The Adventure Continued

Chapter 16: Room of Relief

A/N: Alright, the chapter of headaches! Which is why I like my title so much…I can now feel relieved that I got this done! Anyways, feel flattered that I was able to finish this. I had such a difficult time with this chapter, starting it three times and never being able to continue…then I realized that there was a bit more explaining to do. However, this is not the end! Please enjoy and thank you to those who reviewed on my last chapter. I noticed that it wasn't so many, but oh well! I don't write for those who don't review. I write for those who enjoy reading and I hope you do enjoy this next chapter!

Harry sat in his office early the next morning, feeling numb from the previous night's events. Of all the people to give him such important information, Neville Longbottom was definitely the last person Harry suspected. It wasn't as though Neville wasn't courageous enough- the boy had proved himself over and over again. Harry just had always assumed that in the end, Neville would choose a quiet, simple career, such as one involving herbology. He had not expected Neville to even dream about following dark witches and wizards…

A soft knock on the door interrupted Harry's train of thought and without hesitating, he called out, "Come in, Hermione." When the door opened, Harry gaped at the girl before him, not prepared to see Ginny Weasley standing in the door way, still wearing her robes from the previous night and holding Harry's invisibility cloak. "Ginny!" Harry gasped.

"Hi, Harry," Ginny whispered, conjuring a fluffy chair in front of his desk and nervously playing with a lock of hair as she sat down. "I guess I have a lot to explain now, don't I?"

Harry nodded silently, still staring at her red hair. "Yeah," he finally admitted, now feeling a bit irritated. "Care to tell me or are we going to pretend that this whole incident never happened?" His words were a bit sharp, even to his own ears, but Harry felt that he did deserve an explanation for what happened. After Ginny had announced her presence at the Three Broomsticks, she had vanished again and neither Hermione nor Harry had seen her since.

"I wish I could pretend it never happened," she answered slowly, still fidgeting with her hair, "but you know very well that it wouldn't solve anything. I have been so stupid this whole time. I really thought that you didn't care about me at all. I mean, Hermione kept telling me-" She paused, looking at the window.

Harry followed her gaze to the lake outside and turned back to her. She had a mixed expression on her face as if she was fighting with herself. "Yes?" he encouraged her to continue.

"Never mind what Hermione said," said Ginny hastily. "I still care about you, Harry. I have always cared about you-"

"-Funny way of showing it-"

"-Even when I was really angry with you," she continued, ignoring his rude comment. "I have just been so confused. I thought you liked me…liked me the way you used to like me. I thought that if- well, when you came back from saving the wizarding world, you would come back to me, too. But you never did, Harry. You were so intent on becoming an Auror…that I felt slighted. You never explained to me why your work was so much more important than anything else."

"Well, you know now, don't you?" Harry replied with an expression full of concern.

"Yes, I do now," Ginny sighed, ceasing to play with her hair and beginning to rub the soft invisibility cloak in her lap. "I wished you would have told me from the beginning what you were up to instead of ignoring me. We both would have felt a lot better and maybe none of this would have happened, but instead, it killed me everything I found you hanging with Ron and Hermione. Sure, you could be their friend, but you couldn't be mine? Every time I thought of you, I just grew angrier and more hostile.

"I agreed to get a job at Hogwarts because I needed independence away from you lot, and away from my parents. I thought that maybe if I was away from you, I could forget the way you treated me or, possibly, you would miss me enough that you would...like me again. Then I found out in the Daily Prophet that you were being assigned to Hogwarts as well.

"You've noticed that I haven't been terribly ecstatic with the idea," Ginny mused, a dark look filling her eyes as if she were recalling a terrible memory. "You would think that I would be thrilled! We would be working together! I would get to see you everyday! But I wasn't thrilled at all. My plan to get some space was delayed as I learned that I would be working both with you and Hermione. My frustration got the better of me and I took a lot of my anger out on you, Harry. I am really sorry about that." Ginny paused to take a breath, half-hoping Harry would yell at her for how childish she had been. However, Harry just stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I should have never taken your cloak, Harry," Ginny apologized. "Luna told me that you were in my classroom the night after I went into your office. You're probably wondering why I went into your office, huh? I feel so stupid now that I think about it. I went to see if you had kept any of the letters I had written to you in the past few years. I had kept every single one of yours…well, all three, at least. I wanted to know if you treasured my letters like I did yours. They were not in your office, though. I would have looked in your quarters but I ran out after Sirius reprimanded me for invading other's privacy." Ginny eyed Sirius who was pretending to sleep in his portrait, yet she could tell that he was catching every word that she spoke.

"I did keep your letters, Gin, if you were wondering," said Harry at last with a small smile. "I just don't keep them locked up in my office. Fred and George have taught me a few things about Hogwarts students."

Ginny returned the smile nervously, yet it turned into another frown. "I didn't know that. I was really angry with you after that. Then Hermione told me about the letter you received from that 'mysterious person.' For a moment, I was actually worried for you. People just don't send anonymous notes everyday and you could have played into a Death Eater's trap, hoping to get revenge for his master. Hermione suggested that I find out what was wrong. She knew that I was angry with you, but she thought that if I showed some concern that maybe we could break a few icebergs. I followed you back into the castle and stole your cloak. I had full intention of following you to the Three Broomsticks after that. I took a short cut and saw you coming down the stairs. That's when I shot a spell to make you trip while I stuffed the cloak in my pocket. You really aren't as clumsy was you think you are," Ginny added humorously and began to chuckle, but stopped when seeing Harry's annoyed expression.

"Alright, I did get a bit carried away after that. I was so worried that you saw me with your cloak, so I bit your head off before you knew what was happening. Then my temper got the best of me and…" Ginny's voice trailed off and Harry understood that she did not want to recall the events of Saturday night. It had really been a mistake on both parts.

"How did you know that I got another letter, Ginny?" Harry changed the subject after a moment. "You followed me to Hogsmeade. How did you know?"

Ginny smiled mischievously. "I was in the hospital wing with Hermione under the cloak. She had a patient at the time and I didn't want to be recognized. She knew I had the cloak, but protected me anyways when you appeared, accusing me of having it. Hermione did tell me that I was wrong to take it, but she knew that if she told you, it would make matters worse. It wasn't hard to follow you two to Hogsmeade after that. You heard me trip in the snow once, but I was careful enough to stay in Hermione's footprint so that you wouldn't grow too suspicious.

"You know what happened after that, Harry," Ginny finally concluded her thirty-minute confession. "I heard what Neville said about spying on Bellatrix Lestrange and then what you said about protecting me. I never knew that was the real reason you were so attached to your work and so distant from me. It was sweet, but you should have known before that I am able to take care of myself. I'm not another Cho Chang that's about to wash your robes with my tears."

Harry laughed at her comparison with Cho, but Harry also realized that Ginny was right. Ginny was a lot braver and more determined than some of the workers in the Auror Department and she deserved more respect than Harry had given her in the past. He had spent so long fighting Voldemort and then training for the Ministry that part of him still believed that Ginny was the young sixteen-year-old that he had left at home.

"I guess I'm sorry, too, Ginny," said Harry, running a hand through his hair. "I really did underestimate you. You were right about me avoiding you, too. I didn't know how you would take it if we couldn't resume our relationship. I had hoped that if we didn't talk about it, we could hold it off for a while. I can see now that my plan backfired. You deserved an explanation and I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you. Really, Gin, I am sorry."

Ginny smiled meekly, her eyes misty with tears that wouldn't fall. While spilling out everything that had happened since that past summer, Ginny also understood something while watching Harry's readable expressions: things would never be how they were. Both Harry and Ginny had grown up in so many ways since they were in school and, each one wondered privately if the affection they had for each other was worth starting another flame.

Harry looked down at his hands and realized how pale and cold they had become in the last few minutes. "Classes begin in an hour," Harry stated after glancing at the clock and then examining his hands again.

"I know," Ginny sighed, now looking very tired and wishing she had slept more, "but I wanted you to understand before you choose to hate me for the rest of your life."

"I don't hate you, Gin," Harry protested. "I've always liked you. You have to remember that."

Ginny laughed a little. "I can name a few times when you would have cursed me into tomorrow if you could. But really," she added seriously, "I came mainly to give your cloak back. I don't think I will need to follow you anymore…and please don't sneak into my classroom again. You will be welcomed without getting yelled at now."

The two individuals smiled awkwardly at each other until Ginny stood up to leave. "Well, I'll see you, Harry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Ok, well…see you, then," said Ginny as she turned to leave the office.

And then Harry thought of something- something that could make up for some of the pain and confusion that she had suffered because of him. "Ginny, wait!" he called out, jumping out of his chair and almost knocking his glasses off at the same time. Ginny spun around, her hair flying around her and almost hitting Harry in the face as he stopped barely two feet away from her. "I do owe you something." And in a sweep, he took her in his arms and held her for what seemed like hours, and then as if they both knew it would happen, their lips met…they didn't need to say anything else to know that they forgave one another.

(This Is NOT the End- Though it does scary me that someone thought this was a Cliff-Hanger...)