The next week passed entirely too quickly for everybody. On the night before the party, Harry decided to take a walk to clear his head. He strode quickly down the hill towards the lake, breathing in the crisp, refreshing night air. When he reached the lake, he sat on the cool grass, legs crossed, and looked out across the still surface. He leaned forwards so that his chin was resting on his palm, elbow on his knee. For a sheer second there was complete silence as he pondered the single ripple that the wind had creased on the sheet of water. Then, all of a sudden…
"Harry?"
He raised his head abruptly and glanced around wildly. His eyes found the small, redheaded figure standing behind him and he relaxed.
"Ginny! You scared me…"
"You looked like you were meditating or something…" Ginny chuckled to herself, then cautiously walked over and sat next to him, careful to keep a distance between them. Without meeting his gaze, she tucked her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, looking out at the water as Harry had done. Harry expected her to say something, but when she remained silent, he spoke his mind.
"Why did you come?"
She looked at him, surprised. "I saw you coming down here, and I thought you…well, I thought you might want some company…" She seemed to realize how lame this sounded, and sighed.
"Look, Ginny, we need to talk. Seriously."
Ginny's expression was unreadable as she turned to him, but the second hazel eyes met emerald she smiled.
"I know. That's why I came down here. I have things to tell you…I know that you do too. And we need to be truthful with one another."
Harry couldn't help but smile at this. She always seemed to know when the time was right.
"So. I'll go first," she began. "Why are you so protective of me? Why are you so worried about me getting hurt? You said it wasn't that you somehow think that you're my brother, that night…" She trailed off and looked at him expectantly.
Harry cleared his throat and looked away. How was he supposed to answer that? Should he tell her how he felt about her? He knew he couldn't lie, just…embellish the truth a little.
"Um. Well." Harry swallowed. "I suppose I do feel protective of you…I mean, we've lived like brother and sister for so long…I couldn't stand you being hurt…" He trailed off, unable to find something else to say.
Ginny looked crushed. Harry's heart went out to her. "Protective…like Ron is of Hermione?"
Harry looked round at her, startled. They both knew how Ron felt about Hermione, and that was why he was so protective of her…
Ginny's hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide. "I-I didn't mean it like that…" she stammered.
Harry debated with himself. How could he phrase this?
"It's okay…" he finally said, looking around to see her looking very relieved. Just then, a gust of cold wind tugged at them, and Ginny, being dressed in only jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, shivered. Though Harry wore much the same attire, and was equally chilled, he nevertheless moved closer and hugged her to keep her warm. Ginny seemed surprised at the contact but melted into him. Harry enjoyed the way she felt in his arms, but when she drew back and smiled at him, he knew it had been the right thing to do.
"Thanks." Ginny's smile was warm. "Now, you go."
"Why are you so desperate to come with me?" Harry inquired, looking her in the eye. "Why are you so worried about me?"
Ginny seemed to have been ready for this, for she drew in a big breath.
"Well…like you said, you're almost like a brother to me…what bothers me the most is this prophecy. Why were you chosen? Why couldn't it have been somebody else? You don't deserve this…I-I just wish that you hadn't become the Boy Who Lived at all…I wish you were just Harry…"
Harry smiled, thinking back to the moment on that God-forsaken rock when he had insisted to Hagrid that he was "just Harry".
"Anybody would be worried about you…" Ginny continued—she looked tentative now, as if she wanted to say something but was scared of his reaction. "But…you have no idea how I would feel if…if you didn't come back. Harry…I…I know you've always thought of me as a little girl…your best friend's sister…somebody who just tags along. But I still…I always wished that…there was something more. I knew there never would be, but I still wished it. And now…you're leaving, you might never come back…and if you didn't, I could never move on…I've never given up on you. I know…it's obvious that you know that I had a crush on you…but I don't anymore. I've been through hardships with you. And through that, I was figuring out how I felt. I now know that I love you, Harry, and it might be too late to say it…"—Ginny's voice shook—"I was afraid, I knew that you'd never feel the same…" Ginny stopped speaking abruptly and her bottom lip quivered a little.
Harry gaped at her. He knew that now would be the right time to tell her…if only his jaw would close and his voice box start functioning…finally he shook his head, trying to eliminate the feeling of happiness rising inside him. Ginny must have mistaken it for disbelief, for she scooted away from him and stood up.
"Harry…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have bothered you at all…"
"No, don't go." Harry rose as well and placed a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from turning away from him. His eyes met hers, and he began:
"Ginny, I don't know what to say…I do want you to know that, in the past year, I didn't see you as just the little sister. I don't know what it is about you…I don't want to leave you, and I don't want you to leave, either. If you died…you have no idea, absolutely no idea how hard it would be for me. You mean too much to me. I guess what I'm trying to say is…I love you, Ginny…it took a lot for me to realize it, but now I can tell you."
Ginny stared at him in disbelief. "What did you say?" she breathed.
"I love you," Harry repeated firmly, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of him.
"Harry, I don't know what to say…"
"You don't have to say anything." Harry smiled. "I'm never leaving you, Gin. Not really. Even if—even if I die, I'll still be with you."
Ginny's eyes brimmed over, though they were shining with happiness rather than grief. "Oh, Harry…"
Harry pulled her close to him. Her face was inches from his own, with the distance growing shorter as he dipped his head down. Their lips were millimeters apart when Harry heard a voice behind him that he definitely did not want to hear.
"Oi! What do you two think you're doing!"
Harry cringed and backed away from Ginny quickly. Turning, he found himself looking at Fred, George and Charlie, some ten feet away amongst the sprinkling of sapling along the water's edge. All wore menacing expressions.
"Um…I—"
"Save it," Charlie growled through gritted teeth. "We all know perfectly well what you were trying to do with our little sister."
"Trying," George repeated, advancing slowly, hand gripping his wand.
"Get away from Harry, all of you!" Ginny shrieked, rushing forwards and standing in front of Harry. "What are you doing out here, anyways?"
Charlie carefully avoided her question. "We're just—"
"Being overprotective, as usual," Ginny spat. "You leave us alone! Whatever is going on between Harry and I is none of your business—"
"Oh, so there is something going on?" Fred asked. "And it actually is our business—"
"How would you like it if I spied on you and Angelina?" Ginny retorted smoothly. Fred turned a lovely shade of pink and hastily turned to his brothers.
"Erm…she's right, guys, maybe we should leave them alone…"
Fred and George immediately departed, the latter grumbling furiously. Charlie hung back and took Harry aside.
"Look, Harry mate…this is all fine and dandy with me, so long as you don't try anything unless she's ready. If you do, I will rip you to shreds. Is that clear?"
Harry nodded, feeling uncomfortable. "Charlie…she means the world to me, you know I'd never do that to her…"
Charlie smiled genuinely at him. "I know."
After Charlie departed, Ginny came up to Harry, who still looked very uncomfortable, and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Sorry about them…"
Harry faced her. "It's fine…"
"Way to spoil the moment," Ginny muttered. Harry heard this and grinned uncertainly at her. She returned it encouragingly. Harry didn't need to be told twice.
Harry crossed the distance between them easily, gathered her into his arms and kissed her.
The second their lips met Ginny felt a wonderful swooping sensation. It was as though she was being lifted high into the air by some invisible, gentle force. She felt lightheaded. She didn't know quite how it had happened; all she knew was that this was the happiest she had been in a very long time. When she had been with Dean or Michael she had not felt like this. Whatever it was about Harry that made her feel this way, she was going to hang onto. She was going to hang onto him. He wouldn't get away that easily.
Ron watched Harry and his sister out of his bedroom window. He sighed sadly. Why couldn't he just do that with Hermione? They had seemed to be talking beforehand, and then...Harry hadn't made it look that hard...
I can just get her on her own at the party tomorrow night, and talk about it…maybe something more, too… Ron tried to tell himself that this would work. It will work. I'm almost sure of it.
Almost…
There you have it. This chapter took forever to write. I wrote a whole other scene where Ginny falls into the lake, but I thought it was way too cheesy and overused.
Featherfinger-You auditioned for Luna? What was it like? How many people showed up? Did you see who got the part? Sorry…you must feel like you're in Russian Interrogation or something... Thanks for your review.
Troubled Tazzy-I know, they are all so clueless, well, this chapter narrowed it down to 2. It will take a while for Ron and Hermione to get together, judging by the fact that in all of the 6 books Ron has not made a move yet…