Or would you rather take a simpler route? Perhaps talk about when you came back? Or what happened last night?" Nice Ginny. You sure kept your "cool."

"I came back to see everyone. I missed the Burrow, your mum's cooking, and... most of all, you."

"That still doesn't explain why you left in the first place. How could you leave when everyone needed you the most?"

"After defeating Voldemort, I felt empty. My life had revolved around him... I had to figure out who I was. Who the real Harry was, not the Boy-Who-Lived." He sighed, running his hand through his messy, jet black hair. "It took some time, but I managed the courage to come back."

"Courage? Was it 'scary' knowing you had to come back to the friends and family that love you? The people who care for your happiness and well-being?"

"It's not like that-"

"Oh, but it is Harry. It is. We all needed you, I needed you... We weren't prepared for you run away. To be gone for five years! Five whole years!" Years of pent up fustration could not stop me from asking, "Did you ever date any other women?"

"There were a few, but-"

"That's what I thought. Do you want to know something? I never dated another man. Knowing you were still out there, I couldn't..."

Turning my head away, I feel a lone tear slide down my cheek. Do not cry. Not again. Before I leave I have to ask one more question, "Did you... did you keep in contact with anyone?" And as I stare into his emerald green eyes, I pray for the answer to be no. I pray for this one answer to redeem him, because maybe I could possibly forgive him if the answer was no.

This chapter is shorter than the previous ones, but I left it at a cliff-hanger! What do you think? Review?