A/N: This is a fic I wrote about nine years ago, still entrenched in my Harry/Ginny obsession. It takes place at Shell Cottage after the escape from Malfoy Manor with the non-canon addition of Ginny's presence. I found it a few weeks ago and determined it pretty much complete, so here you are! I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: All source material belongs to J.K. Rowling, of course, and I borrowed a brief excerpt for the beginning.

From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pg. 477

"It was like sinking into an old nightmare; for an instant Harry knelt again beside Dumbledore's body at the foot of the tallest tower at Hogwarts, but in reality he was staring at a tiny body curled upon the grass, pierced by Bellatrix's silver knife. Harry's voice was still saying, 'Dobby...Dobby...' even though he knew that the elf had gone where he could not call him back.

After a minute or so he realized that they had, after all, come to the right place, for here were Bill and Fleur, Dean and Luna, gathering around him as he knelt over the elf.

'Hermione?' he said suddenly. 'Where is she?'

'Ron's taken her inside,' said Bill. 'She'll be alright.'"

Harry took a breath and slowly got to his feet, not taking his eyes off of Dobby until he heard a shriek from the house. His head snapped up, eyes wide. He knew that voice. The door to the cottage whipped open and she stepped out.

He heard Ron yelling after her, "Hey, what about your brother?" but she appeared to ignore him, slamming the door and sprinting towards him.

As she got closer, Bill stared at her. "Ginny, what's wro-?"

He stopped abruptly when she threw herself at Harry, throwing her arms around him and kissing him. Harry stumbled back a couple of steps but managed to hold his footing and wrapped his arms around Ginny automatically, kissing her back. After a moment she pulled slightly away, staring at him with tears in her eyes.

"You're okay," she choked, "Thank Merlin, you're alright. Harry, what happened? Is it over? Please tell me everything's over." She was crying and Harry slid his hand up to the back of her neck, knowing he had to tell her it wasn't over yet.

"I'm sorry, Gin...it's not over yet. I'm trying. Merlin knows, I'm trying."

Ginny blinked away more tears and nodded. "I know. I know you are," she said quietly.

"Ginny, are you alright?" Bill asked suddenly. Ginny nodded slowly, staring at Harry a moment more before glancing at the other four adults and then looking down as her eyes found Dobby.

She gasped and gripped his shoulder, bringing her other hand up to her mouth. Harry left an arm around her waist and Bill didn't miss the way his hand clenched around Ginny's shirt. "Harry...is that-?"

Harry nodded. "It's Dobby." His voice cracked.

"Oh, Merlin," Ginny whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Just another thing to kill Bellatrix for," Harry murmured in a low voice.

Without warning, Ginny threw her arms around Harry again, and he buried his face in her hair, closing his eyes. When she pulled away she took his face in her hands and looked him in the eye.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Harry shook his head and leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and taking her hands in his, bringing them to his chest. "It was my fault. I'm so used to saying his name that I was...adamant about something and I said it. Greyback, Scabior, and a couple of others found us. They already had Luna, Dean, and Griphook; Hermione managed to shoot a stinging hex at me so they wouldn't recognize me, but..." he sighed. "They recognized Hermione and then realized who I was. They brought us to Malfoy Manor. We would have had no chance of getting out of there if Bellatrix hadn't seen the sword."

"Of Gryffindor?" Ginny asked quietly. Neither noticed when Luna, Dean, and Fleur walked quietly away and towards the house.

Harry opened his eyes and met hers, nodding against her forehead. "She flipped out because the sword was supposed to be in her vault. The one in her vault is a copy, but she doesn't know that. But she freaked out a little too much..." he murmured, then pulled his forehead from Ginny's and shook it slightly. "She had us put in the cellar, but kept Hermione." He shut his eyes and breathed in raggedly for a moment, and then opened them once more. The pain in his eyes made Ginny want to burst into tears again. "Dobby got us out."

Ginny didn't have to ask what Bellatrix did to Hermione. She slipped a hand from his grip and slid it around to the back of his neck, threading her fingers in his hair. Then she brought her other hand to his cheek. He held it there with one of his and held her eyes. "It's not your fault, Harry. No," she said firmly when he opened his mouth as if to protest. "None of this is your fault. It's You-Know-Who that's doing this. You're going to end it."

Harry stared at her for a moment, searching her face, before he sighed. "Why don't you hate me right now? Why are you even talking to me?" He asked, looking at her intently.

Ginny smiled softly and brushed her thumb across his cheek. "Harry James Potter," she said lightly, before her voice turned serious once more. "I could never hate you. Never." He started to avert his eyes, but she held his face. "I love you, Harry." He started to open his mouth as if to protest but she stopped him. "Don't. I already know. And Harry...while you were gone I told myself that if I saw you again before this was over I was going to make the most of the time I had with you, and that's just what I intend to do."

Harry stared at her, swallowed hard, and then spoke seriously. "And what about after this is all over? If I make it?"

Ginny stared determinedly back at him. "You will make it, Harry," she said firmly, and then smirked slightly. "And when you've killed him, you're going to make me Mrs. Ginny Potter."

Harry finally smiled and he pulled her to him in a bone-crushing hug. "You bet I will," he murmured into her hair, his voice cracking.

Bill finally cleared his throat after watching this scene play out and Ginny and Harry pulled apart.

"I'll hold you to that," Ginny said with a grin, and Harry smiled and then ran a hand through his hair as they turned to face Bill.

He was staring at them shrewdly, as though trying to figure them out. Then he looked at Harry. "Am I missing something?"

"I don't know," Harry answered, hooking an arm around Ginny's waist and pulling her into his side. "Are you?"

Bill looked at Ginny and narrowed his eyes. "When did that happen? Since when are you two...?"

"Dating? In love?" Ginny finished, smiling.

Bill raised an eyebrow. "I only heard one of you mention the word 'love.'" He turned his narrowed eyes on Harry, but Ginny called his attention back to her.

"That's because you were eavesdropping on a private conversation, and so you didn't hear the words left unspoken," she said smoothly.

"Why were they left unspoken?" Bill asked.

Before Ginny was able to answer, Harry spoke. "Quite frankly, I don't think that's any of your business. It's mine and Ginny's. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have some things to discuss with Ron and Hermione." Without hesitation, he leaned forward and kissed Ginny on the mouth, then brushed his lips across her cheek, pausing by her ear and whispering, "You're the reason I'm doing this." Then he stepped away and turned to go, but Bill stopped him quickly.

"Harry, one thing."

Harry turned back around and lifted an eyebrow, his eyes only on Bill. "Yes?"

"Don't you dare leave her alone and broken-hearted." Bill's voice was low and threatening.

Harry hesitated, staring at Bill for a long moment before shaking his head. "I can't promise that, Bill...but I can do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't happen." And he turned and walked away, leaving Ginny and Bill staring after him.

"How are you so sure that it's real?" Bill asked quietly.

Ginny didn't look at him, simply stared after Harry. "I've been in love with Harry since I was fourteen years old," she said simply.

"And how do you know he loves you?" Bill asked, looking at Ginny.

"I can just tell...by how he holds me, like I'm the only thing keeping him on his feet...the way he kisses me, like it's the last time he ever will..." Ginny trailed off, "Maybe it will be. The last time, I mean. But I will never regret loving him. He's the one, Bill. I..." Ginny trailed off again, then shook her head slightly, her cheeks flushing. "I'm going inside."

Bill watched her go, and couldn't help but think she was growing up way too fast.