Chapter One
Ginny Weasley woke up from her latest nightmare. She buried herself deeper underneath the blankets. In the room across from her own slept her ex boyfriend, Harry Potter, the love of her life. She would or could never tell him of course. Harry had made it quite clear the end of the term that he didn't wish to endanger her. Ginny handled the break up well in front of Harry. But when she went to pack her things, she instead ended up crying with only Hermione Granger to comfort her. Ginny, however, found no comfort in Hermione's fervent reassurances. Instead, she found herself dreaming of those green eyes that would forever hold her spell bound.
So when Ginny came back to the Burrow, she had shut out her family. She knew that any day Harry would come and seeing him would be too painful for her. Even though Ginny had a tough exterior, her interior was crumbling. Harry was the only boy that Ginny had ever loved and she knew that he would also be the only one. Harry's intentions were not to hurt her or course. Actually they were hoping for the opposite effect. He wanted to keep Ginny safe from You Know Who. Voldemort. The very thought of his name made Ginny want to vomit. Voldemort was getting powerful and Harry feared her safety. As much as her safety mattered to him, it still didn't soften the ache that the breakup had on her.
Ever since Dumbledore's death, she couldn't stop having dreams. Terrible dreams of that night but also different ones, ones of Harry and Voldemort. They would always end with that vivid green light. Ginny sat up, breathing deeply. She couldn't take it any longer. She got up, threw on her robe and walked to the door. Ginny hesitated, her hand curled around the golden knob. She sighed and closed her eyes. Ginny, then, got up the courage and opened up the door. She walked with her head held high until getting to his door, glad that he wasn't sharing Ron's room this time and opened the door. She saw Harry's sleeping form and the tiny nightstand next to it. She sat down on the side of his bed and quickly lit the lamp.
"Harry, wake up!" Ginny whispered urgently, gently shaking him by the shoulder. Harry turned around and sat up. He grabbed his glasses and after putting them on, stared into the face of Ginny. Harry knew that Ginny wasn't going to let the break up go so easily. "Ginny, it's got to be about three o' clock in the morning. Can't this wait until morning?"
"No"
Harry sighed. He tried to resist the urge to touch her vibrant red hair or to kiss her pouting red lips. "What do you want, Ginny?" Harry asked more gently. Tears filled Ginny's eyes, causing Harry's stomach to lurch forward. "I miss you" she said. Harry waited patiently for her to continue. She put her hand over his and looked up into his eyes. "I miss being with you and laughing with you. I miss talking about things with you. I don't care about Voldemort, Harry." He looked at her surprised. Ginny never called Voldemort by his name. Ginny's voice trembled as she continued.
"I know that you're scared for me. I know that you don't want to lose me. But I don't want to lose you." Her eyes looked troubled. "I can't stop thinking about you. And you can tell me to forget and you can tell me to move on. But it won't help, Harry. Because…" She took in a deep breath. Harry could scarcely breathe. "Because I love you, Harry" Ginny said. She looked more like the old Ginny now. Ginny could now feel herself coming back. "And I know that you feel it too. Maybe that's the real reason behind your obsession to protect me. I don't know. But what I do know is how I feel. I want us to get back together. It can be in secret." Ginny said, smiling sadly as she stroked his hand.
Harry jerked his hand away and pulled away from her. He got up from the bed and started pacing. He knew that if he got close to her then he'd never be able to resist Ginny's offer. He faced Ginny, not meeting her eyes. "Ginny, I…we can't. Don't tell me that you love me…I won't let anything happen to you." Ginny got up and walked up to him and looked straight into his emerald eyes. "Look into my eyes and tell me that you don't love me." Harry looked into her eyes but looked away as he said "I don't love you." She shook her head. "I know for a fact that you're lying. You can't even look into my eyes." "Ginny" Harry begged her. She put her hand under his chin and lifted his head up. "Look at me" Ginny pleaded.
"Look at me!" Ginny commanded. He did. "Now tell me that you don't love me." "I…don't…Okay I love you!" Harry shouted. Ginny looked at him surprised. Harry kept up his rant. "I can't stop thinking about you either! Do you think I wanted to break up with you? I've loved you for a long time, Ginny! I don't know why we don't have the right to have a normal relationship but I also know that if you love someone you have to do the right thing for that person! And if this is what I've got to do then this is what I've got to do!" Ginny looked at Harry, still in shock. He saw her stunned expression and he regretted being so loud. He stepped closer to her. He wiped away the tear that started running down Ginny's cheek. "Ginny" he said softly. He loved to say her name and hadn't done so in so long. He ran his fingers through her hair. She blinked as more tears went down her face. "I love you. But I can't lose you. I refuse to let that happen. I'm not going to make that risk." "You're not! I am!" Ginny said fiercely.
She put her hands on his chest and kissed him. Harry's head swam with Ginny's. He broke the kiss. He was breathing raggedly. Her forehead touched his and they closed their eyes. "Now what?" Ginny asked quietly. Harry put her hands in his. "We'll keep it a secret." Harry said as confidently as he could. "No one is going to know. Not even Ron and Hermione, okay?" Ginny nodded. She flung her arms around him and hugged him. "Thanks for not being a hero" Ginny said, burying her head into his chest. He stroked her hair, smiling despite his worrying.
Downstairs in the den, Hermione Granger sat reading a book. Ronald Weasley stood in the doorway, unaware to Hermione, watching her. He and Hermione had just developed their feelings this past term. He had liked Hermione a long time but he never would have confessed this until he found their feelings were mutual. He still felt awkward now that Hermione knew. But he figured that if he acted the same they might be able to ignore this fact. Hermione looked up and jumped. "Ron, you need to warn somebody if you're just going to start randomly watching somebody" Hermione said annoyed. Ron looked at her dumbly. "I'm so sorry" Ron said, rolling his eyes. "I don't see what your problem is. It's not like you could even tell I was there." He grinned as he continued. "Unless you did know I was here."
Hermione flushed angrily. "Honestly Ron, do you really feel that every girl has to fall at your feet? Just because you dated what was it? One girl before doesn't mean that all of us are engrossed by your presence." She rolled her eyes and got back to her book. Ron still was grinning. "You still jealous?" he asked. Hermione looked up, her eyes sending heated rays his way. "I'm not jealous!" She said, causing him to grin harder. She got up and set the thick book down. Hermione walked up to Ron and tried to think of something to tell him. But she couldn't think of anything which infuriated her even more. So she exasperatedly sighed and ran out of the room.
Ron's grinned expanded as she left. He went over and picked up the book that she had been reading and nearly dropped it. On the cover, was written The Guide to Really Understanding Boys.