Healer Harry - A Fanfic

by SalTalStudios

"Huh, not...what I was expecting."

2. Harry & Ginny

"Harry?"

"Harry!"

"Harry!"

Harry pulled the covers up higher over his head and groaned as his bedroom door burst open.

"You'd better be dead, you arse," came Ron's voice as the covers were unceremoniously ripped off him.

Harry curled up in the fetal position.

"Harry," Hermione said from his other side. "Open your eyes and look at us, please."

"No," he mumbled petulantly.

Hermione sighed and sat down on the bed beside him. "Look, we know this isn't easy," she said, her voice growing gentle. "No one blames you for wanting to be alone, but…"

Harry could practically hear Ron and Hermione exchanging a worried look.

"But...?" Harry said, still curled up.

"But," Ron said, sitting on his other side. "You need to get out of this room, mate. Have a shower, get some fresh air, come back to the clinic…"

"Ron," Hermione whispered.

"What?" Ron whispered back. "We said we'd …"

"No! Not until we..."

Ron sighed. "But I thought…"

"That's not what-"

"I'm not deaf," Harry said loudly, covering his face with his pillow. "I'm mourning."

They both cleared their throats.

"It's been a very long year for you, Harry," Hermione said, carefully removing the pillow. "We know that. We know what happened to Gabrielle was...horrible. I mean that Belligerent Boggart-"

Harry held up a finger as a sneeze suddenly fought to push its way out of his system.

"Bless you," Ron said.

Hermione handed him a handkerchief before continuing. "Anyway, the point is," she said. "We don't expect anything from you. We just want you to get out of this room. Start to live your life again, you know?"

"And what precisely does that entail?" Harry said, handing back the handkerchief, snot and all.

Hermione politely accepted it.

"Well," Ron said, exchanging another look with Hermione. "We thought it might be best if you got back into your regular routine."

Harry stared up at them, the covers pulled up to his chin. "Going back to the PIMMPLE, you mean?"

"The Potter Institute for Magical and Mundane Pathologies, Lurgies, and Endocrinology," Hermione muttered stubbornly.

"Yes, exactly," Ron said, talking over her.

Harry sighed and turned his head away. "I dunno," he said. "What's the point? What's the point of anything if Gabby…"

Hermione squeezed his shoulder. "She'd want you to live your life again, I'm sure of it," she said. "She wouldn't want to see you like this."

Harry stared off into space for a moment, letting out a wistful sigh. "Still can't believe it sometimes, you know?" he said, shaking his head. "Merlin...if it wasn't for that stupid Histrionic Howler-"

"Shit!"

Harry and Hermione whipped their heads around to see Ron holding his finger to his mouth.

"What happened?" Hermione said.

"Bloody splinter," Ron grumbled.

Harry watched as Hermione fussed over him, a small ache in his chest growing at the realization that he had no one to do the same for him.

Not anymore.

With another sigh, Harry pushed his covers off. "Fine," he said. "Might as well go back, not like I've got anything else going for me."

"Harry," Hermione said in that tone of hers that suggested he was being ridiculous. "You've got plenty of things going for you."

"You've got us," Ron said nodding. "And Mum and Dad. All of us Weasleys. Hell, you've even got Ginny."

At this, Harry gave him a doubtful look. "I said I'd do it, all right?" he said. "I don't need you bullshitting me."

"We're not-" Ron said before cutting off with an exhale. "Look, Ginny's actually part of the reason we came today."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" he said. "Have I done something new to offend her? Merlin knows I couldn't possibly have stolen her spotlight from my bedroom."

"It's not like that, Harry," Ron said with a frown. "She needs your help."

"My help?"

"Well...a healer's help," Ron said a bit sheepishly.

"I've already seen her," Hermione said before Harry could open his mouth to retort. "Numerous healers have, but no one can figure out what's wrong. And, well, that's always been your specialty, hasn't it? Solving the unsolvable?"

At that, Harry stood up and walked over to his wardrobe, making the door pop open with a flick of his wand.

"What are you doing?" Ron said.

"Performing an exorcism, what does it look like I'm doing?" Harry said, thumbing through multiple black outfits.

Hermione cleared her throat as Harry selected one and laid it out on his bed.

"One more thing while we're here…" Hermione said a bit hesitantly.

Ron threw her an exasperated look, but she ignored him.

"Perhaps it's time to...retire the black?"

At this, Harry snapped his head up with a scowl. He stared between the two of them for a moment before taking his shirt off. "Tell Ginny to come in tomorrow," he said, grabbing a towel and heading to the bathroom. "I'll be sure to see her first thing."

XXX

Harry sighed. Two seconds late.

Let the bloody charm notify Hermione. The fact that he was showing up at the clinic at all should've been enough.

"Well, well, well...look what the kneazle dragged in," a feminine voice remarked with faint amusement. "Been rather dull without you around, I must say."

Harry gave her a dry smile. "Tracey," he greeted, holding his arm out.

A mug of coffee was placed into his hand, and he took his first sip. If he was going to be back here, the least he could do was enjoy the coffee; it was as good as he remembered.

"Perfect, as always, my dear." Harry's eyes met Tracey's as he awaited the usual refrain.

"Not your dear," she said, making him smile with nostalgia. "And don't think I'm not annoyed with you. Making me suffer Cormac's ego for the past year."

"Oh, it couldn't have been that bad." Harry winced at the death glare he received upon uttering those words.

"Couldn't have been that bad?" she hissed out. "If Hermione thought my pay requests were pushing it before…You know he tried getting me into an exam room for a full evaluation? Even after I clearly stated that I have a boyfriend! Not that that should even matter, mind you."

Harry nodded in a show of commiseration as he took another sip of his perfect coffee. "Nothing new, though, eh? I must have propositioned you a few times before."

"Ha, as if!" Tracey said, rolling her eyes. "You only 'proposition' me when you need my help covering your arse from Hermione."

Harry shrugged. "Fair," he said. "But it's not as if Cormac's the only bloke to take a run at you."

"Unfortunately. But if it was only that, it wouldn't have been so bad," Tracey said, shaking her head. "The farcical fool always makes it seem like he'sthe one doing me a favor just by asking! It's the condescension, persistence, arrogance of it all that just makes him such a…such a...such a-argh!"

Harry took a small step back. He knew enough to recognize when Tracey was right and properly pissed. It was best not to engage.

He cleared his throat. Normally he'd jump at the excuse to waste time instead of seeing patients but…work was looking like the easier option at this point. "I'm very sorry to hear all that. Be sure to share your grievances with Hermione," he said, patting the air above her shoulder. "But anyway, the patients?"

Tracey huffed out a breath and handed him the files. She then turned on the spot and stomped out.

Harry took another drink of his coffee and then headed to Exam Room 1. Might as well start in order.

Opening the door, he fell back into routine. "Right, what's wrong with you then?"

XXX

Ginny stepped into the foyer of the PIMMPLE and barely made it in when she heard a voice call out.

"Take a number."

Well, alright, then, she thought, already growing annoyed.

XXX

"It's a bit embarrassing," Penis Pointer said, pointing at his penis.

"More embarrassing than a prostate exam?" Harry raised an eyebrow at him.

"Blimey. You a mind reader?" Penis Pointer asked with a nervous chuckle. "You think I need one of those?"

"I'm not, no," Harry said. "So tell me what's wrong with you."

"Er...right. Well, see, when I tug the snake-"

"Tug the snake?"

"You know, wank the Willy Wonka?" Wanking Willy said.

Harry blinked tiredly. "You have a problem masturbating?" he asked, wondering why he let Hermione and Ron drag him out of bed for this.

"Slicking Willy isn't the issue, it's what happens after!" His eyes bulged as he said the last word.

"After?" Harry winced as he spoke.

"Right, yeah," the man nodded. "Isn't it supposed to, you know, sort of...feel...good?"

Harry gave the barest of nods.

"But...it...doesn't?"

Harry shut his eyes. "What does it feel like, then?"

"Angst. I feel all...angsty after."

"Angsty?"

"Angsty," Wangsting Willy repeated.

Harry nodded sagely. "Right," he said, snapping his file shut. "What you need is an endocrinologist, a specialist that can help you with your wangst problem. Take this, it's the seven different ways to contact Doctor Hermione Granger. Be sure to call her, she's a wangsting expert."

Sharing was caring, after all. What better way to let Hermione know things were getting back to normal than sending her a patient?

~~WANGST~~

Ginny eyed the woman hunched over her desk, her quill scratching noisily over a thick stack of parchment.

She hated to play this card, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And sitting in a waiting room for hours only to be unceremoniously dismissed by Harry, as she surely would be, was definitely a desperate time.

"Hi. I'm a friend of Harry's," Ginny said. "Can you tell him I'm here?"

"A friend of Harry's, eh? Yes, you and every…" The woman looked up and then paused at the sight of Ginny. "Oh...Weasley, I take it?"

Ginny fought the urge to roll her eyes. "You know we don't have a monopoly on ginger hair?"

"Don't get snippy with me. Your face is plastered all over the magazines we litter the waiting room with. I'd recognize you a mile away," the woman said, making Ginny feel a bit chastised. "Big star Quidditch player, aren't we? Well...not so much lately, though, eh?"

At this, Ginny gritted her teeth. "And I'd recognize you from that attitude," she shot back. "Tracey Davis, is it? Hermione's had plenty to say about you in the past."

"Good things, I hope," Tracey said in mock eagerness.

"Oh, we both know that's not the case," Ginny said.

"However will I go on?"

They both eyed each other then, silently daring the other to look away first. In the end, the sound of the clinic door opening interrupted their battle of wills. Ginny took one look at the hiccuping, sneezing man approaching her and ripped a number off the pad. "Don't tell Harry anything," she said. "I'll wait my turn like everyone else."

Tracey continued to eye her suspiciously as she handed over a clipboard. "Fill that out."

Ginny accepted it without another word and then turned to find a seat.

~~WANGST~~

"And you didn't notice this?" Harry asked, the skepticism in his voice was palpable.

"I thought they were only dirty," Fungal Feet replied.

"You thought your dry, cracking and fungus covered feet were only dirty for weeks on end?"

"Well...some of it's just dirt, innit?"

"There's no room for anything on your feet but fungus," Harry said, placing his fingers on the bridge of his nose and exhaling loudly.

Might be best to just stun Fungal Feet and be done with it.

~~WANGST~~

"You're Gin-hiccup-ny Weasley, aren't you?"

Ginny nodded politely at the man beside her. "And you are?"

"Bar-hiccup-Bar-achoo!-Bar-hiccup-"

"Bartholomew Baggins?" Tracey's voice announced.

"Yes, that's it," Bartholomew said, nodding.

Ginny stared between him and Tracey who was visibly growing impatient.

"Baggins!" Tracey shouted.

Bartholomew jumped in surprise before realizing his turn had just been called. "Sorry-hiccup-miss!" he said, several scrunched up tissues rolling off his lap and onto the floor as he stood up quickly.

Ginny eyed the leftover debris warily before changing seats.

~~WANGST~~

"Ahhhh CHOO!"

The patient waiting for him let out a sneeze just as Harry walked in the door. "Right, what's wrong with you then?" he asked after plopping down onto the stool.

"Don't-hiccup-healers usually wear white-achoo!-coats-hiccup-?"

"I'm wearing black. Now answer the question."

"I, erm, can't sto-ahh, ahh, achoo!" Spray came out of his mouth after he failed to cover it in time. "Hiccup."

Harry only stared. He wasn't going to repeat himself.

"I can't stop sneezing. And then-achoo!-I hiccup after-hiccup."

Harry glanced at the chart. Singultus Sternutations was magical and the initial diagnosis charm didn't show anything physiologically wrong.

"Achoo!"

Harry shut his eyes and waited for the-

"Hiccup."

He then rubbed his chin for a moment before pulling out his wand, "Anything you're particularly afraid of?"

Singultus Sternutations ruminated long enough that Harry had almost forgotten he'd asked a question. "I suppose snakes?"

~~WANGST~~

"So, is it true, then?"

Ginny looked up to see Tracey staring at her. "What?" she said bluntly, having no patience for guessing games at the moment.

"About the accident?" Tracey said, twirling her quill between her fingers.

"Sorry, but I don't think that's any of your business."

Tracey merely quirked her lips up before shrugging and returning to her growing pile of paperwork.

~~WANGST~~

"It's an easy fix."

Harry conjured a towel and then a bowl; he handed the towel to Singultus Sternutations.

"What I'm going to need you to do is put the towel over your head and close your eyes-then just relax. When you're feeling calm, I'll slide the bowl under the towel and you'll take three deep breaths before opening your eyes again on the fourth."

The man gave him a doubtful look but slowly nodded his acceptance.

"Don't worry, I'll talk you through it," Harry reassured him.

Singultus Sternutations did as he was told and signalled that he was relaxed. Harry filled the bowl with steaming hot fluids and cast the necessary spells to ensure the treatment would work.

"Okay, three deep breaths in a row now, and then open your eyes when you start to inhale the fourth time."

The man nodded.

"I'll count you off first. Ready?" Harry said. "Aaaand inhale, 2, 3, 4...exhale, 2, 3, 4…excellent. Relax, be at peace...now inhale again...and exhale. That's it now, just let it all out, relax...and inhale...and exhale. There's three. Now remember to open your eyes on this fourth one. On my go. Inhale..." Harry pushed his floating stool backward and moved away from him as quickly as possible.

And like a conductor cueing a single staccato note with his baton, Harry brought his wand up and articulated his wrist to set the spell off.

It was a moment of beauty.

Perfection.

Singultus Sternutations inhaled and then opened his eyes to the gaping, venom-tipped fanged mouth of python, aimed mid-lunge at his nose.

"ARGH!" Scared Shitless screamed and bolted back, the towel over his head blocking his vision, making him crash off the bed.

"The muggles had the right of it," Harry said conversationally, dusting his wand off with a slide of his fingers. "Scare a patient sufficiently and it'll counter the sneeze-hiccup jinx-used to be popular in the 1850s, actually."

Unable to keep the smirk off his face, Harry gave Scared Shitless a conciliatory pat on the head before making his way out the door.

Sometimes there was a good reason to get out of bed in the mornings.

~~WANGST~~

"How much bloody longer," Ginny muttered to herself as she threw her head back against her seat.

"Oh? Is someone growing impatient?" Tracey said with a grin. "I could just let Harry know you're here, you realize that. Bump you up the list, perhaps?"

"I said I'd wait like everybody else," Ginny said.

Tracey made a show of looking around the empty waiting room before staring back at her. "Muggle side's looking rather sparse, as well," she said with a shrug. "You didn't mind me telling Harry when you first got here. But then I said something to make you change your mind. How interesting…"

"Shouldn't you be doing your job? You know, instead of harassing me?"

Tracey smiled sweetly. "You're a stubborn one, Weasley," she said, shaking her head. "I like that in a girl."

"You're not my type."

Tracey merely laughed.

~~WANGST~~

Harry walked into Exam Room 3. But before he could even take sight of the patient, he heard a whoop of joy.

Looking between the two occupants, a mother and son, something jogged his memory. It was the image of the mother trying to tug a red lolly out of the boy's mouth that finally made it click.

What was Bad-Faith Bargainer doing back here?

"Right, what's wrong with you then?" he said, going with the standard opening.

"It's-"

Harry tuned out Overly Anxious. It had only taken the tone of her first word to remind him of how unnecessary her presence was. There was little chance of something medically relevant going on, and the negotiations couldn't commence until she was out of the room. Getting her out of the room was top priority.

A strong wandless compulsion charm had her heading back to the waiting area.

"What are you doing back here, kid?" Harry said, starting the negotiations off with a subtle power move. One that was immediately dismissed by Bad-Faith Bargainer.

"Where have you been?! Do you know how much you've put me through while you've been skiving off for the past year?" Snivelling Snot asked.

The subtle diagnostic charm Harry threw his way might have shown nothing was wrong, but the bulged nostril and the line of mucus dripping out of it suggested otherwise.

"This is the fourteenth, the fourteenth time I've come looking for you."

Harry stared flatly, growing irritated by the childish tirade. The Haggling Guru probably knew that persistence paid off in negotiations, this wasn't going to be easy.

"Mum thinks I need to see a therapist cause I keep shoving things up my nose."

"You should."

Snivelling Snot glowered but pressed on. "I got the SP and Super Mario 3 again," he said, crossing his arms. "Thought I could beg off school while you beg off work. A win-win."

"No payment?"

"£50."

"No. You're the one who offered, and I don't get paid if I don't see more patients."

"Fine."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "You'll just eat all the lollies and watch me play your Gameboy?" he said, naturally suspicious of Bad-Faith Bargainer. The kid had a rep and this was way too easy of a capitulation.

"Something like that."

The statement immediately sat wrong with Harry. But getting to his lunch break without having to see another patient did sound kind of lovely. Plus, Dudders had recently beaten his record by 48 seconds.

"Fine, you got a deal."

"Shake on it."

Harry held out his hand and they sealed the deal. The SP was then thrust at him, and he turned it on and got ready to attempt another speedrun.

But just as he was about to hit start, he saw a Gameboy DS make its way out of the backpack that he hadn't noticed earlier.

Harry scowled. Bloody Bad-Faith Bargainer.

~~WANGST~~

"Harry."

The second he heard the voice he knew this wasn't going to be pleasant.

The irate form of Ginny came stalking out of the fourth exam room. "Are you going to treat me now or what?"

"No. Lunch," Harry said, barely giving her a glance as he headed towards the apparition point in his office.

"Fine. Diagnose me there," she said, walking in step with him.

"No, wait until lunch is done," he repeated, walking faster.

Apparently this wasn't an acceptable course of action for her. She continued to match his step until Harry abruptly blocked off her path, nearly causing her to stumble.

"I'll be an hour, then I'll see you," he said, staring down at her. "It's been a while since I've put any time in here, and I'm famished. When I'm famished, I become irritated. When I'm irritated, I become-"

"More of an arse, I know," Ginny said through gritted teeth. "Ron and Hermione said you promised to see me. Just diagnose me over lunch; you'll get to eat and I'll get to go on with my day as soon as you're done."

Harry looked at his watch and clenched his jaw. The more he tried to blow her off, the more he'd cut into his valuable lunch time. "Fine."

Once they were inside his office, Harry shut the door and apparated them to the local cafe he'd been to a few times in the past. It was the first place that popped into his head; plus, it had good coffee.

The two were ushered to a table and sat on opposite sides. The mug of hot coffee that was offered soon after wasn't nearly as good as Tracey's magical one but it would do just fine.

"Right, what's wrong with you then?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Really, Harry? Just going to jump into Healer-mode, not even a little small talk or catch-up? We haven't seen each other since...the wedding."

The pause before the final two words brought some moroseness to the air.

"Yeah," Harry said, crossing his arms.

She was the only member of the Weasley family that had failed to show for Gabby's funeral. No card, no flowers, no nothing.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Gabby," she said, looking down now. "The Trichromatic Trebuchet shouldn't hav-"

Her words were cut off by the arrival of a familiar-looking face. It had been over a year since Harry last visited this cafe, but he hadn't forgotten old Crinkly Eyes. "Abby," he greeted, causing Ginny to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Scar Face!" Abby said with a genuine smile. "It's been a while. How are you?"

"Not well in the slightest," Harry said simply. "But we're ready to order."

Crinkly Eyes nodded and listened while they rattled off their orders, smiling at them before promising to return later.

"Scar Face?" Ginny said, looking amused.

Harry shrugged. "Muggle film character. Crinkly Eyes said it made me sound cool," he said. "And while that's not a priority of mine, I accepted the title."

Ginny nodded slowly.

"Anyway, what's new with you, how's Bighead Garçon? Shouldn't you be off stroking his ego somewhere instead of bothering me?"

"He died."

The blunt and unexpected response took him by surprise. "Oh. How-" Harry struggled to find the right words to ask, "how long ago?"

"About a year," Ginny shrugged. "Right around when Gabby had that issue with the Sadistic Snuggie tha-"

"Here we are," Crinkly Eyes said, appearing in front of them once more with two plates in her hands.

They both thanked her before returning to their conversation.

"Right, so what's wrong with you, then?" Harry really didn't want to spend this time reminiscing about their lost lovers. As if Bighead Garçon could even compare to his Soul Bonded.

"Well," Ginny said, playing with the lettuce in her sandwich. "Ever since the accident with my husband, I...well, I haven't been able to fly. The brooms-"

"Wait," Harry said, holding his hand up. "What does him kicking the bucket have to do with you and flying?"

She frowned. "You don't know?" she said softly, her head slowly quirking to the right.

"I didn't even know something had happened. This is the first I've heard of it."

Ginny eyed him for a moment as if gauging if he was being genuine before she began to explain. "I'd been flying with him at the time, me steering from the back, and I didn't see the goal post. I thought we had more room, but…" she said, shaking her head. "We ended up crashing into it. He hit his head, and we were going so fast it just...exploded-blood, brains, bits, it was everywhere."

Ginny's lip was quivering but her voice had remained steady enough and there were no unshed tears in her eyes.

Harry nodded, taking a moment to appreciate the fact that Bighead Garçon died because his head had exploded. "And how does that mean you can't fly?"

"I…it-" Ginny wrung her hands together. "It just won't work. I get on a broom and the charms are all wonky. It accelerates all wrong, the turns are all messy, and I feel like I'm going to die on the bloody things-if I can even manage to get up in the air at all."

Harry took a deep breath in. Work, routine. It was what Ron had said he'd needed to get back into, but clearly him and Hermione really were bullshitting him. According to Hermione, Ginny had already seen her and multiple other healers, too.

But for what? Harry was starting to see what was going on now. And it pissed him off. Those meddlesome, manipulative morons. They'd dragged him out of bed so he and Ginny could rehash and commiserate over their lost lovers.

Harry pushed his unfinished plate away and got out of his seat. "Cut the bullshit, Ginny. I don't want to talk about our shared pain of losing our significant others."

"What? That's not it at all; I have a problem! I need your help. I can't fly any brooms and nobody knows why!"

Harry gave her a withering glare. "Go hug a teddy bear, sing kumbaya, and get fussed over by Molly. You don't need me, you need a bloody shrink."

With his piece said, he stormed out of the cafe. He'd get lunch elsewhere or maybe not even bother going back to work.

Buggering berks trying to get him to talk with Ginny. Hermione could be called in to cover Harry for the rest of the day. She deserved it.

~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~

Harry let out a deep sigh before stepping out of the grate and into the sitting room of the Burrow. If he'd been flaky in making Sunday dinners before, it was nothing compared to this past year. He could probably count on his fingers the amount of times he'd shown his face.

It was always a bit of a struggle being bombarded by everyone wanting to make sure he was doing okay when all he wanted to do was crawl under the covers. But today was even worse. Or at least...he reckoned it would be. After his run-in with Ginny the other day, he'd been dreading seeing her again. The very notion that Ron and Hermione had set the whole encounter up just so that he and Ginny could talk was maddening. He was a Healer for Merlin's sake. Not a member of a bloody support group for grieving widowers.

What were they playing at?

They'd both come knocking the day after demanding to speak to him, but he'd been prepared with several well-placed enchantments on his doors and fireplace.

Harry gritted his teeth at the gall of what they'd tried to do before walking through the kitchen and out the back door. He was grateful that the house was empty so he could collect himself before facing everyone.

"Harry, dear! So glad you could make it. Come, come!" came Molly's voice as soon as he stepped into the garden.

Several heads turned in his direction at once making Harry feel oddly exposed. He eyed the table and noted with surprise that Ginny wasn't present. Ignoring the empty seat Ron was gesturing wildly at beside him, Harry made his way to the other end instead, next to Bill and Fleur.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to finally show his face," Bill said, his voice oddly sharp.

Harry spooned some potatoes onto his plate before accepting an extra spoonful from Molly. "The rules of mourning state that I'm not allowed out in society for at least a year."

Bill looked momentarily confused before shaking his head. "That's not what I meant, Potter."

"Bill," Fleur said in a warning tone.

"What?" Bill hissed at her. "I'm not going to coddle him like you lot. He's still an arse, and he needs to hear it."

Harry frowned as several voices jumped to his defense. "I'm not sure I'm understanding," he said. "Have I done something to offend you?"

The question was genuine, but Bill seemed to think otherwise judging by the outraged look on his face. Blimey, perhaps a year away wasn't long enough. Not even five minutes into this dinner and Harry already felt drained.

"Not me," Bill said. "My sister, you dickhead."

Fleur placed a calming hand on Bill's arm while Molly tutted about language.

Harry nodded his head slowly. "Ah," he said, interlacing his fingers in front of him. "This must be about the other day. I admit, the teddy bear comment was out of line."

"Do you even hear yourself when you talk?" Billy said through clenched teeth.

"Nearly always," Harry said, frowning.

Bill threw his arms up in the air, hitting his plate in the process and causing it to rattle loudly.

"Why don't we all just settle down and talk through this like adults?" Ron said from the other end of the table.

"Shut up, Ron," Harry and Bill said at once.

"You're not the only person who's lost a loved one, you know," Bill said, pointing a finger at him. "Ginny's been through hell and back this year. And when she comes to you seeking help, what do you do? You mock her!"

"I was very sorry to hear about Bighead," Harry said, trying to placate him.

"He has a name, you arse!"

They all turned to find Ginny walking towards them, fury in her eyes and red hair dancing behind her in the breeze.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing, Bill?" she said, levelling her brother with an equally furious look. "I told you that in confidence, not so you'd go fighting my battles for me. If anyone's going to yell at Harry, it's going to be me."

"How romantic," came George's quiet voice somewhere along the table, followed by a soft 'ow'.

"We're all getting very riled up here," Molly said, disapproval marring her features. "Can someone please explain what's happened to cause such a fuss?"

"Nothing," Ginny said, taking a seat. "Just Harry being Harry. I'm well used to it by now."

Harry knitted his eyebrows. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

A tiny chorus of 'oooh's followed his words.

"It means my life will always be insignificant compared to yours, won't it?" Ginny shot back. "Whether it's my grief, my career, my accomplishments…Even my failures! It'll always be Harry Potter this, and Harry Potter that."

"Yes, I believe that's why you broke up with me in the first place," Harry said, feeling anger rising in him.

Several gasps broke out in response.

"But I can't exactly help that, now can I, Ginny," Harry said, his voice getting louder. "And you didn't do much to help with it, either, did you? Dragging me around to every bloody event and gathering-"

"Forgive me for wanting you there by my side!"

"-even though you knew how much I hated being in the public eye-"

"-relationships require sacrifice-"

"-getting annoyed at me every time I 'stole the spotlight'-"

"-you ruined every moment that was special to me, my own wedding-"

"-as if I'd done any of it on purpose-"

"-you never even tried-"

"-but worse than all that-"

"You were never there for me!" they both shouted at once.

Silence fell over the garden.

Harry swallowed and looked around, surprised to find himself breathing heavily as if he'd just run a long distance. He also noted that he was standing up and wondered when that had happened.

"Just forget it," Ginny said, shaking her head. "Forget I ever came to you for anything. I'll work out my own problems myself."

With that, she whipped around on her heel and walked back towards the house.

Harry stared after her for a moment, wondering why his chest suddenly felt so hollow.

"Well...that was awkward," George said suddenly, earning several murmurs of agreement.

"Bit too serious, as well, don't you think?" Ron mused, taking a bite of his chicken leg. "I wasn't expecting things to go in that direction."

"Oh, hush you," Molly said, waving a hand at him. "They're both grieving. There's a different tone to our gatherings now."

"Yeah, they're a bit less flamboyantly French," George mused. "What with Gabby and Bighead…"

Everyone nodded solemnly.

Harry ignored them, standing frozen in his spot. He felt someone tap his arm, and he turned to see Fleur staring up at him.

"Go after her," she said.

He opened his mouth to respond, but Fleur cut him off. "Trust me, Harry."

Harry wanted to say that no good would come of going after Ginny Weasley, but the look in his sister's blue eyes was too familiar to a pair he'd once known. He could never say no to those eyes.

So with that, he followed after Ginny.

He found her in her old bedroom. Or rather...heard her. She'd been stomping about upstairs, so he'd followed the noise up.

"Ginny," he said, knocking on her open door.

She gave him a confused look before opening the door wider. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Harry shifted on his feet. "I've come after you."

"Why?"

He folded his hands behind his back. "I was told to."

Ginny rolled her eyes and walked back in her room. She hadn't shut the door in his face, so he assumed he was allowed to come in.

"May I?" he said, gesturing toward her bed where she was currently sitting up against the headboard.

"We've shagged on this bed, Harry," she said. "I think I can handle you sitting on it."

Harry wasn't sure he understood the correlation, but he didn't argue.

"You can stay for fifteen minutes and then leave. That should be long enough to convince our audience that we've talked things through."

"Why do you hate me?"

At this, Ginny snapped her head up. "What?" she said, before holding her hand up. "Don't repeat the question."

Harry closed his mouth.

She turned her head to stare out the window, and Harry figured their conversation was over. But then she spoke again.

"I don't," she said. "I just really, really, really, really don't like you sometimes."

"I thought we were friends."

Ginny let out a dry chuckle. "Sure, Harry," she said.

"That was sarcasm."

"Point for Potter."

"Why didn't you write me?"

"What?" she said, before rubbing her hands with her face. "You always do this, Harry. You always talk as if we're already inside your brain."

"I didn't know about Bighead, but what's your excuse?" Harry said, ignoring her comment. "You knew Gabby died. You knew there was a funeral. You didn't come, you didn't write me, you didn't send flowers. Why? Why would a friend not do those things?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because it does!" Harry said, hitting his hand against the mattress. He turned around so his back was to her and leant forward against his knees. "I would've come for you. If I'd known, I would've come."

Silence followed his words for several seconds before he heard a shuffling behind him and then felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Harry," Ginny said, close to his ear.

"What," he mumbled moodily.

"Come on, turn around," she said, coaxing him as if he were a child.

Harry sighed and looked over his shoulder.

"All the way."

Harry sighed louder and turned his body fully toward her.

"Look," she said, staring down at her fingers. "I'm sorry. You're right. I should've...I should've done something. Been there. But in my defense, I was also grieving and...maybe a bit upset at you, too."

He frowned in confusion. "What? Why?"

Ginny shook her head. "It's so stupid now, I don't even want to say it aloud."

Harry was the one to place a hand on her shoulder now. "Go on, tell me."

"It's just...grief makes you sort of mad, you know?" she said. "And I'm already a bit mad when it comes to you, anyway. So I just...I remember thinking when I found out...how fitting, you know?"

"How do you mean?"

Ginny exhaled, her entire body deflating a bit. "How fitting that you steal the spotlight even when it comes to this," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's ridiculous, I know. It's so ridiculous."

Harry wasn't sure what to say to that. It was quite ridiculous. But it was also quite sad. And Harry never wanted to make Ginny sad.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

She pushed his shoulder lightly. "Don't do that," she said. "Don't be all sweet and make me feel even guiltier."

Harry gave her a sad smile. "You know...before Gabby...you were the only person who'd ever called me sweet," he said. "Most people prefer the term 'bitter arsehole'"

Ginny let out a laugh at that. "I'll never understand why you don't show that side of you more," she said, shaking her head. "It's one of the things I missed most about being in a relationship with you."

"I thought it was the sex?"

"I've had better."

Harry nodded. "We were each other's first, we weren't all that great at it."

"Anyway," Ginny said, leaning back against her headboard. "Fifteen minutes are up, I suppose."

He licked his lips as he stared down at the all too familiar bedspread. "There is something wrong with you, isn't there?" he said, not meeting her eyes. "With your flying."

"What gave it away?"

"Your pride."

He looked up to see Ginny raising an eyebrow at him.

"After everything we've been through," Harry said. "You'd never ask for my help unless you truly needed it. I suppose I was too grief-stricken to realize that the other day."

"And you're not too grief-stricken today?"

"Well, I'm wearing grey," he said, gesturing to himself.

"Dark grey, I'd noticed."

They stared at each other for a moment, the brown of her eyes a familiar, calming sight. Harry could feel the air around them growing thicker with something, and he couldn't help but flick his eyes down to her mouth.

"Harry," Ginny whispered.

"Yeah," he said, lips parted.

He didn't know when or how it happened, but they'd both leaned in, only a hair's breadth apart. The familiar flowery scent of her invaded his nostrils and made him feel heady. He was just about to press his mouth to hers, but at the last second, Ginny shifted her face away ever so slightly and shut her eyes.

"Sorry, I…" she said, not looking at him.

Harry froze, not sure what to do. Had he just been about to betray Gabby's memory? To throw himself at an old burnt out flame?

"I can't," she said, shaking her head before meeting his eyes again.

"Right, yeah, me neither," he said, blinking a few times and nodding.

"It's just...you and this room and..." Ginny said.

"We couldn't..." Harry trailed off.

Being this close, he could see she had the same emotions in her eyes that he was currently feeling.

Guilt. Shame. Desire. Fear.

To name only a few.

"It's okay, Harry," Ginny said, placing a palm against his cheek. "You'll get back to colours again one day."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah?"

Ginny nodded. "And so will I," she said.

Harry glanced down and played with a loose thread on one of the quilted patches. "Come to my office tomorrow," he said finally. "Let me help you solve your problem."

~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~

"Take a number."

Ginny gave Tracey a flat stare. "Hermione told me to go to Exam Room 1 when I got here."

"Fill this out first. No form, no healer," Tracey said, nudging the clipboard at her.

Ginny swatted the woman's hand away as it grazed her breast. "Really? Trying to feel me up now?"

"Oh, trust me. If I was feeling you up, you'd know," Tracey responded with an exaggerated wink.

Ginny withdrew an already completed form out of her pocket. "I'm going to go to the exam room now."

"If I were you, I'd choose his office over an exam room. Or Hermione's office if you're feeling adventurous."

Having already begun walking away, Ginny stopped, turned on her heel and scowled, "What's this now?"

"If I was coming to shag Harry Potter, I'd rather be bent over a desk than an examination bed."

"I'm not coming here to shag him," she hissed.

"Aren't you meeting with Harry so you can get back on a broomstick?" Tracey said, a triumphant smirk on her lips. "His broomstick?"

"Fantasize much?" Ginny bit back. "Going to stare at my arse when I walk away, too?"

Tracey raised an eyebrow, took the paper without looking, threw her a grin and then went back to her work.

"I'd better not catch you doing it." Ginny said as she walked away.

~~WANGST~~

Harry pulled out a jester's hat from behind his back.

"I'm going to need you to wear this."

"No," Ginny said, crossing her arms across her chest. "I grew up with Fred and George-I know it's a prank."

Harry nodded. "Okay, but you'll need to hold this rooster. I'd take the runic-inscribed bar out of the middle, but unstuffing a bird is rather difficult."

"I'm not holding your cock, Harry." Ginny said dryly.

Harry stared at her flatly. "Good one. But I'm going to need you to hold onto it."

"Nope," she said, "Hermione told me the magical sensing equipment is in the walls already."

"For standard cases, yes," Harry said with a nod. "This is anything but standard, and I've brought in a little extra equipment to see if it can help."

"But why are you doing it again, when Hermione's already done it?"

"What if the reason she couldn't diagnose you was that the equipment wasn't calibrated right or something had interfered and contaminated the results?"

"Fine," Ginny grit her teeth together, "but I will check with Hermione about this, and if you're lying I will hex you!"

Harry ignored the comment and passed her the cock. "You'll need to hold it in front of your face."

Ginny grabbed a hold of it, grip so tight, it let out a terrible squawking noise.

"Careful, don't squeeze too hard."

If looks could kill, Harry would be dead.

Unfazed, Harry corrected her technique. "Great, just hold it a little closer now."

Ginny moved it closer.

"A little further away, that's too close."

She huffed out a breath but complied.

"Ah, a bit too far, move it back, again."

"Harry!" Ginny screeched and then threw the rubber rooster at him. "I'm not holding a rubber cock in front of my face and moving it back and forth!"

Harry caught it smoothly. "It works just as well if you hold it up above your head."

Ginny snarled at him.

~~WANGST~~

"Take a number."

"Do you just wake up in the morning and get excited to sass every person that walks through these doors?"

"You didn't walk, you took the floo."

"Whatever."

"Fill this out."

Ginny pulled out a magically duplicated form and slapped it on the desk again. "Here you go," she said, giving her a smug look.

"It's dated for last time. You'll need to fill it out again."

Ginny glared as Tracey pushed the clipboard towards her a bit roughly, her knuckles bumping into Ginny's chest again.

"What's with you? Are you trying to see how firm they are now?"

Tracey gave a casual shrug. "Not my fault you're so short."

~~WANGST~~

The second Harry stepped through the door, he saw a streak of magic racing towards him. But the spell fizzled out as it came into contact with the protective enchantments that prevented patients from trying to curse healers-a security measure Hermione made sure to put in place after the third time Harry got hit with a stinging hex the first month they'd opened.

Unfortunately there was nothing to be done for the punches to the face.

"Bat Bogey Hex, how… original," Harry said.

Normally he'd portkey the offending individual to St. Mungos for such an act but that wasn't an option this time, sadly.

"I asked Hermione," Ginny said, arms folded over her chest. "There was nothing in the rooster, you git."

"I told you stuffing a bird was difficult."

"No, you said unstuffing it was difficult, and then had me-" Instead of completing her sentence she just glared. "I'm not playing any more perverted games to amuse you. Just do your tests like a professional."

"I was actually thinking it might be time for an un-dress up."

Ginny threw her arms up in the air. "What is it with you people?" she said. "First your clerk tries to feel me up, and now you want to get my top off?"

Harry gave her a thoughtful frown. "Tracey tried to feel you up?"

"She's 'accidentally' touched my breast twice now," Ginny said, putting air quotes around the words.

"That's ridiculous," Harry said, shaking his head.

"I know!"

"I knew she's lesbian," he said with an amused chuckle, before rubbing his chin. "Well...bi, at least. The bloody liar."

Ginny was staring daggers at him for some reason.

"Also, what's this about me wanting to get your top off?" Harry said in confusion, only now processing her words.

"You said it was time for an un-dress up!"

"Yeah, I wasn't talking about your top. I was thinking a bit lower," he said. "Why would I even ask you that? Your issue is with riding a broom. Do you often ride brooms with your chest? If that's the case, I think we've solved your problem."

Ginny was visibly growing frustrated now. "What are you even saying?" she said loudly. "I'm not dropping my knickers for you either, Harry!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said anything about knickers?" Harry asked, putting his hands up in surrender.

"You did! You said lower!"

Harry blinked. "Yeah, you're wearing a magical belt. We can't have that throwing off the test results."

Ginny glanced down, her hands shooting to her belt buckle. "Oh," she said, her cheeks growing redder than her hair.

~~WANGST~~

"Take a number," the clerk said without looking up.

"Here's your form, dated today."

Tracey glanced up with an eyebrow raised. "Someone's finally catching on, I see."

"I'm going to the exam room."

Ginny stepped past the desk but paused for a second, feeling like something was different. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw there was a new mirror at the edge of Tracey's desk. It was perfectly positioned so it looked down the corridor.

"Did you install that just so you could look at my arse down the hall?"

"Oh, did Hermione tell you? How embarrassing," Tracey said, her hand coming up to cover her lips, pretending to be abashed. "It's true. I was thinking only of you when I requested the mirror be installed so that I could monitor the hall between the exam rooms."

~~WANGST~~

Ginny barely gave a cursory glance at all fifty phallic shaped objects Harry had set up around the room. "Are you any closer to diagnosing me?"

Harry glanced up, noting Ginny's eyes were more downcast than usual and that her hair had been pulled into a lazy ponytail.

"The last set of magical scans will be completed soon," he said, flicking his wand behind his back to banish all fifty objects back to where they came from.

"The last?" she said with a frown, no visible reaction to the change in decor. "Have you found out anything yet?"

Harry dipped his chin then brought it back up. "Yes, many things."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Such as?"

"That there's a good reason I mess with people when carrying out these tests," Harry said, crossing his arms and resting his head back against the wall. "It's far less amusing this way. Dreadfully boring, if I'm honest."

"Well I'm sorry for having some dignity and not wanting you to be amused at my expense."

He nodded. "I'm sorry, too."

Ginny gave him an exasperated look. "Will you just tell me what you've found out so far!"

Harry pushed off the wall and plopped onto the stool near her. "Didn't Hermine tell you that moving and talking can throw off these tests?"

Ginny gave him the two finger salute.

"That's moving."

Harry pulled out the Advance SP that he liberated from Bad-Faith Bargainer-there had to be some recompense for his illicit tactics.

"Are you seriously going to play a muggle video game in front of me?"

"Well if you aren't going to amuse me, I'll have to do it myself," he said, not bothering to look up from his SP. "Oh, and, no talking. I just went over that."

"You've been testing me for weeks, now. You must have an idea or something!"

Harry could hear the anger rising in Ginny's voice and knew she was close to snapping. It was never a good idea to push a Weasley to their limit.

"What I was going to say-when this test was concluded-is that there hasn't been anything abnormal in the results," he said, pressing pause on his game. "I've checked the calibration of the equipment, ensured the runic arrays are all functioning, and redone some of them, just to be sure."

Ginny sighed heavily and stared down at her hands in her lap. "So you think there's nothing wrong with me, as well?" she asked in a small voice, any remaining hope visibly leaving her brown eyes.

"Did I say that?"

"No."

"Well then," Harry said with a shrug. "If these static tests aren't showing us anything then it just means we need to carry out some alternative variable testing to determine what's going on."

"And how are we going to do that?"

Harry simply gave an enigmatic smile in response.

~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~

"Is this a Gryffindor championship team reunion, Mr Potter?" the stern Headmistress asked as they headed out to the Quidditch Pitch.

"No, I just needed a place to fly around that wouldn't be associated with any negative memories."

"You don't think the Battle of Hogwarts might qualify as a negative memory?" McGgonagall said, her eyebrows slightly raised.

Harry shook his head. "This is still the place that holds my fondest memories of quidditch. Ginny will have great ones as a professional, but the years playing for Gryffindor are fond for all of us."

"They are." McGonagall's lips curved into a restrained smile before thinning. "My condolences to you again, Harry. What happened to Gabrielle with the Tantric Thestral and a Bucking Broom was simply-"

"Thanks," Harry said forcefully. "I appreciated you being there for me and speaking at the funeral. I'm here for Ginny though, we can talk more later."

"Of course, Harry, of course. May I ask why you decided on Hogwarts? Wouldn't the Holyhead pitch have been a better option?"

Harry shook his head. "Her time with the Harpies will have been tainted by the death. I can't rule out other stadiums and figured having a little tea with my scotch might be nice."

"As cheeky as always, I see."

Harry grinned. "You planning to watch or do you actually have something to do during your summer?"

"Rolanda's bringing the scotch. We wouldn't miss two of our most famous alumni going for a nostalgic fly. Besides, you don't have the best track record for avoiding injury here."

"That's fine, so long as you stay out of sight," Harry said. "But what's this about injuries? Do you not trust my protective spellwork? I've not killed a patient yet."

McGonagall pinched her lips together. "Even Albus' wand work wasn't always perfect. And need I remind you, Mr. Potter, which of us taught the other magic?"

"Point taken, Professor, point taken."

Harry wandered over to the pitch with his first edition Firebolt in hand-from the same production run as the one Sirius had bought him all those years ago. It had cost him an arm and a leg, but Harry had bought close to a dozen of them to ensure he never ran out of his preferred broom.

For today's tests, he'd added a charm that emitted a trail of white smoke from the bristles. He'd ensured that it worked by letting out a couple of dotted lines that all started from the same plane and narrowly funneled out.

With a quick inhale of crip summer air, Harry swung his leg across and mounted the Firebolt before kicking off into the air. Second after second he accelerated the broom, picked up speed, and gained altitude. It was a bright summer day but the whipping wind brought a boyish smile to his face.

There had been questions as to why he went into Healing instead of trying for professional quidditch. He'd always said it was the publicity that was the issue, but there was more to it than that if he was being honest.

Flying was the one activity that he could find solace in. Where he could lose himself and forget that the outside world even existed. He didn't want to taint that-its purity, its innocence-by making it a job.

Harry was broken out of these thoughts by a flash of red entering his peripheral vision. Making a steep turn, he dove and raced straight towards her.

"Glad to see you've made it," he said, gracefully dismounting his broomstick.

"What am I here for? You just said to meet me at the Hogwarts quidditch pitch," Ginny said, folded her arms.

"Well, I was hoping you could take a ride on my broomstick," Harry replied, showing off one of his prized possessions.

She gave him an unimpressed look. "A Firebolt? Really? You still fly one of them?" she said, eyeing it up and down.

"Can't go wrong with a classic."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Brooms are obsolete after a World Cup cycle, they never last to a second."

Harry shrugged, undaunted by her criticism. "Then you won't have an issue flying an old obsolete broom later, now will you?"

Ginny's arms crossed, and she hugged them to her body.

"Don't worry about that now, just hop on behind me. I've got monitoring equipment setup around the field, if your magic goes wonky, it'll be recorded."

"B- behind you?"

"That's what I said."

Ginny approached the broom apprehensively and stopped before she was close enough to swing her leg over it. "I won't be flying it?"

"You'll just be along for the ride. Just think of it being like when Bill and Charlie would take you up on their brooms when Molly wasn't watching."

A ghost of a smile graced her lips. "Alright, I can do that."

Harry started them off with slow easy circles. He wasn't even pushing the old broom to half of its top speed; seeing if it could perform like new wasn't the goal. The uber tight grip Ginny had on him was loosening up, circle after circle. He could hear her breathing continue to calm as well.

"I'm just going to fly around a bit and start marking our path, just relax," Harry said, leading them steadily forward. The charm he used caused a trail of white smoke to emit from the bristles, tracing the broom's course as Harry went in one direction, turned into a quarter circle, then levelled out in a long straight line. It wasn't until he mirrored the motions on the opposite side of the pitch that Ginny realized what he was doing.

"Are you seriously drawing a giant penis in the middle of the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch?" she said into his ear, voice filled with amusement. "Not even Fred and George had the audacity to do that with McGonagall lurking about."

"Well, it's a good thing nobody's here to watch us then," Harry said with a secret grin. He wondered how the two professors were taking this.

Ginny playfully swatted his shoulder, but he could feel her start to relax her hold on him. With the first requirement now met, Harry could begin testing.

"Alright, now place your hands on the broom and just keep us flying in the same circle I have us going in."

But the second he finished speaking, he felt her tense. Ginny's posture went rigid and her arms held onto him as tightly as they'd done so far.

"I'll keep my hands on it too, I just want you to co-fly with me."

Slowly she released one of her hands and hesitantly grabbed the broom.

"Good, good, now the other one," he encouraged.

As soon as the second hand made it onto the broom, Harry noticed the first sign of abnormality. The broom vibrated slightly and then bucked. The sensation was eerily reminiscent to his first year at Hogwarts when Quirrell had jinxed his broom.

The moment it happened, Ginny let go of the broom and held onto him tight. It took a creative bit of flying, but Harry managed to maneuver them so they were fully in control once again.

"Alright, that'll be on the sensors," Harry said, letting out a quick breath of relief. "I'll just fly us around a little more and then we'll head down and call it a day."

Ginny didn't say anything in response, and Harry started to descend, positioning his body so she wouldn't see exactly where they were going. "Nice day for a fly, isn't it? Gorgeous summer air, no clouds in the sky. If there was a snitch out here, its glint would be far too easy to spot."

She let out a small scoff. "Even now you think of finding a snitch?" she asked.

"Well of course. This is where I caught them all," Harry replied a bit pompously.

He assumed she rolled her eyes at his comment. "What else is there to think about up here?"

"Nothing just...everytime I tried to make a romantic comment in the sky while we dated, you were always thinking about the blasted snitch, even at the Burrow."

"It was ingrained in me, Ollie taught me well," Harry said with a proud smile. "Catch the snitch or die trying."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't just that though," she said, sounding a bit moody. "You were the same way with everything."

"Oh, come on," Harry said in exasperation. "You can't seriously be mad that I gave my all when it came to flying."

"I told you, it wasn't just that. You were always focused on something. You'd pursue everything you did with a dogged determination," she said before letting out a long sigh. "Everything but me."

Ginny muttered the last part, but Harry still caught it.

"If we're going to hash out our past relationship, you may as well just lay it all out there now," Harry said as he continued to fly around.

"Maybe I will!" Ginny challenged.

"Fine, be my guest!" Harry said, refusing to back down.

"It was always about you, Harry," she said, speaking sharply into his ear. "You broke up with me, to protect me. You never asked what I thought, you didn't think about what I wanted, you just did it. You were going on your mission and you focused all your attention on that. And yes, I understood why it was important, how could I not? But the least you could've done was discuss it with me first!"

That was fair and something that had come up in the past.

"Then, after it was over, you focused your determination on avoiding the spotlight. You say I dragged you to public event after public event, but you'd never go out with me. Only when there was something you or I had to attend. And, even then, you'd bitterly complain the whole time."

At this, Harry couldn't help but fire back. "You weren't the one they hounded. You weren't the one who had their life being picked apart. What I wore, what I ate, if I went to the restroom. Articles would be written about every bloody person I even stood next to. I touched, touched, Susan on the shoulder once and there were gossip columns about our sordid love affair in the papers for weeks. Daily coverage! All because I'd put my hand on her shoulder and asked how she was doing!"

Harry released a breath then ran his hand through his hair, "I'd just fought a war and wanted time off. I'd had attempts on my life since I was eleven. I just wanted some time to figure out who Harry was. Not Harry Potter. Harry. Just Harry."

His flying grew more erratic, mirroring the growing intensity of emotions building through the conversation. After forcibly calming himself down, Harry spoke again. "I was in a bad place, and I'm sorry for that," he said, having spent many a night thinking over these words. "At the time, it was so hard to look past what I was doing. To see more than myself...my problems. But you were there with me, and I wasn't always attentive to what you were going through, too."

Ginny remained silent for a moment before responding. "I get it, Harry, I really do," she said, tone much softer now. "But none of that was the final straw for me. And to this day, you still don't know what it was, do you?"

Harry didn't have anything to say to that. She'd been the one to break up with him. Things had been rocky for a while and the final straw hadn't really mattered to him.

"It was never how you upstaged me. Even at my own wedding, I could forgive you for that. That's just your luck, Harry. Things happen and you deal with them-I get it, it's always been that way," she said.

Ginny paused for a moment before continuing. "It was going off to become a healer," she informed him.

The decision that altered his life. He'd gone from mindlessly trying to find himself, to starting his journey in the profession that had helped him find purpose and had allowed him to stay close to his best friends.

"We could have made it work, we could have stuck it out. Even barely seeing each other with our clashing schedules; I could have handled having no time with you. But I couldn't handle the assumption that you'd just be able to make the decision for us. Just like you always had." She paused and let out a deep breath, "You decided upon your next quest and didn't talk to me, you didn't consider me, again. That was it. If you wouldn't do it then, when would you?"

Harry thought about her words as they flew straight. He knew where they were going, he just hadn't expected the conversation preceding it would get this heavy. It was almost a shame what was about to happen. But, if he was going to help Ginny, this was the best way forward.

Shifting his body, he allowed Ginny to finally see where they were headed, and it had an immediate impact on her. She screamed and held onto him for dear life.

They were on a collision course with the goal post, and it was coming at them, fast! But just as they were a few feet away from replicating the accident with Bighead, Ginny's magic reacted as if refusing to allow it to happen again.

All at once, the broom between their legs shattered.

Harry felt it, the Firebolt's magic was decimated and the handle he'd been holding was now dead in his hands, completely unresponsive. The broomstick had exploded, pieces of it littered the air, descending all around them.

They'd been fifty feet up and now they were forty, thirty and then twenty. Even so close to the ground Harry still hadn't snapped his wand into his hands. He was too busy considering the magical reaction that had just occurred.

It had been so utterly fascinating. Unlike anything he'd ever witnessed before. And, he'd seen Gabrielle's magically literally try and take people out.

As they broke ten feet, the charms Harry had set up ahead of time kicked in, causing their momentum to slow. When their feet touched the ground, it was no more jarring than skipping a stair on the way down.

Ginny was gaping at him while he was still pondering what had just happened.

"You utter arse!" she yelled at him, shoving him hard in the chest. "You knew that was going to happen, you planned this."

"Of course, I did," Harry responded, not sure why she was freaking out.

"I thought you-we-might die!" she snarled. "I thought the last thing I'd have done in my life was lay into the one man I knew I could always count on to be there for me!"

Harry threw up his hands. "If I'd told you what was about to happen, the results wouldn't have been accurate. I'm just trying to help you and this is the best way I know how to do it."

Anger flashed in her eyes. Ginny opened her mouth to retort but then slammed her jaw shut. "Argh!" she screamed out. "I can't deal with you, Harry. Just… Argh!"

Harry watched as she threw her arms up and then stomped off. Whatever she'd been trying to respond with couldn't be articulated. Perhaps McGongall could explain when they had their scotch.

~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Harry's head fell forward as the front door of the Weasley-Granger residence finally opened.

"What the-?" Ron said, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder to prevent him from stumbling. "Are you drunk?"

"Who is it, Ron?" came Hermione's voice from behind him.

"I'm not drunk," Harry said, righting himself and giving Hermione a small wave.

"Then why were you using your thick skull to knock on our door?" Ron said, ushering him inside.

"At two in the morning," Hermione added.

Harry stared at them blankly. "Well, I couldn't floo in, that would be rude."

Ron pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Just come in, you prat."

Harry followed them into the sitting room, immediately throwing himself down on the couch and placing his head in Hermione's lap. "I have a problem."

"You've got a few, yeah," Ron muttered, shoving Harry's feet away from his legs.

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione said gently.

Harry let out a long, suffering sigh as he stared up at the ceiling. "It's Ginny."

His words were followed by a long stretch of silence. So long, in fact, that he sat up to look at them both in question. "What?"

They seemed to be communicating silently in that way that Harry loathed, so he tried again. "What?" he said louder this time.

Ron was the first to break the silence. "Er...why don't you just explain what's wrong."

Harry frowned. "Right...well, erm...the thing is," he said, feeling oddly nervous all of a sudden. "I've been seeing Ginny a lot more than usual lately, and…I'm sort of, maybe, possibly, starting to feel things for her again, perhaps."

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment and sighed softly. "Yes, we thought this might happen."

"What do you mean?" Harry said in surprise. "And why do you look so upset by it?"

"Well, see...when Ginny came to me about her problem, I tried my best to help her before turning her over to you," Hermione explained carefully. "The thing is, Harry, you're both in such a vulnerable place, and we all know about the messy history between you two. We figured that with Ginny's husband and the broom incident, and then Gabby and that centaur's Radioactive Remembrall rolling right-"

"Stop, just…stop," Harry said, putting a hand up. "What are you even trying to say right now?"

Harry looked back and forth between the two before standing up in a huff. He paced in front of them for a moment, one hand on his waist, the other running repeatedly through his hair.

"Harry, mate…" Ron said carefully. "We love you both, we just don't want you two to end up hurting each other again."

"So you admit it?" Harry said, coming to a stop. "You admit that you were worried I'd have feelings for Ginny again."

"We were worried you'd both have feelings again," Hermione said. "You and Ginny have been through so much this year, you have to understand-"

"Hold on," Harry said suddenly, throwing up a timeout signal with his hands. "Is this why you didn't tell me about Bighead's big head exploding? Like, all that aside, you realize I called this. His head got bigger and bigger until the first major contact happened and then it exploded!"

"Harry-"

"You're a semi-competent healer, Hermione," he said, cutting her off. "Even you should know heads don't just explode every time they hit a piece of metal. It's not a very common cause of death. It must've been so filled with hot air that it popped like the overinflated balloon it was."

"Harry Potter-!"

"Why don't we all just settle down and circle back a bit," Ron said, placing a calming hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"Yes, let's!" Harry said, throwing a glare in Ron's direction now. "You didn't tell me about Bighead Garçon because-what? You thought I'd swoop in and try to steal Ginny once I realized she was available?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous!" Hermione said, tone sharp.

"You've got this all wrong," Ron said, shaking his head.

"Then someone please explain what the bloody hell you're trying to say!"

Silence.

Ron and Hermione glanced at each other once more before both looking at Harry.

He swallowed hard at the intensity in their gazes.

"What we're trying to say is...you're just not good for each other," Hermione said, her voice barely above a whisper. "And yet...you can't seem to stay away."

Harry looked to Ron, hoping to find something in his eyes that mirrored the anger Harry was feeling. But there was nothing there but sadness.

"You're wrong," Harry said to them both. "You are so wrong, it's not even funny. I'm not the same person I used to be. And neither is Ginny. And if we wanted one more real go at things, then that's none of your damn business."

"And do you, Harry?" Hermione said earnestly. "Do you and Ginny truly want to give it another go? Have you even talked with her about this?"

"I-no, we haven't talked about it."

Hermione nodded her head as if expecting that answer and it only served to infuriate Harry more.

"You're both adults, we realize that," Ron said, seeming to sense Harry's mood. "At the end of the day, it's your decision. We're just concerned, that's all."

Harry swallowed back a retort and sat down on the table behind him, staring down at his clasped hands. "I can't remember the last time I laughed," he said quietly, twisting his fingers for lack of anything better to do. "Ever since Gabby and the Grotesquely Gregarious Garden Gnome, and-well, you know the story. Ever since then, I've been miserable."

Harry looked back up at them. "Until Ginny," he said, his throat a bit scratchy. "I've no idea if she feels the same way about me. But I don't care, I just...I want her in my life. Anyway I can have her."

Hermione and Ron shared a look before nodding.

"Then we won't stand in your way," Ron said.

Harry nodded as well. "Thanks," he said. "But I just have to make sure I don't stand in my way, first."

~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~

Ginny sighed as she continued to peel carrot after carrot.

"Oh, I know that sigh, Ginevra."

Her lips tightened as she placed the peeled carrot down and grabbed the next one. Another sigh escaped her lips as she shifted her weight from her left foot to her right.

"You might be an adult, but you're still my baby girl. So get that weight off your shoulders and share it with me already," her mother said while setting her wand to dice the onions.

"Fine," Ginny mumbled, feeling fifteen years old all over again. "It's...about Harry."

"Of course it is, dear."

A warm hand reached over and brushed down her head and then rubbed her back.

"It's just, we're seeing each other more regularly again, and it's dragging up old feelings," she said, grateful that her mother was staying silent and listening patiently. "It's been over a year now...is it too soon to be thinking, feeling these things?"

"There's no schedule for this sort of thing, love," her mother said, placing a palm to Ginny's cheek. "Your heart's started to beat again, but the loss of a loved one never truly goes away. It just becomes a part of who you are."

"I know," she replied, thinking of Fred. "I know."

"Then you also know it does get easier. But seeing your old crush regularly again is bound to bring things up."

Ginny frowned as she considered her mother's words. "I just don't know, Mum," she said, leaning back against the worktop. "I mean, he's still an insufferable arse. But he's always been there for me. Even now, at our worst. I needed him, and he swooped in, coming to my rescue. And there isn't a single part of me that thinks he won't be able to fix me."

"He's a wonderful healer, a wonderful man."

Ginny reached for the next carrot but realized the basket was empty and then let out a defeated sigh. "I still have feelings for him," she said, finally admitting the words aloud. "But it went so horribly last time, we became like strangers. Would I just be setting myself up for another doomed relationship? Would I just be hurting Harry, again? I don't want to lose him, Mum. No matter what, I can't go back to how things were. I just can't!"

"Oh, Ginny," her mother said, wrapping her arms around her in a warm hug. "You're not the same young woman you once were," she told her with a weight of words that only came with age and wisdom. "And he's not the same young man."

"I know," she said, her voice muffled by her mother's embrace. "I just thought we'd be like you and Dad, you know? Hogwarts sweethearts that date, get engaged and then marry. We'd have adorable little children, a green-eyed girl with red hair and a brown-eyed boy with black hair. We'd live happily ever after, just like everyone expected..." She let her words fall off with another sigh.

"What have I told you about comparing your life to mine? It was more difficult for you two. Harry had been through so much already at that point," her mother said. "He needed time to discover who he was without conflict, he just didn't realize it then."

"I know, I know, I see that now. He would never have broken up with me, no matter how miserable he was. If I'd never ended things, we'd probably be together still."

Molly tucked Ginny's head in closer and ran a comforting hand down her hair and across her back, over and over again. "But then you'd have never met your husband and had the time with him that you did. And neither would Harry and Gabby," she said firmly. "You know I still can't believe it sometimes. The Brobdingnagian Beach Ball and that Frightfully Ferocious Feather. It just doesn't mak-"

"Mum, so not the time," Ginny said, leaning her head back to stare up at her mother. Merlin, even now Harry was overshadowing her.

"Of course, of course, my apologies, dear," Molly said with amusement before stepping back and grasping her shoulders. "The point is, the last time you and Harry dated it was poor timing. He had his own journey to go on, and you were still growing up as well. Life took you in different directions and that was okay."

Ginny gave a warm smile to her mother, grateful as always for her words of wisdom that always gave her something to think about.

They both went back to preparing the meal after that. But one thought stayed on her mind as she enjoyed the simplicity of making a home cooked meal.

Was now the right time for her and Harry?

~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~

The moon was exceptionally bright tonight, nearly full. The stars were shining and nary a cool breeze was in the sky.

Harry was laying back with his shoulders and head resting against the sturdy tree trunk behind him. His light blue shirt catching the moonlight, almost appearing to be white. He looked to his right. This wasn't the time or place he'd thought to bring it up, but as the saying went, there was no time like the present.

"I know what's going on with your flying problem."

Ginny's head snapped up, her luscious locks reflecting the light. "You do?"

"It's your magic."

"My magic?" she repeated, doubt clear in her voice. "But the other healers and Hermione said it wasn't."

"Of course they did. That's what their test results confirmed," Harry said with a nod. "But they didn't take you for a flight in a controlled environment first, did they?"

"Controlled environment?"

Harry sighed inwardly at the parroting of questions. He'd forgive her this small blunder for now, it was a high-stakes moment. "The most comfortable of circumstances imaginable."

Ginny frowned. "Most comfortable of circumstances imaginable?"

Harry sighed outwardly. "Yep. At Hogwarts. On the best broom available with the best natural flier you've ever met."

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean with an antique and an old quidditch has-been."

"Are you saying you'd have rather flown with someone else that day?"

Ginny shook her head, the moonlight lighting up her gorgeous red hair.

"When you grabbed onto the broom, you were at war with yourself. You consciously knew you were fine, flying with me, but unconsciously your magic was fighting to stop it. Thus, it felt like a jinx, until you took your hands off."

Ginny didn't respond, absentmindedly rubbing one hand over the back of the other as she considered his words.

"Your magic isn't the issue. Your magic is responding to you; it's why Daphne Greengrass's study on the Importance of Intent was groundbreaking. You'll be able to fly once you subconsciously stop punishing yourself for the accident."

Harry placed his hand on Ginny's shoulder. "I blamed myself for Gabby. I mean, I know there was nothing I could've done about the Conceivably Cocky Cockatrice, but the Rampaging Randy Roomba was-"

"There was nothing you could have done," Ginny said, placing her hand atop his. "Fleur told me about the Famed Famished Flesh-eating Fanged Frisbee and the Dumbfoundingly Docile Demonic Dust Buster and how they-"

Harry held up his hand. "We can chat about that later. Now is the time for you. Until you've reconciled your part in the accident, you won't be able to move past it."

~~WANGST~~

Ginny stared at him, her lips parted, breaths coming out a bit shallow. "No. No you're wrong, it can't be that," she said, shaking her head quickly. "That's so...that's so...it's just so…"

"So…?" Harry said, leaning closer towards her.

She shut her eyes and let out a loud exhale. "It's so true," she whispered. "I'm the one that killed him, Harry. Me. Professional Quidditch player, Holyhead's superstar chaser. Flying straight into a goalpost and killing her husband."

Harry sighed. "Ginny, look at me."

She shook her head again.

"Come on," he said gently, lifting her chin up. "Look at me when I tell you this."

"What," she mumbled, finally opening her eyes.

Harry lowered his head so their gaze could meet. "Life is filled with variables, things that we cannot control no matter how much we yearn to," he said, rubbing her chin softly with his thumb. "If you knew what was going to happen that day, would you have flown anywhere near those goalposts?"

"Absolutely not," Ginny said, feeling a lump growing in her throat.

"Would you have gone on that broom ride?"

"No."

"Would you have fallen in love and married a man with an obnoxiously big head if you knew you'd only have another year with him?"

At this, Ginny let out a watery chuckle. "Of course I would, you prat," she said. "I would do it all over again in a heartbeat."

Harry nodded, giving her a gentle smile. "Exactly," he said. "You'd marry him again because that was in your control."

Ginny swallowed hard.

"Life, unfortunately, is not," he said, placing a hand against her cheek and wiping away a tear. "But that's not your fault, Ginny. It could never be your fault."

She placed her hand atop his and brushed her thumb over it, feeling a long forgotten emotion brewing inside her-familiar like an old friend. Yet different all together.

Ginny cleared her throat. "Right, well...maybe we should test your theory out?"

Harry chuckled, summoned his broom and then offered it up to her. "Feel like taking me up?"

"What-now?" she said, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

"If not now, then when? May as well sort this out," Harry said, swinging his leg over the broom and gesturing for her to climb on.

Ginny took in a deep breath and nodded, playing Harry's words from earlier in her mind.

Not your fault. Not your fault. Not your fault.

She walked over and perched herself on the broom in front of him, settling back a bit so she felt him behind her.

"No charms here, no precautions. You won't need them." He gently pulled her chin around and looked into her eyes, "I trust you, Gin."

Ginny gulped and nodded. "Okay, but if you die, promise not to be mad at me."

Harry considered her request for a moment. "What if I come back as a ghost and haunt you?"

"Haunt me, specifically, or just the PIMMPLE?" Ginny said. "I know you love messing with your patients."

Harry quirked his head in thought. "Well, I love messing with you, as well. So, definitely both. Probably visit McGonagall while I'm at it and haunt some firsties, too."

Ginny grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I'm sure Myrtle would love that. You could share a toilet-you brooding, her crying. A match made in hell."

Harry shuddered. "On second thought," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "you might have to go on without me then."

Ginny laughed. "Okay, okay, I promise I'll try not to kill you."

"That's all I ask," Harry said.

She took another breath in and then kicked up off the ground, shooting upwards.

The air was exhilarating, cool and crisp, the moon and stars lit up the night sky. Her heart pounded in her chest, but all she could feel was freedom. As she turned into a dive, she felt Harry's arms wrap around her, the warmth feeling as good as the cool air whipping through her hair.

"You're doing great!" Harry said in her ear after several more successful maneuvers. "Now try a little less weight!"

"Wha-?"

Ginny whipped her head around as Harry abruptly fell off the broom.

"HARRY!" she screamed as she watched him free fall like a sack of potatoes, the stupid Potter lopsided grin on his face. Ginny cranked the broom around and shot down into a steep dive, trying to reach him before he hit the ground.

She managed to stretch out her arm and grab his seconds later. "YOU BLOODY IDIOT, GRAB ON!"

"What?" Harry called out, cupping a hand to his ear, his body swinging back and forth in the wind.

"GRAB ONTO THE BROOM!"

"Why?" he asked.

"SO YOU DON'T BLOODY DIE, YOU SANCTIMONIOUS GIT!"

Harry visibly sighed as if she were doing him a great disservice by saving his life, and then reached out with his other arm to grip the broom.

Ginny was trying to get his attention to tell him to swing his leg over but the prat was simply staring at his fingers, as if seeing them for the first time.

"Curious…" he said, taking one hand off the broom to get a better look before taking off the other.

Ginny quickly grabbed him by the back of his cloak so he wouldn't go plummeting to his death once more.

"What is?" she said through gritted teeth, trying to pull him up herself.

"Long Fingers really did hit the lottery with those hands," he said, wiggling his own fingers. "In an actual life-or-death scenario, I might've been done for."

Ginny was very close to bucking him off the broom herself. But a second later, Harry gracefully swung his leg up and hopped on behind her.

She then swiftly brought them back down to the ground, threw the broom aside and grabbed Harry by the collar of his shirt. "What. The. Hell. Was. That?" she said, punctuating every word with a rough shake.

"Ah, yes, you see," Harry said, carefully peeling her fingers off him. "I lied before. About the no charms or precautions thing."

"What?"

Harry gave her an embarrassed smile. "I know, it was silly," he said, shaking his head with a chuckle. "But in my defense...did you really think I'd risk the life of a patient, let alone your life?"

"So you didn't actually trust me?" Ginny said, feeling her ears burning with anger.

"I did," Harry said, nodding earnestly. "But on the off-chance that you couldn't forgive yourself completely, I thought I'd give you another chance to."

"Or maybe you just didn't want to die!" she said, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Ginny, the last broom we rode together exploded. If I was concerned for my safety I wouldn't have gotten on a broom with you in the first place."

Ginny had nothing to say to that, but she couldn't help the scowl that was still on her face. "Fine," she said. "But you could have done without the dramatics. You arse...always bloody stealing the spotlight, even now."

Harry shook his head solemnly. "You've got it all wrong, Ginny," he said. "I jumped off to give you your moment."

He pulled the sleeves of his robe up above his wrists and withdrew his wand with a flourish. Without a word, he raised it up high, causing a great spotlight to emit from the sky; it shone directly onto Ginny and the broomstick she was still straddling.

"Go on, Gin, spotlight is on you now," Harry said meaningfully. "Have your moment."

The affection and sincerity in his words made a shiver run up her spine.

She exhaled, shut her eyes, and then took another deep breath in. With practiced ease she kicked off the ground and went soaring through the sky, the spotlight never failing to follow her.

Minute after minute, turn after turn, dive after dive, she tore through the cool air with fearless abandon. A sense of profound joy rekindling within her very being.

This is what she loved doing.

This is where she belonged.

It was euphoric.

Her body, magic and mind all working in flawless harmony again.

How long she flew, how long Harry kept the light shining on her, she didn't know. There was a deep yearning to just let go and soar, a thirst that demanded to be quenched. Nothing in the world could stop her now.

Nothing.

"Doing great, Ginny!" Harry called from somewhere far below.

Ginny felt her breath catch in her throat, nearly forgetting for a moment that he was even there.

Harry. The most incencing, infuriating, and maddenly marvelous man she'd ever known. The one who-even though it annoyed her to admit it-was the reason she was up here today.

The sole reason Ginny was able to do what she'd always been born to do.

With that thought in mind, she descended out of the sky and ended up several feet away from the man in question in her rush to land.

Ginny ran towards him; she knew she had a hard, blazing look on her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the future, Ginny kissed him.

After several long moments-or it might have been a half hour-or several sunlit days-they broke apart. The creature in Ginny's chest purred in satisfaction, her arms and legs still wrapped around Harry.

"This feels familiar." Harry smiled into their still touching lips.

"Does it?" Ginny said, one eyebrow raised. "If I remember, you were a terrible kisser back then."

"Couldn't have been that bad, you didn't cry like Cheerless Chang did."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Well, all we're missing now are the wolf whistles and awkward silence."

Harry hummed in agreement. "Could do with some fireworks, too."

"Did someone say fireworks?" said a voice from out of nowhere.

Harry and Ginny whipped their heads around to find the entire Weasley clan staring at them with broad smiles on their faces.

"What's going on?" Ginny said as she slid off Harry and stood beside him, his arm falling across her shoulders.

"What?" George said with a shrug. "You shine a broad blinding beam of light in the garden and expect us not to notice?"

"We're so happy for you, dears," Molly called from the doorway, waving her hand at them.

"Harry, we were wrong and you were right!" his two best friends said in unison. Hermione was beaming and Ron gave a look of 'well-if you must'.

The creature in Ginny's chest roared in triumph.

"I still think you're a dickhead, Potter!" Bill shouted.

"Gabby would be very happy for you, Harry," Fleur added. "If it were not for the Piteously Pathological Pontificating Pygmy Puff and the Scintillatingly Salacious Sacred Saharan Slinky-"

Bill nodded in agreement. "Let's not forget about the Dubiously Delectable Derogating Deviled Dust Bunny and the Effervescent Evisceratingly Egalitarian Electric Eel that-"

"You're forgetting about the Yachtsman's Yokelish Yellow Yaffingale Yearling," Hermione and Ron said in unison. "And the Zesty Zoftig Zoophagous Zimbabwean Zebra-"

But before they could finish, a sudden, bombastic blast echoed throughout the garden.

"Did someone say fireworks!" George shouted again.

"No!" Ginny said. "No one said fireworks. No one ever says fireworks! We. Don't. Want. Fireworks!"

But everyone else's heads shot up to see the colourful array of Weasley's Wildfire Whiz-bangs lighting up the night sky, a loud chorus of oohs and ahhs drowning out Ginny's protests.

She sighed to herself and turned to Harry, smiling softly at the child-like wonder on his face.

"Hey," she said, nudging his shoulder.

Harry turned to look at her, nothing but love shining in his eyes. And she stared back at him-her childhood crush, her friend, her first time lover, enemy, lover, enemy, and lover again.

"I love you, Harry," she said.

"I love you, Ginny," he said. "Let's go shag."

"Let's," Ginny agreed before pausing in thought. "Huh, well...I guess Tracey was right, then. I did just want you to help me ride your broomstick in the end."

At that, the entire Weasley clan stood up and applauded the third-chance lovers as they left hand in hand to go shag.

~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~

"Why did you drag me here again?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "All you wanted to do was sit out on a patio and drink Orange Juice."

"So?"

"So?" Ginny arched her eyebrow. "So? You're asking me why we're here, inside, when there is a torrential downpour outside?"

"S'not like we couldn't have just charmed ourselves a dry bit of patio."

"Dry or not, I'm not sitting out in the rain. We can drink our Orange Juice inside while we watch the ballet. It's Natalia Pavlova starring in-"

"Don't care. Pansy Princess is a two-bit performer. I've met her-her worthless team couldn't even deal with a sprained ankle."

"You know, if you'd just listened to Bruno, we could have been on the patio yesterday, when it was all sunny and warm."

Harry scoffed. "He's always trying to be Overly Helpful. I can check the weather myself, thanks."

Ginny gave him a knowing look. "Just because you were miffed that Nikita was trying to hire him away, doesn't mean you should discard his advice."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I didn't even know what they wanted, they were speaking Spanish, you know I don't speak that. Besides, it's Brazilian Beta, he'll be here when we visit next."

"You don't know that," Ginny said, crossing her arms. "One day he might get so sick of your antics that he'll refuse to be Overly Helpful for you ever again."

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "That's cute, Ginny," he said. "But that would never happen. He'll be here every time we come back to Brazil. Especially on our honeymoon."

At the mention of their future plans, Ginny gave Harry a warm smile and leaned in towards him.

Harry placed a kiss on her head before handing her a glass of Orange Juice. Then he raised his glass of Orange Juice and she did the same.

"To a honeymoon in Brazil," Harry said.

Ginny stared lovingly at her new fiance, her best friend, and childhood sweetheart. "Cheers, I'll drink to that."

~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~ ~~WANGST~~

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Nikita and all of you wangsters-you know who you are.

It's also dedicated to the last remaining employee of SatTal Studios who bravely soldiered on when all others tragically died in the annual 'Who Can Catch the Famed Famished Flesh-eating Fanged Frisbee?' contest. They may be gone but their sacrifice is not forgotten.

This story is not dedicated to Petrificus Somewhatus, who refused to write the promised outtake for this fic. Due to deeply devastating emotional damage, we have been forced to scrap the Harmony chapter that would have been dedicated to him. All Harmony notes have been burned in the lowest depth of the seven hells of SalTal Headquarters in Eucla, Australia.

We would also like to thank Nauze for his tireless efforts in delaying yet another chapter of this fic. And we would also like to still blame Nauze for ending scurvy in Eucla-Eucla's only other company, a Scurvy Remedy Clinic has now gone out of business.

All 700 employees are now fighting to their deaths in a SalTal sponsored Sports Day.

A huge thanks also goes out to Mrs. Saliient91, who picked up the reigns of the beta carriage after SalTal Studios suspended Petrificus Somewhatus for outright refusing to write the contractually obligated outtake.

And finally, we would like to still blame Baba Yetu for prematurely outing our anagrammed names. Thankfully after several bouts of therapy, multiple visits to the spa, and an endless supply of chocolate cake, SalTal authors Salient Causality and Taliesin19 have decided to return to the original plans of writing a multi-chapter fic.

You Stay Classy Eucla!