Disclaimer: Obviously, I own nothing. NO-THING. Except the story…and Lily, Andrew, and the twins.

TiggerLily130: Haha, thank you. Don't worry, this is, after all, a Harry and Ginny story….

Ickle-princess: Updated, especially for you ;)

BexyLou: Thank you very much.

Previously: "I meant about everything. I'm sorry about earlier today, but, most of all, I'm sorry for all the days before this…" Harry leaned in closer, but Ginny pulled away surprisingly quickly, causing him to lose his balance on the counter. Turning red, he hung his head and looked away.

"Harry, I'm sorry…Harry? Look at me," she begged. He glanced over, his face burning, and she gave him a look of sympathy and apology. "Harry, I can't…I'm married."

.x. Having Heart Is Full Of Pain .x.

Will My Memories Die?

"Haha…Harry, stop!" Ginny giggled as he scooped her up into his arms. Spinning her around, he planted a soft, sweet kiss on her perfect lips and he felt them smile at his touch. He let her down again; she wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her head into his neck. "I love you, Harry," she whispered into his ear for the first time, "I've always loved you."

"I love you too." He leaned down and kissed her again, an unfamiliar warmth flooding through his body. It was at that moment he became aware of what he had always known but never realized—he was meant to spend his life with Ginny Weasley…

"What?" he asked, incredulously. "Oh God," he thought, "let her be joking…"

"I'm sorry," she murmured, not looking him in the eyes.

They shared an awkward silence for a few moments. "To…to who?" he finally managed to croak out.

He barely heard her as she breathed out the word, "Neville."

Two seconds later, Ginny found herself alone in her parents' kitchen, and Harry was walking up the stairs. She glanced over at the clock and cursed. 3:20 A.M. Taking one last hopeful look at the kitchen door, she apparated with a crack! to her dark home.

"Hi, honey," a sleepy Neville smiled at her as she walked in the bedroom.

"Hi." Ginny sat down on the edge of the bed to take off her shoes and socks, and then stood up to take off her shirt and pants. Slipping into a lace nightie, she climbed under the covers. Wrapping her arms around Neville, she closed her eyes.

"Where were you?"

"Mmm, I fell asleep at Mum's. How was work?"

"Fine." Neville yawned. "Can we carry on this conversation in the morning?" He kissed her forehead gently and she nodded sleepily. "Goodnight, Gin," he whispered, closing his eyes again. She nuzzled into his neck and he held her in a tight embrace. The couple fell asleep like that, waking together just a few hours later.

Harry's head hurt from thinking, his breath didn't seem to come quickly or deep enough. He remembered vividly the sensation of drowning, his head about to explode from lack of oxygen, from the second task in the Triwizard Tournament, and this sensation was a thousand times worse. "Damn it Harry, you should have come back… You should have come back for her, and now look where it got you." His cheeks burned with the knowledge that hot tears were forming in the corners of his emerald green eyes. How could he have been so amazingly, astoundingly stupid? Ginny was a pretty girl, the boys had always liked her, and anyways, he had broken up with her in his sixth year. "I was just trying to protect her…" he whispered sadly to himself, letting a silent tear trickle down his cheek. "At least she's happy," he thought miserably to himself as he pulled the blankets of the bed tight around his cold body, preparing for a fitful night's sleep.

Ginny did not come by the Weasley house in the next couple of days. Harry spent the time catching up with the Weasley brothers over backyard games of Quidditch, just like they had done during his time at Hogwarts, and he spent numerous days at Ron and Hermione's house. Lily spent much of her time with Harry and treated him as an uncle, and they often went to the park together with Ron and Hermione's three younger children. It was at those days, pushing young ones on swings and retelling his fondest memories of Hogwarts to Lily, that he found himself the happiest. He had always wanted to be a father; long days spent playing games with the three kids that he had never been allowed to play himself were proving to fulfill this wish and keep his mind off of Ginny all at once.

"Mr. Potter?" Lily asked him.

"Harry, and yes?" Harry was sitting with Andrew Weasley (the oldest of the trio at the age of five) in his lap and one of the twin girls, Emma, in his arms. Lily was holding the other twin, Bonnie, and they sat on one of the benches on the outskirts of the grassy playround, catching their breath before heading home.

"You knew my aunt at Hogwarts, right?"

"Yeah, we were good friends," he said, leaving out that it was only a half-truth. She looked at him, and he knew instantly that she saw through his lie.

"I wish you would have married her."

"Why do you say that? Do you not like Neville?"

"No, he's fine….on his own. I don't think he and Aunt Ginny make a very good couple, that's all. My dad says you were perfect for her though! Is it true? You guys even dated at Hogwarts, didn't you?"

"That was a long time ago," he told her, and immediately felt guilt at the crushed expression on her face. Then he smiled weakly. "I wish I would have married her too…" Harry looked down in regret. Why? He had been such a selfish idiot and now he would never have her.

A pair of skinny arms around his neck broke his thoughts. "It's okay, Mr. Potter," Andrew said into his shoulder as he hugged him. Harry smiled and Lily smiled back.

"Wanna go home?" she asked him, and Harry nodded. They stood up and Lily took Emma from his arms.

"Want a ride?" Harry smiled as Andrew's eyes lit up, and a grin nearly as big as the child was spread across his lips.

"Really?"

Harry bent down and scooped the boy into his arms, throwing him so that he was sitting on his shoulders. Andrew laughed and giggled, and the group walked back to the Burrow, where a warm meal was awaiting them.

Harry's hair was wet as he walked down the stairs, fresh out of the shower, on his way to dinner. The smell of soap was still evident on his body. He was dressed casually, with a pair of jeans and a plain sage green t-shirt. He reached the foot of the stairs; the smell of a million delectable dishes reached his nose and he grinned.

"Everything smells great, Mrs. Weasley," he said to the proud matriarch as he slipped into his seat next to Ron. Across the table from him, Lily and Andrew smiled at him and waved, and he returned the action.

"Don't be silly, Harry, dear. Call me Molly." Harry nodded, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley settled into their places at the table as well. As Ron and Hermione warned Andrew that mashed potatoes were not to be flung (an incident Harry assumed had happened before), he noticed there was an empty seat.

"Mrs. Wea—I mean, Molly? Is there someone else coming?" Harry asked curiously.

"Oh, yes. We're just waiting for her. You're not too terribly starved, are you?" A look of concern that her children were not being fed quickly enough passed over her features.

"No, that wasn't it. Just curious."

"Uncle Harry?" Lily asked.

"What's up, Lil?" he asked the eleven year old.

"Well…I'm going to school in a week, and… I was wondering if you would come to King's Cross with us?" A look of apprehension and hope filled her face, and Harry couldn't help but swell with happiness.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he told her, smiling. A look of pure joy flooded her features, and Harry laughed.

"Did…did she just call you 'Uncle Harry?'" Hermione asked him.

"You know, Uncle Harry is the best pusher on the swings ever!" Andrew gleefully informed his mother.

"And he's the best spinner for the merry-go-round," Lily added.

"Impressive, Harry," Hermione told him, obviously shell-shocked at how quickly he had grown on her young children. "We have a hard time getting them to call Percy 'uncle.'"

"That's because Percy's a git," Andrew explained proudly.

"Andrew Bilius Weasley, what did I tell you about using that word about Uncle Percy?" Hermione asked him strictly.

"That's the idea!" Ron whispered quietly to his son. He was soundly whacked over the head with Hermione's wand.

"Don't you go around giving him those ideas! Just because Percy was Head Boy and got better O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. grades than you did, and said those things to your parents, and abandoned your family…" Hermione's voice trailed off for a moment. "God, are you infuriating!"

"They haven't changed a bit," Harry thought to himself. The couple bickered for a few moments longer, this time with their voices hushed so that Andrew and Lily couldn't hear what they were saying, until their argument was interrupted by the definitive crack of someone who had just Apparated.

"Sorry I'm late, Mum," came Ginny's voice, and Harry groaned inwardly. Why did he get the idea this would not end well?

A/N: Okay, this chapter is a little short, and kinda sucks, but with good reason! The good, juicy stuff is going to happen in the next few chapters (it will continue after that, but it gets very good very soon), and this one was kind of a filler. I intended for something to happen in this one, but I wasn't sure what, and I have decided it would be best for this one to have no major action, sorry. Please read and review still, I promise chapter four will be better!