-Disclaimer: I own nothing.

-A/N: Oy vey, yeah I made a mistake about the Pig thing. Honestly, for reasons unknown to me, I was convinced that she was a he. Oh well. Haha. As for the thing about Harry and why he had to save money to buy a house, this story was written before HBP came out and even before I finished OOTP. So the idea didn't really strike me that Harry could just use the money he inherited from Sirius. I knew from the previous books that Harry had money, but I figured after graduation he'd want to stick around with Ron. (At least in this story haha). But thanks to mashimaromadness for pointing that out.

Peace,

Gene.

P.S. Aeternus Deflagratio is a made-up spell. It's Latin…for…something. Haha. I used to have the translation but it got deleted when decided to go and erase practically everything in my account. I'm still searching for the meaning though!

Darkness clawed at him, smothering him like a musty, wool blanket. Choking and sputtering, he attempted to call out for help but discovered he was mute.

What was going on?

He reached in his pocket for his wand but resulted with a fistful of smoldering ash. He couldn't see that well; whatever was approaching his line of vision was merely a dark gray blob, its crimson eyes leering at him through a mass of black fabric.

Harry wasn't afraid, though nervous. His wand lay in ruins, he had lost his voice and he was trapped in an unknown sea of obscurity. Harry knew from previous experience that it was never a positive thing to be caught off your guard. He lifted a hand to his forehead, an overwhelming sharp pain stabbing his temples like a swift knife.

His mouth flew open in a cry of distress, though not a sound erupted. Something stirred deep within his heart. There was only one explanation for this. It had to be him…

The dark, shapeless figure reached out a hand and slowly removed its weathered cloak. Harry's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in outrage. He'd taken so many lives already…he had to be destroyed for the benefit of the wizarding world and mankind.

And of course…there was her to worry about, to think about. He'd been prepared for situations like this, using magic without a wand. It'd taken him some time to grasp but his skills surpassed his mediocre confidence. He prayed that his skills wouldn't falter, his teeth clenched together in determination.

He was in the middle of the incantation, when out of nowhere, a glorious, dark green light spouted out of the end of its wand.

And before he could protest, Harry was shoved back into the greedy clutches of darkness, as a vision of scarlet hair dancing in a summer's breeze and the warmth of her teasing smile sent his heart aflutter.

Could this be the end?

"Harry…Harry…Harry, please wake up…!"

The voice was oddly familiar and docile. He was sure he'd heard it many times before…somewhere….

"Harry, are you all right?"

He slowly fluttered his eyes open and found them gazing into the worried blue orbs of Ginny Weasley. So it had all been just a dream. Harry was speechless at first and could only throw her a lazy smile in response.

She looked just the way he had remembered her. Her hair had grown a little longer and had gotten a little fuller, but everything was relatively the same. She appeared just like she had that summer, the summer before pandemonium had struck and he'd been forced to leave her.

It was all too good to true. After weeks of wandering around the hills of France without a memory and nearly a year trying to get home, Harry was beginning to doubt his sight.

It comforted him to know that things like this hadn't changed.

"Ginny? Is it really you?" he cautiously whispered.

Her cheeks were flushed a light hue of baby pink and her eyes were wide like two oversized pearls…and he'd never seen anyone more beautiful.

Ginny nodded, tears hiding in the corners of her eyes. When she reached out and gently placed her hand on his arm, Harry knew he was awake.

"Yes, it's me. You had me scared for a moment, there," she quietly confessed.

Harry struggled to sit up and realized he was in a bedroom. And judging by the excess amount of Chudley Cannons paraphernalia, it was Ron's bedroom. He couldn't help but inwardly chuckle, as he took a quick glance at the sheets, which were also decorated in the colors of the red head's favorite Qudditch team.

"Why, what happened?" Harry anxiously wondered, focusing back on Ginny.

She sighed, looked down at her hand and pulled it away, as though she felt guilty for leaving it there.

"Well, I came up here to check on you and you were shaking and mumbling something. I felt your forehead and it was all clammy. I tried to wake you up but nothing worked."

Harry was a little alarmed at this revelation but for the most part, couldn't care less. He was at the Burrow, talking to Ginny. That was enough for him.

"How long have I been out?" he questioned, adjusting himself against the headboard.

"About a day. You arrived yesterday and just collapsed on the doorstep. I was so worried; I didn't know what to do. Dad situated you up stairs, in here. Mum was especially worried, but Dad said it was best just to let you sleep."

"Wow. Only a day? It felt much longer than that," he responded, with slight awe.

Ginny nodded.

"We didn't know when you would wake up."

Harry noticed that the house was relatively quiet, which was rather unusual. Harry knew that all of the Weasley children were grown and had places of their own, but usually someone from the clan was hanging around, excluding Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Where is everyone? I mean, where's your Mum and Dad? The house is so quiet. It's weird," Harry admitted with a sheepish smile.

She laughed.

"Mum went out shopping. I think she wanted to make a welcome home dinner for you. But just don't tell her I said that. It'd spoil her surprise. Dad's working at the Ministry, of course. The rest of my brothers are out and about, as usual. Ron's probably doing something with Hermione," Ginny offhandedly filled in.

Harry nodded, taking the information in. Speaking of Ron and Hermione, he hadn't seen them since the last battle. He wondered if Ron had finally gotten the nerve to propose to Hermione. The last time he had talked to him, Harry had been trying to convince Ron to even buy the engagement ring.

"Ron propose to Hermione yet? Cause if he didn't, I swear I'll hex him," Harry teased.

Ginny laughed, feeling more comfortable than before. At first, she wasn't sure how to act around Harry. Would he be any different than before? What if time had transformed him into a total stranger? But it was becoming more and more evident that he was the same.

"Fortunately, you can save your hexing skills for another time. They got married last year. Hermione lives with Ron in the old apartment. He got a job as a sports journalist for Qudditch Illustrated. Mione got a teaching job at Hogwarts," Ginny supplied.

Harry couldn't help but grin. It was relieving to hear good news about his two best friends.

"Teaching what?"

Ginny rolled her eyes and snorted.

"What else? Muggle Studies!"

Harry had to chuckle at that.

"Looks like things haven't changed that much, after all," he observed.

Ginny's smile instantly dropped off her face. She gazed down at the sheets and fiddled with a loose thread on her shirt, her hair falling like a curtain in her face. Obviously, some things had changed and Ginny wasn't too eager on revealing them. Harry could only stare at her in silence, wondering why the news was too horrible for him to hear.

He should have known before that life wouldn't be exactly the same since his absence. Ginny had been awful anxious when first talking to him, as though she was afraid he'd jump up and bite her. Only after he started joking around, did she unthaw.

Harry gingerly reached out and tucked a few strands of hair behind Ginny's ear. She shivered, though not from the external breeze. Secretly, he was overjoyed that he still had such an effect on her but retained his calm composure. He had to get to the bottom of her behavior.

"Ginny…I've missed you. More than you know."

She lifted her head and looked him the eye, then exhaled, as though what she were about to say would have serious repercussions.

"Harry, I missed you too. Maybe too much, in fact," she whispered with a weak smile.

And suddenly her face appeared very old. Not old as in aging with wrinkles, per say, but old as in matured. Weathered. It was the face of someone who's seen too much destruction to simply forget.

The expression of someone who's had their heart stomped on too many times. It was the type of expression Harry used to have, before he returned, when he sat up at night, gazing up into the depths of the stars, wondering when he'd ever get his memory back.

He wanted to take her in his arms but he wasn't entirely sure that was suitable.

"Ginny," he began as he reached for her hand.

Ginny shook her head, and recoiled a bit, her voice coming out strangled.

"Harry, when you vanished…I couldn't think. I didn't know what to do. It was all so outrageous, like I was having a nightmare or something."

Harry felt his stomach twist into a huge knot. This certainly gave the illusion that what she was about to say was horrible…like she was engaged or something. Harry inwardly scoffed at such a ludicrous idea.

He was positive that Ginny loved him, as much as he loved her. Why in the world would she get engaged to someone else? Besides…in just a few days…Harry was planning on asking the renowned question, himself.

"Gin, it was horrible for me, too. I was stricken with a case of amnesia, you know. But I kept seeing your face…it was driving me crazy. I wasn't sure who or what I was running to but I couldn't stay in France any longer."

Ginny peered at him intently at this new piece of information.

"That's where you were this entire time? France?"

Harry nodded.

"Everyone thinks that when the explosion happened, it was Voldemort's death. It actually was the disruption of the curses we had attempted to put on each other. We cast them practically at the same time, you see. Because my wand is a brother with his, the spells backfired. For some strange reason, it acted as a port key. It was just he and I…somewhere in the unknowns of France."

"We paced in circles around each other for a bit…a stare down, if you will. I didn't want him to get the best of me. I was so blinded by rage, Ginny. I hadn't really wished death upon anyone before…until I saw the malice in his snakelike eyes."

He paused for a moment, the image flooding back to him. He could smell the air…taste the tension humming between them like electricity. He shut his eyes for a moment and he felt Ginny grab onto his hand. His fingers clasped around hers and his eyes indolently were thrown open. She was gazing at him with slight fear and curiosity, silently persisting him to continue.

"He said that he was surprised I had lasted this long. I didn't say anything, though. I was too consumed by my hatred. He told me he could read my mind, told me if I didn't resist…it wouldn't be painless. I took the chance to disarm him. His wand flew into my hand and I clutched on to it."

"I figured if I used both wands at the same time, it would finish him for good. He just laughed. It sounded like nails against a chalkboard."

Harry inhaled shakily, his eyes boring into Ginny's. Her face had turned pale. He really didn't want to relive this one, particular past memory but she needed to know.

"He muttered something I couldn't make out. And I felt my knees go weak. I fell to the ground and he strolled over to me, as though it were simply routine. He kicked me around a bit and both wands rolled a few inches away from my grasp. I thought I was going to die…you know. And I wasn't afraid of death, because maybe then I'd be able to really meet my parents."

Ginny felt her heart crumble into a thousand pieces at his dejected statement. More than ever, she felt herself longing for him. He'd endured so much…and to sit there and tell him she was getting married in seven days?

It would be a slap in the face. She would always love Harry, though. Maybe because he had been her first love…her first real kiss. A girl could get kissed a million times but that didn't mean any of them caused her to see fireworks.

But as more and more people advised her to move on, she finally convinced herself it was all for the best. A part of her died that day, when she convinced herself Harry Potter had perished and was never coming back. Now that he was sitting in her brother's bed, very alive and very real, she was beyond mixed up.

Her entire world had been turned upside down by the only person who could ever make it right.

"My scar started to hurt. It was like a searing, white-hot pain I'd never felt before. I knew I had to get his wand. Something at that moment told me the pain of my scar would effect the magic of the wand. His foot was crushing my chest and I could hardly breath. He leered at me as he took my wand and snapped it in half. I was scared…scared for the first time in a long time. I was scared that I'd never get the chance to see you again."

"He either didn't notice or didn't care that I was reaching for his wand. Probably thought I was too weak. But I was able to grab it. And I pointed it right at his chest and with all the spite I could muster, said 'Aeternus Deflagratio'. If I had known the curse would have side affects because of my scar, I probably would have used a different one. But it's probably best, because it did the job. Except for the fact I got amnesia."

He stated the last part with a good-natured smirk, to ease some of the solemn grief of the situation. The important thing was that he was home now. The past was behind him.

Ginny was dumbstruck by Harry's tale. It was astonishing.

"Why did it take you nearly a year to get home?"

Harry sighed, tiring of explanations.

"When I woke up, I was in a local farmer's house. He didn't speak English that well, but I was able to get the gist of it all. I found out that the battle had actually taken place in his field. When he had went outside to check on some of the crops, he found me unconscious. He didn't recognize me and was going to call the police, but both his wife and daughter were witches."

"They figured out who I was by the scar and glasses, you know. So they took me in. I woke up a week later with an awful headache. The farmer explained everything to me and his wife immediately tried to feed me," he replied with a hollow chuckle.

Ginny was totally captured by his tale.

"I didn't understand any of it, though. I mean they kept telling me I defeated You-Know-Who and I had no idea what they were talking about. It kind of freaked me out. How did you know so much about me when I was clueless? A week later, I got a job at a pub in town. The town was relatively provincial and away from Paris, so not many people knew who I was."

"I explained to the owner of the pub I didn't have a place to stay and he happily let me rent out a room upstairs. I spent the next few months saving up money. It was hard because I worked long hours but the wages were pretty low. I also figured that if I gave it some time, my memory would come back. It never did. There I was, with a broken wand, just barely enough money and no recollection as to who I was."

"When I got enough money, I went to a local Healer to see if she had some kind of antidote. Fortunately, she did. But the only set back was that it was so strong, I could only take a small dosage at a time. I was forced to stay in France until my memory recovered, which took about six weeks. But I could tell it was working, because I would always have dreams…about just talking with Ron and Hermione…or…Sirius…most of them were about you, though."

His gaze traveled towards the window, his mind now far away from the Burrow. It was odd sitting there with Ginny, discussing his journey like some kind of childhood legend or myth. Something gave way in his heart and he felt a pang of sadness.

He'd spent nearly a year of his life trapped in a strange place, without any contact from the people he cared for. He could have been doing something else during that year…but instead he had been wandering like a lost puppy, searching for the place and people he called home.

"My memory came back too. But I was a bit naïve. I wasn't aware anyone had thought I'd gone missing…or dead. I don't think I realized how much time actually had passed. I couldn't figure out why everyone was making a big fuss about seeing me. I decided to take the Knight Bus home."

"I first paid a visit to the French couple I told you about before. The farmer and his wife, remember? I thanked them for everything they had done and they gave me a bit of money for the bus fare. They also fixed my wand. I was planning on getting it fixed when I saved enough money, but the antidote left me nearly broke again. After that…well, the rest as they say, is history."

Ginny's eyes watered, her lips trembling. All the hurt and anguish she'd experienced during his disappearance bubbled to the surface like boiling water. She had missed him so much…and sooner or later, she would have to break his heart.

"Oh, Harry! You just don't know…you don't know, you don't know how hard this is for me," she mumbled.

Harry gave her a concerned look of worry, swung his legs over the wrinkled sheets and securely wrapped his arms around her. He didn't exactly know what she meant by that statement, but brushed it aside. Ginny felt herself melt into his embrace, her face burying into his neck.

Harry savored the moment and stroked her hair, resting his chin on top of her head. He was grateful that he had finally finished explaining the long journey home. He was just about to go crazy not being able to hold her.

Something inside of him let out a sigh of relief as he enjoyed the skin to skin contact.

Harry was never a bold or extremely suave guy when it came to the subject of girls, but around Ginny…he felt at ease.

"Ginny, I love you," he very airily whispered into her hair.

He didn't want to spoil the moment and startle her, but he couldn't resist. Ginny only sniffled and he figured she hadn't heard him.

But unknown to Harry, he had thought wrong. At the sound of those words, Ginny panicked. After all, what were you supposed to say to the guy who you thought had died, then collapsed on your doorstep a year later? Not to mention the fact you were getting married in less than a week to one of his friends.

Ginny shut her eyes, pretended she hadn't heard him and prayed for a miracle.

Because she knew if this wedding was going to happen, she'd certainly need one.