Chapter 5 (Yeah, last chapter says Chap. 3 but I goofed, it was supposed to be 4) Oh and thank you for the welcome back, and as a thank you, another chapter.

The next morning dawned and as everyone gathered downstairs to say goodbye to Bill, Fleur and Alice, the four youngest in the party were trying desperately not to look at one another.

Ron was feeling awful about what he'd said to Ginny last night. Hermione felt completely mortified that she'd forgotten Harry was there and that she'd gone up to Ron's room just to be caught by him. Harry couldn't look Ginny in the eye and had barely slept at all while he stole glances at her from Hermione's bed. He also couldn't look at Ron or Hermione either, but this time for fear of laughing. Ginny was just angry. She was furious with Ron, she was slightly mad at Hermione for putting her in the most uncomfortable position with Harry she'd been in for a long while and she was angry with Harry, or rather, she was angry with herself for letting Harry's late night visit get to her. As they muttered their goodbyes to everyone and went back to the kitchen to finish breakfast, they avoided eye contact with each other.

As a result of this, breakfast seemed a rather subdued affair. Ron and Hermione were gulping down breakfast quickly as they were headed off to work at the Ministry.

"You two are lucky that you don't have to work the day after Christmas," she said to Harry and Ginny, finally breaking the silence between the four of them.

Harry shifted in his seat, "Yeah. Sucks that you two have to go though." Ginny nodded in agreement. The awkward silence set in again.

Hermione sighed. "So what are you going to do then, if you don't have work or…anything?" She knew why she felt uncomfortable but she couldn't figure out why Harry and Ginny weren't even looking at each other.

Ginny finally looked up and over at Harry. "I don't know. Did you have anything in mind, Harry?" He seemed almost surprised that she'd addressed him at all. "No," he replied. The words exchanged sounded formal and disjointed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. This was ridiculous and since they were the only ones left at the breakfast table she decided to lay everything out then and there. "Ok, I realize that a lot of…things happened last night. And we're all feeling slightly dumb, some of us regret things we said," she glanced at Ron then whose ears turned slightly pink, "But we're adults now, we shouldn't be phased by any of this. So here's what's going to happen. We're all going to forget about all that stuff that happened yesterday. We're going to put it behind us because we're more mature than that, right? And we're going to meet for lunch today. Ron and I usually have lunch around one, why don't the two of you meet us out in front of the Ministry at one o'clock." She seemed to have resorted back to her days as prefect, the know it all bossiness in her voice returning, but she stood by what she said. The other three all looked up at each other and nodded.

"Good!" Hermione said smiling. She stood up to leave. Ginny quickly stood up and grabbed her arm, pulling her from the kitchen and out of Ron and Harry's earshot.

"Ouch Ginny! That hurt," Hermione said as they walked into the living room and Ginny slapped her arm with slightly more force than she meant to.

"I can't believe you FORGOT that Harry was here! I can't believe you went upstairs!" Ginny said in a loud whisper.

Hermione looked at her confused. "What? How did you know that?" she whispered back.

"Because he came and decided to sleep in your bed last night! That's how!" Ginny replied sharply.

"Oh. OH! Really? That's…oh. I'm sorry, Ginny! He told me he was going to go sleep on the couch," Hermione said in her defense.

Ginny folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah, well, he changed his mind didn't he. He's pretty good at that." She looked down at the floor.

"Ginny," Hermione said sympathetically, putting her hand on Ginny's arm, "Are you ok?"

Ginny sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was just…strange you know? I mean…ugh, I don't know anymore! But yeah, I'm ok." She smiled at Hermione who returned it with a small, sympathetic smile. They walked back into the kitchen where the boys were now chatting easily.

"-and I get tickets to every single Quidditch match! And not just tickets, box seats. It's brilliant! Of course, there is the occasional bit of real work I have to do here and there, but it's worth it," Ron was saying.

Harry smiled. "Good, I'm glad you like what you're doing, mate. Guess I know who to call when I need a ticket then."

"As much as I'd love to stay and chat, we should go Ron or we'll be late," Hermione said from the door.

Ron stood up, "See you two at lunch," he said. As he passed Ginny standing in the doorway, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "You know I didn't mean what I said last night, right? Its just…well you're my only sister and I love you. I'm just trying to look out for you," he said quietly so that she was the only to hear him.

She looked up at him and gave him a genuine smile. "I know." Ron heaved a sigh of relief. "So we're good then?" he asked. She laughed. "Well, until you put your foot in your mouth again, yes," she said giving him a hug, "We're good."

And then Hermione and Ron were gone and Harry and Ginny sat at opposite sides of the table alone again. After a minute, Harry looked up at her. "So Ron was telling me that he works for the Department of Games and Sports."

Ginny nodded. "Yep, heads actually. Head of the GAS department," she said, an amused smile gracing her lips.

"I always thought he wanted to be an Auror," Harry said thoughtfully, thinking of when the two had made plans to start Auror training after Hogwarts. "I mean, he started the training when I did."

Her smile faltered slightly, "I think when you…when you left, he sort of had a change of heart."

"Oh. You mean he-"

"He's really happy, Harry. I don't think being an Auror was ever what he really wanted to do. I think he was doing it to stick close to you," she replied. She hadn't meant to make it seem as though Harry was entirely at fault. Of course Ron had been crushed about not continuing on as an Auror after Harry left, but it hadn't stopped him from then getting on with life, hadn't stopped him from finding a job he loved rather than one that he only did to keep his best mate around. "Even if the two of you had finished the training together, I'm not sure if he would have stayed with it anyway," she added, trying to wipe the look of shame off of Harry's face.

The two fell into yet another awkward silence. Harry sat there, the rest of his breakfast forgotten as he stared at his hands on the table. Ginny started reading the back of the box of cereal, she'd said enough to Harry for now. She could have kicked herself, the last thing Harry needed was to feel as though he was to blame for ruining everyone's lives. They had all moved on with their lives after Harry, he shouldn't feel as though they hadn't.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" she asked suddenly. Harry jerked his head up to stare at her, his eyes wide as though he'd just remembered she was there.

"What?" he replied.

Ginny smiled warmly. "Come on, let's go do something before we go meet Ron and Hermione. We can't just sit here on our bums all day long. We did that yesterday."

Harry cracked a small grin. "All right. Where should we go?"

"I was thinking we could down into town. There's this really good coffee place which also happens to serve awesome ice cream and I'm supposed to visit my friend Margaret. She works at a candy store. You'll love it. They have got the best chocolate from here to Honeydukes," Ginny said excitedly. "That is," she added, "if that's something you feel like doing."

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

"So, what do you think? I told you you'd love the ice cream. We used to come down here all the time in the summer and get some," she said as they walked down the high street in the small town of Ottery St. Catchpole.

Harry looked over at her. "Well, after that incredibly long walk, anything would taste good," he said teasingly. "But yes, it is excellent."

Ginny stuck her tongue out, "You insisted we walk! I told you it was a long walk but nooo, you just chose not to listen to me did you?"

He just shrugged. As they continued walking, Harry realized he'd never actually been in the town before. Of all the times he'd been to the Burrow, he'd either been forbidden to leave the house or he never had the opportunity to go. And now that he was here, he could see why Ginny liked it so much. It was small but it was perfect. Every place they stopped, people smiled and greeted them hello. Everyone was polite and no one seemed in a hurry to be anywhere. And to top it all off, he was with Ginny. She seemed radiant, so happy to be back in a familiar place. She'd stop every once in awhile and point something out to Harry with a story about what happened there as a child. The brown hair had taken some getting used to, but it was still the same old Ginny underneath and for the hundredth time in the past 24 hours, he remembered how good it felt to be around her.

Ginny stopped suddenly at a shop window but Harry kept walking. Instinctively, she grabbed his hand and pulled him backwards towards her. "Oh Harry! Look at them, they're so cute!"

Harry barely had time to register the pet shop window full of puppies as he felt Ginny's warm hand entwined with his. He swallowed hard and wondered when she'd realize what she was doing and let go. But she just stood there, her hand still closed around his as she gazed in rapture at the small creatures that jumped and rolled over one another in hopes of gaining her attention.

"Oh Harry, I've wanted a puppy for the longest time, but I have no place to keep one. Our flat's way too small, plus I think Jeff told me he was allergic, but it was our first date and you always take things said on the first date with a grain of salt. Maybe I should ask him, if we got a bigger place. What do you think?" she said, sounding hopeful as she glanced up at Harry for an answer.

Harry swallowed again, "I uh-I think that you should ask him. That is, if you really want one. How could anyone resist you?" he asked, turning back to the window suddenly as he realized what he'd said. "I mean you," he addressed the puppies, "How could anyone resist you guys, in there. The puppies. Is what I meant by you, them…" he trailed off after that, knowing he was once again sounding like an idiot.

Ginny smiled. "Maybe I will ask him," she said as she started to walk again, yet still she did not let go of Harry's hand. He couldn't figure out why she was doing it. Was this suddenly something two friends did, hold each other's hands? Perhaps he'd missed an important friends' bulletin that said if you were ever romantically involved with one of your friends, afterwards it's ok to make physical contact most often reserved for couples.

As she started to walk, he stayed rooted to the spot. "Wait, Ginny," he said, wanting to get down to whatever game she might be playing with him. She turned her head and looked at him. "Yes?"

And yet again, Harry found himself for at a loss of what to say. But relief came in the shape of a small drop of ice cream just to the left of her lips. "Come here, you have some, uh…" he was going to use his hand to wipe the same spot on his face, to let her know she had something there, but he was still holding on to her with his free hand.

"Do I have ice cream on my face? I always do that!" she said, taking a step closer to him. "Where is it?" She started to wipe the wrong side of her face.

Harry laughed, "No, its right-no, you missed it, other side. No, down a little. Here, just come here will you," he pulled her even closer again and took his finger and wiped the drop from her face. He put his finger in his mouth and licked it off. "Just as you said, excellent ice cream."

It was Ginny's turn to laugh as he smiled at her. They stayed there like that for a minute, in front of the pet shop, looking at each other, and it was then that Ginny finally seemed to realize that she was holding Harry's hand as if it were nothing, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She shifted her eyes away from his gaze and stepped back a little, now avoiding looking him in the eye.

She turned around to start walking again. Harry started to grab her arm, "Wait! Ginny-" but she was already walking, looking out at the street and not at him. He took two long strides and was walking next to her. "Ginny, what is it? What did I do?"

"Nothing Harry, you didn't do anything, all right?" she replied though she still wouldn't look at him. This time he did grab her arm and this time he held on, "Ginny, look at me!" Ginny pulled her arm from Harry's grasp and was about to say something when they both heard someone else calling her name.

"Ginny? Ginny Weasley is that you?" Harry watched as an older woman about Mrs. Weasley's age came up the street towards them. Ginny sighed but put on a smile.

"Hello Mrs. Dunning, how are you?" she asked politely.

Mrs. Dunning walked right up to them and cupped Ginny's face in her hands. "Look at you, oh I do believe you become lovelier every time I see you," she exclaimed. "Are you visiting home for the holidays?"

Ginny nodded as best she could with the woman's hands clutching her. "Oh good!" she continued. "Your mother is always so happy when you all come to visit. Why just last week we were talking and she said she was so looking forward to seeing you. Of course, I didn't think I'd actually have the pleasure of running into you myself!" she said as the removed her hands and clapped them together excitedly.

"No," Ginny said, "nor did I. Well, it was nice to see you, Mrs. Dunning but we have to go now," she added as she started to walk around her, hoping Harry would do the same before she noticed him.

"Wait a moment, Ginny! Ginny who is this strapping young lad?" Ginny closed her eyes in exasperation, too late. He'd been spotted. "Is this the new boyfriend you're mother was telling us about?" she asked as she pulled Harry back a little to examine him.

Harry smiled. "I'm Harry," he said, holding out his hand. He gave Ginny an amused sort of look that she did not return. "Oh no, I'm afraid you're mistaken. This is Harry, he's just an old family friend. My boyfriend's name is Jeff. He's not here right now," she said hastily.

Mrs. Dunning clicked her tongue. "No, surely not! The two of you look so wonderful together, the most attractive couple I've seen in quite some time. Go on, Ginny. You're just embarrassed. You think we old folks don't know what goes on in the hearts of young lovers. No, you two don't have anything to hide. I saw you holding hands," she added with a mischievous smile. "Well, I'm sure you two lovebirds have lots to do," she said with a wink, "I'll just let you go. Tell your mother I said hello!" And she walked off again, continuing up the street.

Harry turned to Ginny, grinning widely. "Who was that delightful woman?" She laughed, her anger seeming to dissipate into amusement at the ridiculousness of the situation. "That was Mrs. Dunning," she said as they started walking again. "See about a year ago, Mum joined this sewing circle here in town. It gives her something to do during the day and she's made quite a few friends. As you can see," she said, waving her hand in the direction Mrs. Dunning went.

"Really? A sewing circle?" he asked. Ginny nodded. "So how does she know you?"

"Well Mum forced me to go with her once. It was absolutely awful. God, I would have rather jabbed the needles into my eyeballs than been there," she said gravely as if she were reliving a trip to Hell rather than to the Ottery St. Catchpole sewing circle. Harry laughed again.

"I'll give her one thing, she has good taste in men," he added as he swaggered into the door of the candy store Ginny wanted to stop in.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Yeah ok, just remember, she's blind in one eye," she said jokingly as she followed him inside.

He turned around. "Liar."

"Whatever."

"Jealous?"

"Please. I'll prove it to you. Margaret?" Ginny walked up to the counter where a small blonde haired girl was reading a magazine. "Isn't it true that Mrs. Dunning is completely blind in one eye?" she asked, drawing out the question in hopes Margaret would catch on.

The girl looked up and saw Ginny and smiled. "Oh uh, yeah. Completely blind in the left eye," she said just as Ginny said right eye. Harry chuckled and leaned with his back against the counter. "You girls can't fool me."

"Mmm, guess not. Hey Mar, how are you?" she asked, addressing her friend who stood up and hugged her over the counter.

"Ginny! I haven't seen you in ages! I thought you might come home for Christmas!" she said excitedly. Then she turned to look at Harry. "Hello, you must be Harry," she said pointedly.

Harry immediately ran a hand through his hair, something he did whenever he noticed people noticing his scar. He figured the girl must be a witch if he knew who she was. "Ginny's told me so much about you," Margaret continued.

"Oh!" Harry said as he pulled his hand down and held it out to shake her hand. Ginny stifled a giggle.

After a few minutes of chatting with Margaret and after Ginny bought a box of candy to bring to lunch, she and Harry left the store. As soon as they stepped outside, Ginny started laughing again. Harry gave her an odd look. "What's so funny?"

"You are incredibly assuming. I saw the way you thought she was looking at your scar. You thought she was a witch didn't you, and that's how she recognized you?" she said, still giggling slightly.

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well. She's a friend of yours, I just assumed. There I was wrong. Guess the two of us are even now. I win Dunning's round, you win Margaret's."

Ginny put a finger to her chin as though she was thinking it over. "Fair enough," she said decidedly as they set off again.

Harry checked his watch. "Oh, we should probably go if we're going to meet those guys at one."

"All right. Had enough of that small town charm, then?" she asked, nudging him with her elbow. "I'm sure a big city boy like yourself's getting all restless way out here," she added teasingly.

"On the contrary, I had a wonderful time," Harry replied as she led them down a side street to apparate back to London.

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Hermione peeked her head into Ron's office. He was bent over an envelope that he was addressing. She smiled to herself before knocking on the open door. She loved watching him work.

He looked up. "Hermione!" he said as he started shuffling the papers around on his desk hastily. "What are you doing here?" She watched as he stuffed a letter in the envelope and sealed it quickly and laid it face down on his desk.

"Are you ready to go to lunch? I said we'd meet them in ten minutes," she said, walking inside.

Ron stood up. "Yeah, let me just…I have to mail this-did you see Ben out there? Ben!" he called. A short young man came running in. "Yes Mr. Weasley? Oh hello Ms. Granger!"

"Hi Ben," Hermione replied, smiling. Ron brushed past her and handed Ben the envelope. Hermione looked at it, but the address was on the other side. "Can you send this letter off?" he asked.

"No problem, Mr. Weasley. Are you taking your lunch now?" Ben asked. Ron looked back at him from where he was grabbing his coat off the rack. "What? Oh, yeah, we're going to lunch. I'll be back in an hour."

Ben nodded and left. Hermione walked towards the door. "What was that letter for?" she asked casually.

"Just work stuff," he said as he kissed her on the cheek and walked out of his office. "Come on, we don't want to keep them waiting." She took another look back at his desk before following him out.