Chapter 7:

"Another one!" Harry grunted, his voice belligerent. The large man in front of him paused again, and Harry felt his anger open up within him. This was the third time Hagrid had tried to get him to stop drinking.

"Pour. Me. Another. Drink."

Hagrid sighed and did as he asked, but not before flicking his eyes behind Harry. Without having to turn around, Harry knew who was there.

"Leave me alone, Sirius." Harry grabbed the drink Hagrid had just poured for him — scotch, neat —and turned around, a snarl on his face. Harry was surprised by finding his uncle instead.

"Sirius thought it best that I come."

Harry frowned at his uncle. "But how did you get here?"

"Dora brought me. She's in the car. Should I go get her? Do you need a nurse, Harry? You seem a bit wobbly. Not to mention rather disagreeable."

Harry loudly snorted and turned back to face the bar. He threw back the scotch and let the glass hit the counter with a loud thud.

"Another one," Harry said, but softer than before. He felt his uncle maneuver his chair around until he was on Harry's side.

"Hagrid, if you would be so kind?" Remus asked the larger man, and Hagrid came around the bar to help him onto the stool. A moment later, Remus was sitting next to Harry. "And what are we having? Scotch? Just some water for me, Hagrid. Ta."

Harry stared straight ahead, knowing what his uncle was up to and not caring. He'd come straight to the pub after Ron and Hermione's, and he'd been drinking straight on since then.

GinnyWeasleywasRedGinnyWeasleywasRedGinnyWeasleywasRedGinnyWeasleywasRed…

The same four words kept repeating in Harry's head until he thought he would go insane. The only thing that helped was the burn of the scotch as it traveled down his throat. But for some reason, everyone wanted to deny him even this respite. Harry didn't miss the way Hagrid looked at Remus to make sure it was okay his serve him another one. Harry felt his frustration grow.

"I'm the one paying, so I'm the one who gets to say when I've had enough!" Harry yelled, throwing a wad of pounds on the counter.

"Harry James Potter, you will stop this. You will stop shouting, and you will stop treating your friends like this. We are not here to be yelled at, and we are not here to be abused by you. If you want to drink yourself into oblivion, be my guest, but you will not act out in this manner."

Remus's voice was soft, and yet the weight it carried was enough to make Harry wince. He closed his eyes, feeling instantly ashamed. When he opened his eyes again, Hagrid had shuffled off to the other side of the bar. He'd left the entire bottle of scotch in front of Harry. Remus was calmly sipping at his water, resting his head on his hand. He looked tired, to Harry, and he suddenly felt even more ashamed for his behavior.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, feeling miserable.

"Too right you are," Remus agreed. He placed his water down on the table and grabbed the bottle Hagrid had left. He offered it to Harry, who shook his head. Maybe drinking more wasn't what Harry needed right now.

"I found out who Red is," Harry said, feeling desperate. "She's been lying to me. Lying to me…when she said she wouldn't! She was right there! The whole time! And I didn't…she didn't… oh, she must be having a laugh about it all!"

Remus didn't say anything. Harry stared at the bottom of his glass, the color of the lights in the bar catching the reflections. He was so…confused. Why would Ginny do this to him? Why hadn't she told him? Had she been laughing at him the whole time? Playing it up under the safe cover of her anonymity when she was 'Red' and then acting as if she couldn't stand him when she was herself?

Except that's not exactly true, is it? She didn't act like that tonight. You liked her tonight. And she liked you, a voice whispered in his head. Harry growled as he drank the rest of the alcohol. He grabbed the bottle and poured himself another glass and then drank that down, too. He looked at Remus.

"I'm so confused, Remus. I don't understand anything."

"I can tell you're upset," his uncle said, rubbing Harry's back in a comforting gesture. "Why don't you start at the beginning, and I'll see if I can help you sort it out."

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "I just want to go home and sleep. I don't want to think anymore."

Remus gave him a calculating look. "All right, Harry, if that's what you want."

Harry nodded and then called to Hagrid. His friend lumbered over, looking warily at him.

"I'm sorry I was such a prat, Hagrid. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Reckon so, Harry. We all have days like this. Although I will say I was about ter get a touch unfriendly with you if you kept on like you 'ere."

Harry felt his skin heat. "I really am sorry."

"Go on home 'ith yer now. Come on, Remus, let me get yer settled back in yer chair here."

Harry did feel a bit unsteady on his feet now, his head starting to pound. But with Hagrid's help, he and Remus got through the pub in one piece. There was a slam of a car door, and Dora appeared in front of them. She looked him up and down.

"Cor, Harry, what happened? You never get this drunk."

Harry didn't say anything; he stumbled over to her car to help Remus. Dora waved him off. "No, don't…I'll do it. I don't want you to drop him, no offense, Harry. But you look as unsteady as a seasick sailor."

Once they were settled in the car, Dora turned to look at him. "Not to sound like a cow, but are you okay? If you feel like you're going to be sick, we'll just sit here until it passes."

Harry covered his head with his arms, hiding his face. "I'm fine. I won't get sick in your car, Dora. I promise."

When they arrived home (Harry much closer to getting sick than even he would admit), Sirius greeted them at the door. He looked at Harry and then at Remus. He didn't say a word as Harry pushed past him and headed up the stairs. He figured his uncle could clue them all in while he went to bed to die. Harry felt a heavy sort of feeling throughout his body and didn't want to move for the next 24-48 hours, if possible. But he still clearly hadn't drunk enough because even as he collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes, it was Ginny Weasley's smiling face that chased after him.

o-o-o-o-o

Harry –

Is everything okay? I haven't heard from you in a few days. It's not your uncle again, is it? Did he have another issue? I tried calling you the other night, but it just rang and rang; it didn't even go to voicemail. I hope everything is all right. Even if you only write back to say hello, I'd be happy. Please, let me know? I'm worried about you, and I miss you.

-Red

Harry –

It's been almost two weeks now, and since you're apparently ignoring all of my attempts to talk with you, I feel as though I have done something wrong. I'm sorry for whatever it was. I'm not going to beg you to reply to me, though – if you want to remain silent, be my guest. But until these letters get bounced back to me, I'm going to keep writing to you.

I started my new job on Monday! I'm so happy with it. I think it's really going to be an excellent fit. My boss is a lovely woman, and she's very motivated. I feel happy when I get off from work now, and I'd forgotten what that felt like. In a way, you are responsible for my sense of well being. In more ways than one. Even if you never talk to me again (for whatever reason), I want you to know that. I carry a little bit of you with me throughout the day, now, I think.

It's going to be summer soon, can you believe it? I remember you telling me that this is when your godfather gets the busiest before the Dog Show circuit kicks into full gear. Is that why you've been silent? You're so busy with dogs and training and making sure your house is kept clean? ;)

I miss you, Harry. I miss your laugh and your way of making me feel as though I'm the most important person in the world. I honestly just miss you, Harry. Do you sometimes, maybe…perhaps…miss me?

-Red

o-o-o-o-o

"Harry?"

Sirius's voice broke him out of his mindless, staring out the window. He turned to look at his godfather, who was standing in the doorway. He came into the room when he saw he had Harry's attention.

"Er, Ron Weasley's downstairs. Said he's left about a half-a-dozen messages and wanted to check up on you. Do you want me to send him up? Or do you want to go down?"

Harry sighed at the hopeful sound in his godfather's voice. "Send him up, I reckon."

Sirius nodded and looked at him again. Harry could feel the question Sirius wanted to ask, settling in the air between them. But to his credit, his godfather merely left the room and headed back downstairs. He knew everyone was worried about him - Sirius, Remus, Dora, Ron, Hermione…Red. Oh yeah, she made sure she'd told him how worried she was in every letter. Every letter he promised to himself to ignore and yet somehow, he ended up reading them anyway. He was a glutton for punishment, apparently.

A few moments later, Ron Weasley was looking at him from the doorway. "Hiya, Harry. So this is where you've been hiding. Always the last place I look. Your actual bedroom. Imagine that."

Harry gave his friend a half-hearted grin as Ron sat down at the desk. His friend's eyes lingered on the computer, which Harry had thrown a cover over after Red's last letter. Harry supposed he was employing the out-of-sight-out-of-mind method to dealing with the constant messages she sent him, telling him about her day, how worried she was about him…

"So," Ron said, turning back to look at him. "How's it going? I like the uh, beard. That's…different. Trying out a new look?"

Harry shrugged and didn't say anything. He hadn't shaved in a while. It was nice. His face was now…anonymous-feeling. He thought he'd heard Sirius refer to him as the "Wooly Mountain Man" at least once or twice, to Remus.

Ron sighed and then sat forward, looking serious. "Harry, what the fuck is wrong?"

"I'm fine."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Oh, okay, That answers that. Well, reckon I'll be on my way then."

When neither of them moved, Ron swore again and stood up. He paced in front of Harry for a few moments and then looked down at him.

"I've never seen you like this, and I helped you with learning to walk again, and I've seen you pretty low. So again, Harry, what the fuck is wrong?"

"I'm fine."

"Right. Your godfather is worried about you, your uncle is worried about you… I'm worried about you too, now that I've seen you. Hermione keeps telling me to invite you over, but I haven't told her you're not bothering to answer any of my messages."

"How's your sister?" Harry heard himself ask. He felt as though his voice held a brittle, harsh quality. But it was as though he were far away, lost inside himself.

Ron stopped pacing again and looked confused. "What does Ginny have to do with this?"

Harry shrugged and didn't say anything. He didn't care how she was anyway. He already knew. She was keeping him very up to date with everything.

Ron sighed and sat back down. "Well, since this is the first subject that has gotten a response out of you, I suppose I should play along. Ginny's fine. She loves that bloody job. I've never seen her so energized for work before. They're already getting a lot of interest in the new center with the local teens. And she's trying to get a few of her old teammates to come to give lessons on various football techniques. And I'm going to help out too, do some training sessions and talk about being healthier."

"Great," Harry said half-heartedly, already feeling himself sinking again.

Ron's ears turned pink, and he ran a hand through his head. "Blimey, Harry. What in the hell happened? It's this woman you were talking to, isn't it? Did you finally meet her? Did it go terribly wrong? Did something happen? I wish you would open up, mate. I'm about ready to throttle you."

"Everyone is," Sirius's voice came from the door, and both men looked over at him. He smiled apologetically at Ron. "Sorry for eavesdropping. But I was hoping your presence would loosen his lips."

Harry didn't say anything and looked away. He hadn't said a word about what he had found out to anyone. Well, except when he'd been drunk.

"This isn't like you, Harry," Sirius said, joining them. "You brood sometimes, but you always snap out of it. This has gone on long enough."

It had, hadn't it? But still, Harry didn't speak. He felt as though his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. How do you tell someone else that your heart has been torn to bits inside of you? How do you tell someone you feel betrayed? How could he tell his godfather he'd raised a sap?

"I found out who she is," Harry finally muttered. "I…I think she's been hiding in plain sight. Getting off on the whole thing. It's the only thing that makes sense." Harry paused, and the two men were silent, as though holding their breath. Harry continued, his own voice sounding too loud in the stillness. "Why would someone hide who they are? Why act one way in person and another way…" Harry let his voice trail off as he looked at Ron. He swallowed roughly. "Why would you hide who you are if you cared about someone? Why would you lie to them about it?"

Sirius and Ron looked at each, both apparently nonplussed. "Perhaps she was afraid of your reaction?" Ron said, sounding confused. "I mean, if you know her, obviously, you've never shown interest in her without the whole email thing before."

"Yeah, maybe she was scared of how you would react once you knew? So…she's someone you know, is she? Someone close?" Sirius asked, leaning against the door.

"Not close, but…" Harry sighed. "She could have been. Maybe. I don't know. I'm utterly confused about the whole thing. I feel like I'm just…stuck in limbo, and I can't…I can't get her out of my mind, and I can't seem to get past it. I just want to know why."

"Well, you could ask her," Sirius said. "Go for the direct approach."

Ron nodded. "Hermione always tells me women are not as complicated as they seem and like a direct approach. But then again, she's extremely logical 95% of the time. Some women might be a bit different about it. If this girl was hiding who she was, maybe she had her reasons."

Sirius nodded. "You never know what people have gone through to make them who they are, Harry. Look at you, and how your parent's death affected you. It made you more cautious, not something I am always happy about, but…"

Ron interrupted. "I mean, you met Ginny for the first time when she was not her best, and then you met her later when she was more herself. She doesn't warm to new people because of what happened with that Tom Riddle character, but she eventually got there, though, right, Harry?"

Harry frowned to himself as Red/Ginny's words repeated themselves in his head. I…I am scared of your reaction, that's all. Because of reasons I can't go into. God, I sound like a prat…When I was younger…I had a terrible crush on you…I can't believe I just told you that…

Harry felt as though the sun had suddenly appeared, as though it had been behind a cloud. For the first time, Harry really thought about what Ron had just said, the implication of his friend's words truly sinking in. The act of thinking almost made Harry cringe - he had honestly not been making much of an effort with using his brain. Well, not for anything other than just existing. Harry had been wallowing, full stop. He suddenly felt self-conscious about how much of a git he'd been. He looked up to see Sirius grinning knowingly at him.

"Ron, you and I are going to get on just fine. I think Harry's just decided to join the living again," his godfather said, turning towards the other man.

Ron looked at Sirius, and then at Harry, his brow furrowed. "What did I do? I don't get it?"

Sirius clasped the other man on the shoulder and nodded at Harry. "Go on, get showered, we'll be downstairs."

Harry smiled at his godfather – for the first time, truly feeling like himself again.

o-o-o-o-o

The new Sports Center was almost done, but for now, the extra offices at their center in Exeter were serving as headquarters. Ian had said it was crowded but working surprisingly well. One of his favorite employees, actually, one of his favorite people, Arabella Figg, was moving into managing the new center. Which meant she was technically Ginny's new boss. But Harry already knew this. He also already knew the two were getting on like wildfire, judging from Red's letters. She was still sending them to him; Harry had to admire her tenacity.

His visit to the offices was for business only, or so he told himself. Since he still hadn't replied to any of Red's letters, and he still hadn't mentioned to Ron or Sirius or anyone else who Red was, it was a perfectly legitimate visit. Harry told himself once again that he was just letting it go. It didn't matter, in the end. What had happened between him and Red was…over. Or at least, that is what Harry told himself every morning as his eyes glanced at his computer, or every night when he'd charge his mobile…

He pulled into the carpark and sat in the Jeep for a moment, seeing a few kids running the ball up and down the field next to the center. A few of the younger children were playing on the swings and roundabouts. Grabbing the papers next to him, he jumped out of the vehicle and made his way inside.

It was mid-morning and quiet in the center, currently. But Harry knew that later, once school was out, it would sound as though a party was going on. The Exeter Center had done extremely well and was reasonably popular with all the local teens. He was proud of that fact and couldn't help but smile to himself. Their impact on the community had been substantial, and he felt pride at what they had accomplished. Before opening, the area had had far more issues with violence, graffiti, and other problems. Now, most problems were down almost by half, and Harry knew it was because of the tireless effort of all the people he and Ian had selected to help run the center.

Harry was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize where he was going and was surprised when he ran into someone coming out one of the offices. He smiled when he saw who it was.

"Harry!" Arabella cried, grinning at him. She embraced him quickly and then, as she always did, pinched his cheeks. Harry was now, of course, tall enough to pull out of her grasp, but he never had the heart to do it. It had been a habit she'd started when he was a kid, and he couldn't deny it to her.

"Hello, Bell, how are you?"

"Splendid! Did Ian tell you? Mrs Tibbles has just had a new litter! I'm trying to get some of the new blood to take home a kitten once they're able to leave their mum. You don't want one do you?"

Harry laughed. Arabella's love of all things feline was well-known and much discussed among other members of his staff, he knew. She often walked around with a massive photo album of all of her cats, making sure everyone had a look, at least once. Or twice. The long-standing photo history all cats named Mr and Mrs Tibbles was quite the saga.

"No, thank you, Bell, you know Sirius has a cat thing. He'd probably not be happy with me bringing home a kitten."

Bell sniffed at him. "I know you love your godfather, but a man preferring dogs to cats is just unnatural. I suppose you're here to see Ian. He's in the back with the others. Come on, I'll show you through. We're a bit close quarters."

Harry followed her through, nodding at a few of the other regular employees. They reached the back office, and he could see what she meant about close quarters – they had somehow managed to squeeze in a few more desks into the room, along with four new people. Harry made a mental note to make sure the new building had more space.

Arabella introduced him to everyone. Harry tried not to smirk when she introduced him to the women first – she was always trying to find him a girl – even after he'd been with Cho, she'd still tried.

"This is Padma Patil, she's our money expert, brilliant girl, brilliant girl, very quiet though, and this is Angelina Johnson, one of our new physical therapists. And this is Jason Cooley, our other physical therapist. And then this is Davin Scott, our new psychologist and…where is Weasley?" Bell paused, looking around as though Ginny was hiding.

"She's gone with Ian to the training room. They're taking inventory of what we can spare here and take with us to the new Center," Angelina offered, smiling at Harry. The woman offered her hand to him. "Nice to meet you Mr Potter, I was a big fan, of course." Murmurs of agreement came from the rest of the staff, except for Padma, and he nodded at them.

"Thanks. I've gone over all your CV's, and I'm honored you lot are helping to make the new center be the best it can be, really. I know you're all highly qualified and ready to get started. It hopefully won't be too long now. The builders assure me it should be done by the end of the month, right on schedule."

After talking a few more moments, Arabella grabbed Harry's arm to take him to find Ian and Ginny. Before they could reach the training room, though, they both turned as they heard a voice calling for Mrs Figg.

"Sorry, there's a phone call for you, Arabella," Jason Cooley said, catching up with them. "It's that distributor you've been trying to reach."

"Oh, I better take this, Harry. The training room is down the hall to your right, if you recall."

Harry nodded as the two headed back to the office and went on ahead. He heard Ginny before he saw her, and he suddenly felt flushed. Her laugh was music to Harry's ears. And for a moment, he closed his eyes, remembering how it felt to hear her laugh in his ear, to listen to her sigh and the way her voice dropped when she was feeling sexy… maybe he shouldn't have done this. Perhaps he wasn't ready. Perhaps he just wanted to march in there and demand that she answered his questions. Why had she done it? Had the whole thing been a game? Harry wasn't angry at her anymore, but he did still wonder about her motivations.

"Harry?" Ian's voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he blinked at his secretary.

"Hi, thought I'd drop by and see how things were going," Harry said, as he handed Ian the papers he'd asked for.

"This is great! Everyone is here today, did Arabella already do the introductions?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I just met everyone. Nice bunch, it seems."

Ian smiled. "Yeah, they are, if I do say so myself. I think the new center is going to be our best yet! Your last team member is in there if you want to say hello. I've got to go fax a few of these off right away. We'll talk before you go?"

Harry agreed and stood outside the training room for a moment. The door had closed behind Ian, and he could just see Ginny's hair as she walked back and forth on the other side of the room through the small window. Taking a deep breath, Harry steadied himself. You can do this. She's just Ron's sister. She doesn't know that you know. Just…say hello and be perfunctory and get out of there.

Harry waited a moment, his eyes closed as he tried to picture how to say hello to her in the driest yet politest way possible. When he finally thought he had it, he opened the door, and his greeting died on his lips. In fact, all thoughts left him entirely. Ginny had bent down in front of a cupboard, on her hands and knees, her very shapely (how had he never noticed this before?) backside pointing right at him. Harry swallowed roughly and just watched her for a moment, forgetting to breathe.

"Ian?" Ginny called out, apparently thinking Harry was the other man. "Do you have anything long and thin? I dropped my pen, and it rolled under this cupboard. My dad will kill me; he put it together himself as a gift for getting this job."

Harry strolled over and watched her for a moment, the reply he wanted to say just dying to come out. But in the end, he held back and glanced around. Over the by the door, there were a few long yardsticks, and he went to fetch one for her. He handed it down to her without saying anything, and Ginny continued talking to him as though he were Ian.

"My Dad is such a nut for mechanical things, and he was ever so proud of finding this old dip pen at a jumble sale. He did some of his magical jiggery-pokery and got this pen to be more like a fountain pen and have its own reservoir of…aha! Gotcha!" Ginny sat back, gripping the pen in her hands and looked up at him, a broad smile on her face. Harry noted that her face seemed to simultaneously drain of color and turn pink at the same time. She blinked up at him.

"Er, Harry? I…sorry, I thought you were Ian."

"Obviously," Harry said, smirking. He offered her his hand, and after staring at him for a few more moments, she took it, and he lifted her up. Ginny fell forward, and Harry used his other hand to steady her. She stared at him, her mouth opening slightly. She looked out of breath for some reason, and Harry noticed she had more freckles across her nose.

Harry released her suddenly, and Ginny blinked at him as he moved away. "I came by to meet all the new people, you know, say 'hi.' But I already know you, don't I?"

Ginny seemed to recover and nodded at him. "Of course. Even if it is only as Ron's little sister." She looked away from him and cleaned off her pen on her shirt. Harry nodded at it.

"Can I see?"

She held it out to him, not meeting his eyes, and didn't say anything. Harry studied the pen. She had been right, it was a rather nice, vintage dip pen, complete with a drawing of a quill along the side of it. It was red and gold, and while obviously used, he could tell that Mr Weasley had fixed it with love and care for his daughter. He watched her for a moment.

"Your dad is brilliant. I would have climbed under there for this pen, too. You should cherish it."

Ginny smiled warmly as she took it back from him. "I do." Her eyes finally met his. "How have you been, Harry? I…er, Ron said he hadn't heard from you in a while."

Harry shrugged. "I've been fine. You?"

"Oh, you know, work's been keeping me…busy. We're all very excited to finally get into the new center."

Harry looked around the training room. He finally brought his attention back to her and was surprised to see her watching him. Her cheeks seemed flushed, and Harry felt his stomach do that odd little drop it liked to do.

"I talked to Ron a few days ago, didn't he mention it?"

Ginny shook her head. "No. Of course, why would he?" She paused, frowning. "Is your uncle okay? He didn't have another…I mean, Ron said…"

"He's fine. I wasn't missing because of anything serious. I just needed some time to think about some stuff."

Ginny nodded as though she understood, but Harry could tell that she didn't. "Oh, well. Um, I reckon I should get back to work."

"I could help you," Harry said impulsively. "Whatever you and Ian were doing. Something about doing an inventory?"

"Well, I suppose if the big boss wants to help the grunts do their jobs, who am I to say no?" Ginny asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. Harry couldn't help himself, he laughed.

"I don't think of myself as the big boss. And you guys are definitely not grunts."

For the first time, Ginny smirked at him. "Good, then you won't mind doing all the hard stuff while I call out the numbers to those boxes up there." She pointed to what appeared to be a collection of dusty boxes that were perched on a series of shelves against the far wall.

"Er, well," Harry pretended to look daunted. "I might get a bit executive on you and suggest you do it instead."

"Too late," Ginny said, shaking her head at him. "You offered to help. And I'd rather watch you up there on that rickety ladder than the other way around."

Harry considered it as they walked towards the shelves. He shook the ladder, making a show out of testing its strength. Ginny watched him, amusement on her face. Harry grinned at her.

"All right, I'll do it, but just don't lose your concentration, Miss Weasley, or we'll have to have a serious discussion about job performance."

Harry didn't mean to sound flirty, but he couldn't help it. He enjoyed the way Ginny's blush worked its way up along her neck to her face. She blinked rapidly and then grinned back at him. "Arabella loves me. So does Ian. I feel pretty secure."

Harry chuckled and climbed up the later. Once he was to the first shelf, he looked down at her. "Ready when you are."

They spent the next half an hour matching inventory numbers to boxes, with Harry pulling out the extra items and lowering them down to her. When they were finally finished, they were both dustier and sweatier than before they'd started. Ginny rechecked her list and nodded.

"Right, I think we have a fair bit we can actually use in Dawlish." She glanced up at him, and Harry noticed she snorted and looked away, her eyes filling with mirth.

He frowned. "What?"

"Nothing," Ginny said, looking at her list again, but she bit her lip as though trying to hold back a smile.

Harry looked down at himself, not understand why he suddenly looked amusing to her. She shook her head and then reached out, her hand straying upwards into his hair. Harry held his breath as her fingers gently pushed his fringe back. Her brown eyes were full of affection as she looked at him. But she quickly stepped back, as though embarrassed and shook herself.

"Sorry, that was er, forward of me. It's just your hair was sort of standing up."

"It's always standing up," Harry said, feeling strangely exhilarated.

"I know," Ginny said softly.

"Ginny, go out with me," Harry blurted out, blinking at her as he felt his skin heat. Where in the hell had that come from? Her eyes widened as she looked at him. "Er, I mean, let's go get drinks, after work, yeah? I…think I need to get to know the most mysterious member of the Weasley clan, at any rate."

She seemed embarrassed and looked away, and Harry swore to himself in his head. What was he doing? He didn't want to go out with her. He'd decided he wasn't going to chase her, hadn't he? No, you said you'd wanted to figure out her game, a voice whispered in his head. Harry was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost didn't hear her reply.

"Okay," she said quietly, blushing. "I could handle a drink. Maybe a few of them."

"Brilliant," Harry breathed, his heart beating fast. "Do you know The Dragon's Wake?"

"I think so. Ron's mentioned it once or twice. I'll see you there about six or so?"

Harry smiled. "Yeah, perfect. Six is always a good time for me."

Ginny's cheeks blushed a deeper pink, but she met his look. "Good to know."

Harry walked back to the shared office with her, and she smiled at him as she went to the desk she apparently shared with Padma Patil. Harry asked Arabella where Ian was and was told he was still in the front office. He said goodbye to everyone, making sure not to let his eyes linger on Ginny's for too long and slipped away back down the hallway. Once he was there, he felt the huge grin he'd been trying to hold back break out on his face.

o-o-o-o-o

"I did it," Harry said as he came into the kitchen to find Remus and Sirius sitting at the table, papers spread out in front of them.

They both looked at him expectedly. "I asked out Red," Harry said triumphantly. "What are you two doing?"

Sirius smiled at him. "Does this mean you're finally going to tell us who she is? And we're just going over some bank stuff for your estate."

"What's wrong with the estate?" Harry asked, frowning at them.

"Nothing's wrong," Remus said. "We were just discussing some things. Now, tell us about your girl."

"Well, I didn't mean to do it, I just sort of blurted it out there and she agreed."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his godson. "Really? These are the types of details you've driven some bird crazy with over email and the phone? Honestly, Harry."

"What?"

"Details, man! Did you actually blurt it out, or was there flirting? Smiles? Blushes? Things becoming more pronounced any place interesting?"

Remus laughed at Sirius and looked at Harry. "Don't mind him. I thought you had decided not to pursue this woman? Isn't that the pronouncement you'd made just the other week?"

Harry sighed. "I did. And I wasn't. But today I saw her and…yes, Sirius, there were smiles and blushes and no, nothing growing any place interesting. It was the middle of the day! We're not sex fiends like you apparently are."

"I am not a sex fiend, I am a sex God. Get it right, Harry." Sirius laughed. "Are you going to tell her you know?"

Harry frowned. He hadn't thought that far ahead. "I suppose I should. But…I just want to get to know her, for real. Nothing in the way between us. I want to start new. Fresh."

"That's honorable," Remus said, nodding. "But I think you should at least try to see why she felt it necessary to hide from you. Make sure you don't have any further doubts about her intentions."

Harry frowned, thinking about it. "We're just meeting for drinks. I suppose I should make certain I can actually talk to her in person before I bring up…anything else."

"Just be yourself," Sirius said. "Who could resist you? You're dead brilliant and clever and hilarious. She'll be in your lap by the end of the night."

Harry laughed despite himself. "I don't need her to be in my lap at the end of the night, Sirius."

"All right, she could be in front of your lap, whatever position makes you happiest, Harry. I'm not here to judge your preferences."

Harry groaned. "Stop it. And besides, she doesn't know I know it was her so… I can't exactly go to the pub and sweep her off her feet, can I?" Harry paused, considering things. "Oh, bloody hell, I'm going to bugger this up, aren't I?"

Remus patted his arm. "Sirius was right, Harry. Just be yourself. You're pretty great, even if the two of us are completely biased. And she clearly already likes you."

"Yeah, true. You're right, I shouldn't be nervous. Should I?"

Both men shook their heads at him, and Sirius clapped his hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Harry made himself some coffee and headed upstairs to get ready. He sat at his desk, staring at his computer. He hadn't checked it before going to the center, but he knew there was probably a letter from Red, waiting for him. He frowned. He had to stop referring to her as Red in his head. She was Ginny. But then again, maybe she wasn't. He wanted to know if the two identities were actually all that different, really. He hoped they weren't. But still, she had kept things from him, which part of him understood, but the other part of him didn't.

He turned on his computer and opened up his email. He counted how many letters she had sent him and was surprised by the amount. He hadn't realized it, but she'd basically been having a one-sided conversation with him for about a week. Ginny definitely was determined, he'd give her that.

Harry-

Did I ever tell you about the time my brother first brought his girlfriend (now his wife) home? It was a terrible night. She's French and absolutely gorgeous, and I didn't really want to like her, I admit. She seemed flaky. And snobby. And just into him for his looks. Or his thrilling career. Honestly, I thought he could do better. My mum and I both thought she looked down on us for not being wealthier.

But after months of them dating…my brother had an accident – on one of his digs, and we thought he was done for. He wasn't, thankfully. But he got a horrible cut on his face (you can barely see it now if you don't know where to look) and I thought to myself, well, that'll throw Blondie right off him now. I am not proud of this moment, to be honest. But I admit it was how I felt at first.

Except after the accident happened…it didn't put her off him. At all. She stood by him, and even when he told her he might have a horrible scar on his no face, she said she didn't care. She told him she loved him for him, not the way he looked or for his exciting life. And I thought to myself, wow…people can really surprise you, sometimes. Love can really surprise you.

I hope you're well, Harry. I'm not going to be sending any more of these letters after this. I just…can't. I am giving up on you ever replying. I am not sure exactly what has happened or if I did something wrong, but I cannot hit my head against this door of silence you have erected in front of me. So this is me, giving up on you, Harry. I wish you nothing but happiness. You have been a dear friend, but I can no longer do this to myself. I hope you understand – or maybe I'm just kidding myself that you have even been reading these letters. But for what it is worth, this short time for us has meant the world to me.

-Red-

o-o-o-o-o