Disclaimer: Obviously, I own nothing. NO-THING. Except the story…and Lily, Andrew, and the twins.
A/N: Back from Chicago, had a good time, blah blah blah. Here it is. Oh, Oh, I just remembered! BANNER NEWS: I have a journal now where I will post when I have updated, how far I am on the new chapters if it's been taking me a while, why I haven't posted in a while, the occasional preview possibly, etc. etc. However, I will only keep it updated if I know people are reading it, so leave comments after entries, please! To get to it, type this link into your address bar without the spaces: w w w . l i v e j o u r n a l . c o m / u s e r s / l v n g a l l 0 v r m e /
A Big Thank You To Jon'sMyMaster For Being My Beta For This!Scotty26: Yeah, I do them because they keep interest…that, and I'm just plain sadistic x
Sarah: Um, we were kind of at my teacher's mercy, but we went to the Christkindlmarkt (German class, and at least she thinks we went to the Christkindlmarkt), Chicago Theater, Water Tower, and the Magnificent Mile (or, as my friends called it, the Fantastic Mile, the Great Mile, the Green Mile, the This-Is-Way-Longer-Than-A-Mile Mile, etc. etc. etc.) and yeah. You're right, not too much to do.
Iamsuchafreak: Shush! x
Halowarrior: Wow, thanks! (Such a dorky response.)
BexyLou: Thanks, and I'm glad. She's gotten to be a tad bit bipolar, huh? Should have seen it coming, with all those wicked Bat Boogey hexes….
SN and NS: Honey, you leave the most bizarre reviews, but thank you for the compliments. x
Previously: "'What happened to me? You want to know what happened to me? You happened, Harry.' Harry reached out to grab her wrist as she walked away, and she spun around. 'Don't touch me!' Harry gave her a look of bafflement, and, with a resonating crack!, she was gone." : "'What the hell is wrong with your sister?' Harry growled, and Ron, realizing that this could be loud, closed the door behind him and lead his friend outside for a walk."
.x. Having Heart Is Full Of Pain .x.
Let The Interests Rip Apart The Understood"Ron," Harry told him stubbornly, "I am not doing this." It was almost nine o'clock at night, and the pair was standing in the hallway outside of Ginny and Neville's apartment. Harry was leaning against the wall, his arms folded against his chest, with Ron standing in front of him.
"Yes, you are."
"No."
"I'm going with you."
"Then you're going alone."
"Quit acting like a five-year-old!"
"Let me act like a five-year-old!"
Ron rolled his eyes. "I'm ringing the doorbell." Harry ran, knocking him out of the way. "Suit yourself," Ron said with a shrug, and disappeared.
"Thank Godric," Harry grumbled, and was about to apparate away as well when the door opened.
"Harry!" Neville pulled him into a hug, and Harry, still shell-shocked at his horrible timing, returned it.
"Ginny told me you turned up, but I wasn't sure if you'd stop by! It's great to see you, Harry."
"Great to see you too, Neville."
"I'm afraid I can't chat long, however. I was just leaving—Arthur's taking a couple of us up to some place called Maine to do some muggle-style camping," Neville chuckled. "Well, we'll see how that goes, huh? Anyways, great to see you! Drop by sometime, I'd love to catch up."
"Alright, see you around Neville." Harry's forgetful friend from all those years ago walked down the hallway and was soon out of sight. There was silence for a moment after Neville left, and Harry turned to leave.
"Erm, do you want to come in?" Harry looked up to see Ginny standing awkwardly at the door, one of her arms holding the other, her gaze focused acutely on her shoes. Her hair was cascading down her shoulders in loose curls; her bangs fell in front of her chocolate-hued eyes. She was wearing a long, pale lavender camisole over a pair of light blue bootleg jeans, and Harry could see for the first time that freckles graced not only her face, but dotted her chest and arms as well. Even with the black heels she wore, he was taller than her.
"Sure," he replied, smiling at her. The anger and fury he had been feeling only a couple of minutes prior had completely evaporated—his blood was no longer boiling, his fists were no longer clenched—and he was glad to come into the apartment. A pleasant smell wafted through the air, and the living room he had stepped into was filled with simple and classic furniture.
As she showed him from room to room, Harry's thoughts drifted to the course of their meeting. He hoped they could at least reconcile their friendship—he knew that she would be faithful to Neville for as long as they were married. He would always love her, but friendship was better than nothing.
"And this," she said, interrupting his train of thought, "is our bedroom. Not the most impressive room, but we like it well enough." The lights in the room were dimmed, but Harry could still make out some silk sheets carefully made on the canopy bed. On every surface, candles glowed, flickering a bit. It was obvious that this was one part of her life Ginny wanted to be romantic. Knowing what she and Neville had done here made him surge with jealousy inside, though he knew he could do nothing about it.
"Well, er, that's the house—apartment, I mean—and, um…um…. Why are you here?" She finally asked. Her voice cracked a bit, and he winced at the sound of it.
"I wanted to apologize…for the things that matter this time. Starting with last night. I'm sorry, Gin, so so sorry… I shouldn't have yelled at you or tried to tell you what to do—"
She looked up at him for the first time, her eyes sorrowful. "No, Harry, really, you don't have to. You didn't do anything to set me off like that, it wasn't fair to you, I—" She stopped as he put a finger to her lips. Her heart raced, half of her hoping that he would follow the action with what happened in every harlequin romance she had ever read, the other half dreading the possibility.
"I was trying to protect you in sixth year, I swear it, Gin. My parents, Sirius, Dumbledore—I didn't want it to be you next. I wanted to take you back the second Voldemort was gone, I wanted to hold you in my arms again the instant he couldn't hurt you, but I couldn't come back…to anyone. Oh, Gin, these are all horrible excuses! I should never have left, I should never have left you, I didn't want to, oh God… I would do anything to take back these past ten years, and now… I just, I hope you and Neville are happy, I really do, and—" Harry paused, confused, when he saw that Ginny had turned beet red in front of him. "Why are you blushing?" It took a moment for him to register that, during the course of his conversation, he had ended up pressing Ginny against a post of her bed. "Oh, erm, sorry about that…" he mumbled, stepping back a few paces.
"Um, you were saying?" she squeaked, obviously as embarrassed as he was.
"It's just, I…I…" Harry hesitated for a moment, trying to decide on how best to convey his thoughts, and then he remembered an old saying. Quickly, he stepped in again, closing the distance between the two of them. He pressed his lips softly against hers, and this time she didn't pull away, didn't run, didn't shout, but his conscious would not let him forget that she was a married woman. Just as suddenly as he had pulled in, he broke the embrace, his cheeks a burning shade of scarlet. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have."
Ginny shook her head, pulling him in for another kiss. This one lasted a brief few moments longer, but Harry soon broke apart again.
"Ginny, I can't," he told her, breathing heavily. He wanted so badly to kiss her like she wanted him to, but how could he? He was a Gryffindor—honorable, chivalrous. Was he supposed to throw that all away?
"Harry, just this once, let's pretend Neville isn't around. Just tonight, let's let it be the way it would've been."
Light shone through the window of Ginny's bedroom, gently waking the fiery redhead. She yawned slightly and then stretched her arms, greeting the new day. The candles all had burned themselves out through the night, her clothes were still strewn across the floor, and she smiled at the memories as she stretched her thin arms. Neville was almost forgotten—only Harry occupied her thoughts at the moment. She smiled, turning to greet him. "Mmmm…Good morning, Harry," she whispered, turning to rest her head on his chest. It was only when her head fell on the mattress that she realized he was no longer next to her.
A/N: Love Jon'sMyMaster. If it weren't for her, this is where Ch. 5 would be ending. :N/A
The wind blew Harry's unruly hair about on the back porch of number twelve Grimmauld Place as he held his head in his hands—had he really done what he thought he had? Had he truly violated every value he had ever held? "Oh, Godric…" he whispered to himself. His head hurt as if he was suffering from a hangover and his stomach was also rebelling. How could he have been such an idiot? "She's married, Harry, married! You will never be with her. You can't be with her." And, as the thought finally occurred to him, he felt on single tear roll down his cheek. Sighing, he realized something that he should have figured out ages ago—nothing good ever happens when you let the interests rip apart the understood.
"Harry?" He turned at Ginny's tentative voice, careful to discreetly wipe the tear from the corner of his eye. He saw her standing there in the clothes she had been wearing the night before; her hair hadn't been brushed since before their activities the night before and it showed, her make-up had come off during sleep, but he still thought she looked as beautiful as ever. "I thought I might find you here."
"So, erm, hi," he said awkwardly, slipping his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. How was it that, after getting something he had wanted for so long, he could feel so miserable and confused? Nothing good ever happens when you let the interests rip apart the understood.
"'lo," she replied, feeling just as odd. Why wouldn't he look at her? Then it dawned on her—how could she ever have thought he would have given up his chivalry for her? She should have known that wishing only wounds the heart.
"About last night…"
"I agree…"
"So then we're—"
"—okay?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
There was silence for a moment.
"Harry…why'd you do it? I mean, it just…isn't like you."
"It wasn't like you, either." He watched her intently, wondering if he had just set off the ticking time bomb that was her temper.
"I guess I've changed a lot since the last time I saw you, huh?" she asked him sadly. "Did…did I ever tell you I love you?"
"You used to tell me that a lot. Well, not a lot, I guess, but enough."
"Recently?"
"Not in eleven years."
"Then, I guess you should know, before we get separated again, that I do. Love you, that is."
Harry looked at her, surprised. "What about Neville?"
Ginny looked down at her shoes again. "I…never have."
Harry was shocked. For a moment, he was sure he had heard her wrong, but the look on her face assured him otherwise. "But…"
"I just…thought you were gone. You were gone and he was safe. And he loved me. He loved me a lot…" She looked up at him sadly, guilt in her eyes. "That's not the worst, though."
"It gets worse?" he asked her, a bit incredulous.
"You, erm, weren't my first."
"I wouldn't have expected to be, you're married."
"No, I mean, affair."
Harry looked at her, dumbstruck. Had he really done this to Ginny? For a moment, he had wanted to call her his, but he knew he never could. Not after what she had just told him. Out of all of the things that had surprised him about her since his return, this had to be the most shocking of them all. The most out of character. The most unforgivable.
"Harry? Please say something."
"Wow," he finally responded.
"I'm sorry, I should have told you."
"No, it's fine, Ginny, really."
"What do you mean?" she asked him, confused.
"It's not my place to get mad—after all, you're not mine anymore."
Ginny swallowed awkwardly and forced a smile. It had been fair for him to say that. After all, it was true, wasn't it? Her face still turned toward the ground, but her eyes flitted up to look at him. "Well, I, er, should probably be going. Um, nice to see you again, Harry. See you around some time, I guess…." He nodded as she walked away, waiting until she got into the house to disapparate.
When he was sure she was gone, Harry broke down. Slamming his fist against the grubby exterior of the house, tears slid down his face. "You IDIOT!" he screamed in frustration, and he let himself sink to the floor, his head in his arms, sobbing. Nothing good ever happens when you let the interests rip apart the understood.
A/N: Whew, that was a long one! Hope you liked it, and also, about the size: don't expect one this big for a long time! I would have made it two chapters, but they would have been abominably short, so here you go—one long one. That's all for now, R+R! I'll update the other one soon…maybe x (Hey, that wasn't really a cliffhanger, was it?) :N/A
Please Review With Some Characters (Preferably Girls) To Show Up In The Next Part!