Chapter 4- I Do Care

Harry nearly choked on his Butterbeer at the sight of her. He swallowed hard, not even noticing as the liquid made its way down his throat. His mouth had gone dry. She was gorgeous, even more beautiful than she'd been when he'd left her. Her soft red hair hadn't been flattened by the water. It was longer now, and had evolved into soft curls that framed her face and tumbled down over her shoulders. Her face was pale, and still dotted with freckles, making her seem younger than she was.

As she turned to look at him he found himself drawn to her eyes. Gone was the sparkle, that twinkle that had always been there, shining brightly only for him. Instead her eyes were hollow. He could see the pain reflected in them, he could see the fury, mixed with a shadow, a ghost of the look that she'd always given him.

He was staring, he realized, and he felt compelled to speak.

"Happy Birthday Gin."

He regretted it instantly, watching as the silent fury in her eyes intensified, he was expecting her to yell, but when she spoke, her voice was calm and dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh yes, a /wonderful/ birthday. It's simply lovely. It's another birthday that you won't be there for, another birthday where I won't get what I want. It's yet another birthday at my parent's house while I try to forget the memories and pretend that I'm happy. It'll no doubt be another birthday where I'll go home and cry onto my pillows, thinking of you and how you broke my heart and destroyed my spirit when you left me! So, yes it's a happy birthday. It's so bloody happy that I hate it!"

Her voice had risen angrily and the few people in the room were staring at her. Harry was in shock, but before he could say anything, or do anything she threw some money onto the counter and stormed out of the bar into the rain.

He stared in the direction she had gone, watching the door swing shut and close with a slam, his eyes followed her as she left and it only took him a minute to place some money onto the counter and run after her, hoping that she hadn't apparated yet.

"Ginny…"

The rain continued to fall down onto them and he saw her, sitting on a bench with her face in her hands. It was a similar feeling to the one he'd felt when he'd left her, this feeling of complete heartbreak as he watched her cry. His heart cracked and he moved toward her and sat down on the bench.

"Ginny… I…"

He didn't know what to say, it was his fault she was like this.

"Go away Harry. Y-you've already made it perfectly clear that you d-don't care about me. If you did, I would have seen you before now. You would have come back, and you would have come home."

He knew it was stupid, and that it would be destroying everything he'd fought for for the past five years, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him.

"Shh… don't cry love. Is that what you think? You think that I don't care? It's not true, I do care."

There was a familiar ache in his chest and he /knew/ that he still loved her, but he wasn't going to tell her.

Ginny leaned against him for a minute, then pulled away and jumped up, just as the rain began to stop. He stood as well, not wanting her to leave. He wanted to fill that gaping hole in his heart, but at the same time he wanted to run away. He wanted to run away and continue trying to forget the past.

"I'm going home Harry. Goodbye."

Just as he grabbed her arm, she turned on the spot and disapparated. When they were able to breathe again she turned to him, furious.

"You left me alone for five years, you haven't bothered to write, and yet you run into me once and suddenly you won't leave me alone! Why are you doing this!"

He looked at her sheepishly, trying not to flinch at her yelling.

"I don't know, I just… I should go…"

Ginny had stopped listening as he rambled on about random things, reasons why he was still talking to her. Was it possible that he did still care? The idea seemed crazy yet… he had followed her, he was there…

"I'll see you later then."

He had finally stopped rambling, and was walking away. Wait, he was walking away.

"Harry!"

He turned and looked at her, waiting for the yelling.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?"

He looked at her, surprised at how pleasant she sounded.

"After all, it would be nice to know why you haven't bothered to get in touch with me."

He sighed as he heard the bitterness that had hit her voice; he could remember a time when she spoke warmly to him, a whisper of love on those lips that he was staring at.

"Yeah, some tea would be fine."

She nodded and turned away, heading towards the small flat behind her. He followed, feeling a bit like a dog who had run away from home and was about to be yelled at.