Ginny's mother returned in the early hours of the morning-later than when herself and Harry had been up. It was six o clock when Ginny heard the tell tale pop of someone apparating into the house. She'd barely gotten any sleep last night, even after she'd gone back to her own room. She'd been up all night worry about her father, and Harry's dreams. It explained why he'd been so cagey when it came to telling her anything personal-he hadn't wanted to be close to her. Ginny remembered feeling the same way after the chamber. She had wanted to avoid Harry at all costs in case she got close enough to hurt him again, or for Riddle to use her against him as a ploy.
Something Ginny had never told anyone was that she had always found Riddle attractive. Even when she had just imagined Riddle in his diary form, she had imagined him as a good looking, young man. Maybe it was because he seemed so charming on paper, but Ginny shivered at the thought of it now. When she had eventually met him in the chamber, she'd found him attractive even when he'd wanted to kill her. His eyes were piercing, as though he could see right into her soul, and the worst part had been that he could. This was a secret she was undoubtedly taking to the grave. She couldn't even tell Harry. She feared too much what he would think of her.
When Ginny heard her mother return she rushed down the stairs, two at a time. She hadn't even bothered putting on her dressing gown. When she saw her mum, she flung herself forcefully into her arms. Her mother squeezed her tightly and whispered into her ear, "He's going to be alright, Ginny." Ginny felt a tear trickle down her cheek in relief and she asked, "When are we going to see him?" Her mother didn't respond for a second and Ginny turned to see Harry standing behind her. She watched him as he stood tensely in the doorway and her mother held out her spare arm, "Come here, Harry." She pulled Harry into an embrace which matched the one she'd just shared with Ginny and she saw her mum shed more tears as she said softly, "Thank you, Harry dear, for saving his life."
Ginny smiled and her brothers appeared at her side, all of them wearing worried expressions on their faces. Ron asked quickly, "Mum?" Mum let go of Harry quickly and then turned to the rest of them, "Arthur is alive and he's going to live, thanks to Harry." There was silence before the other three breathed a sigh of relief and Ron walked over and embraced Harry himself, "Thanks mate!" he whispered.
Ginny asked loudly, "When can we go and visit him, mum?" Ron turned her as did Fred and George and their mother smiled tiredly, "Probably around lunch time, dear. Let's let him rest for now. I trust Sirius has taken good care of you?" They all nodded and Fred suggested, "Mum, why don't you go and have a sleep. We've got everything under control here." Her mother sighed, "Thanks boys. Wake me up when it's lunchtime will you? You can all sleep in for a bit."
They all watched as their mum shuffled up the stairs. Fred and George turned to Harry, "Thanks Harry, for saving dad's life." Harry nodded and murmured, "No problem." Ron glanced at the twins and then back at Harry, "Harry, why didn't you tell any of us this was happening?" Harry clenched his fists tightly and Ginny gently slipped her hand into his to try and release the tension. Ginny noticed all of her brothers watch this with raised eyebrows and skeptical expressions but Harry didn't seem to think anything of it. She sighed in relief as none of them commented.
Harry murmured, "Why don't we sit down so that I can explain?" They nodded and they all headed into the lounge and took a seat. Harry sighed and said solemnly, "I've been having these sort of vision-dreams for a while now, since the beginning of last year."All three brothers echoed the same sort of shocked expression that Ginny had had last night, although Ron seemed less surprised than Fred and George as he nodded, "Oh…the one you mentioned to me and Hermione and you said that you wanted to write to Sirius about it, that makes sense."
Harry nodded and continued morbidly, "Ever since the graveyard I decided I needed to separate myself from people. I can't let other people get hurt because of me. It's got to stop. Cedric shouldn't have died. It should have been me." Here, Harry looked at Ginny so intensely that she felt like his gaze was burning into her. She held it with her own, intense gaze and she felt a mixture of emotions flood through her. How could Harry think that? It wasn't his fault Cedric had died! That was purely Riddle's fault. Or Mad-Eye Moody who had actually been Barty Crouch Junior's fault! Of all people Harry shouldn't be blaming himself and Ginny felt terribly saddened, and hurt, by the fact that he did.
The moment was broken when George protested, "Harry! You can't blame yourself. Blame You-Know-Who or Barty Crouch Junior." Harry shook his head and groaned, clutching the ends of his hair as he replied, "You don't understand, George. I suggested to Cedric that we should share the cup." Ginny knew this already, as did Ron. Maybe the twins hadn't been informed about this though. There had been lots of speculation that Harry had convinced Cedric to take the cup, making him look guilty in the press.
George nodded as Fred interrupted, "Harry, it's still not your fault. You must realize that you weren't the one who killed Cedric." At this blunt wording Ginny flinched and she saw Harry looking a ghostly pale. Harry shrugged his shoulders and retorted, "Well whether or not I was responsible I still feel this intense guilt that none of you could possibly understand. That's why I've wanted to be alone all year." At this, something inside Ginny snapped. She couldn't believe he had just said that!
Ginny got up suddenly and ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She heard someone get up and she guessed it was Harry. When she reached her room, she was about to slam the door when Harry appeared in front of her and said pleadingly, "Ginny…Ginny please can we talk? I'm sorry…I shouldn't have…" Ginny looked at him through the crack in the door and she said rather harshly, "How could you say that, Harry? Of all people, you should know I'd understand the most." Harry's face contorted in stress and he said roughly, "You don't understand Ginny! You weren't there when he died!"
She felt like she'd been slapped in the face and she felt hurt and betrayal rack her body as she shook and retorted in a deadly whisper, "If anyone, I know guilt, Harry. I opened the chamber. I let out the Basilisk. I let it attack the muggle borns. I nearly got you killed because of my stupidity and infatuation with you and then with Tom Riddle." When she said this, she could see shock written all over his face. His mouth was dangling on the floor and he looked like she had just slapped him as she continued ruthlessly, "I feel guilt all of the time. Why do you think I have those dreams, Harry?" She asked it so icily that she didn't even recognize her own voice as she stared him down and gave one, final blow, "So don't you dare think you're the only one who feels GUILT around here. Don't you dare think for one second that you're the only one who knows what it feels like!"
At this, Ginny closed the door in his face. She understood Harry. She had understood all along. She had been there for him since the chamber and she had thought he had understood her. Clearly, she'd been wrong. She felt her body shaking angrily as she slid down the door and crumpled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her knees as she rocked backwards and forwards, tears slipping from her eyes.
Eventually when the final, angry tear fell, Ginny couldn't believe she'd let herself get sucked into Harry's life so much again. She thought she would have learnt the second time around, but she'd gone against her instinct and given him a second chance. He'd basically discarded their friendship and trashed it in the dirt. He'd never taken her seriously, even when he'd been there through it all.
After about an hour of sobbing, Harry's voice said on the other side of the door, "Ginny…Ginny I'm sorry." She couldn't answer. Her voice was dried up and she had nothing to say to him. She was surprised he was still even there. She'd thought he'd left while she'd been sobbing. Another hour passed and se could hear Harry speaking to her, but she couldn't distinguish the words. They were blurred together and she covered her ears so she didn't have to hear.
Several hours later (Ginny wasn't sure of the time), she heard Ron's voice echo through the door, "Gin, you need to come out and have some lunch. We're going to visit dad soon." Ginny opened the door a fraction and saw not only Ron standing there, but a concerned looking Harry behind him. Before she could close the door, Harry stood in between the frame and the door itself. Ron looked slightly awkward and out of place and he backed away quickly as Harry said earnestly, "Gin…please?"
Ginny had never heard him sound so desperate before. In that moment, she was pulled in two: she wanted to run from him, but her natural instinct still was to comfort him. Even though he had completely destroyed any hope she had of being more than friends. If he didn't take her seriously, no matter how true the things she told him time and time again were, then she wasn't going to try anymore. At all.
She sighed and turned her back on him as she asked impatiently, "What Harry? I can't keep doing this if you think I'm lying to you all the time." The room was as silent as the grave for a moment and the tension seeped in from all around when she heard him say firmly, "It won't. It will never happen again. I never want to lose you again. These last few hours have been…torture for me. I feel like I've lost you, and I deserve it."
Ginny was so tempted to look around but she snapped and turned around, "Stop. Just stop being so self-deprecating! I hate it! This is what's caused all of this." Harry stopped mid step and nodded hesitantly, "Alright…I want to ask you about what you said earlier…about your infatuation with…" here Ginny held her breath as Harry said bluntly, "Tom." Ginny clenched her fingers and shook her head, her mouth tight lipped. There was no way, not on her life that she was discussing that with her. It had slipped in the heat of the moment and she had sincerely hoped that he wouldn't bring it up.
She snapped forcefully, "I refuse to talk about that with you." Harry raised an eyebrow and asked skeptically, "Really? But you mentioned it to me?" She shook her head firmly and she spat, "I'm not going to, so don't try and force it out of me." Harry sighed and replied sadly, "Alright, fine. But can we talk about your…infatuation with me then?" She rolled her eyes and retorted, "Why? I just want to let sleeping dogs lie." Harry shrugged and whispered, "It's important to me?"
Ginny laughed sarcastically and threw her arms up in the air, "There is nothing to say about it, Harry! I was a stupid little eleven year old girl with a crush on someone I'd never met. I liked you for your fame, not your personality." Harry raised his eyebrow uncertainly and asked, "Really? How do you feel about me now?" As much as she hated it, she could feel the Weasley blush rising to her cheeks. It was almost like he knew. How could he know though? The answer formed quickly in Ginny's head. Hermione.
Ginny quivered, with what she didn't know as she groaned, "Fine, you got me. Up until tonight I was starting to develop those…those feelings for you again. But you kind of destroyed them the second you claimed that no-one else knows what guilt feels like. I don't even know if I can be your friend anymore since you clearly haven't been taking me seriously this entire time."
Harry was smiling and Ginny frowned in confusion as she snapped, "Why are you smiling? This is not a funny situation!" Harry grinned at that and replied, "You're cute when you're angry with me." Ginny blinked rapidly, not too sure what to make of that. Harry whispered quietly, "I want to try something alright? Stop me if you don't feel like you're okay with it?"
Ginny nodded and suddenly nerves spiraled out of control in stomach and butterflies fluttering furiously in her stomach. He walked towards her slowly and wrapped his arms around her waist, encircling her slowly. His movements were slow so that she had time to process what he was doing and he whispered hoarsely, "You can stop me if you wish."
She felt blood pounding through her veins as she stood stock still, unsure of what to do. Why was he doing this? Ginny whispered throatily, in a voice that entirely not her own and was completely embarrassing, "I…I don't want you to do anything out of…guilt Harry." He smiled at her, a true and genuine smile that she'd only seen about once that year and the smile that reminded her of why she liked him so much. He whispered softly, "This is something I would definitely not do out of guilt."
Harry was so close that Ginny could hardly breathe and she could see the flecks of his green eyes behind the glasses, the eyes which she had adored since she was eleven years old. He was moving closer and her heart was pounding as he softly touched his lips to hers. It was like lightning flashed through her body, waking up all her senses as her heart pounded threateningly, as if it was going to explode and a small part of her brain registered how embarrassingly loud it must be. The rest was focused solely on the softness and the warmth of his lips pressing gently, lovingly against hers. Her hands slowly snaked their way into his messy mop of hair which she had always loved, no matter how much he tried to tame it. This just felt so, incredibly right.
Ginny heard herself sigh happily and then she scolded herself internally as Harry pulled away. He was grinning from ear to ear and he chuckled breathlessly, "Did that feel guilty?" Ginny shook her head mutedly and Harry grinned, his face lit up as he said, "I can't lose you again, Ginny. I hope know that. It was terrifying the first time. The reason I've distanced myself from you was because I've wanted to do this on my own. I wanted to fight Voldemort without anyone else risking their lives for me. But this fight made me realize I can't not have you in my life. I can't shut you out. I tried so hard and I failed. I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me." Ginny smiled dazedly and replied, "There's nothing to forgive. But I just want to know…why did you do what you just did? If it wasn't because of guilt, then why?"
Harry frowned and sat down on the bed, Ginny joined him. He looked into her eyes and replied, "I thought I just told you. Shutting you out has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I felt lonelier than ever. When Snape was using Occlumency on me, your words were what pulled me through. The words you said to me before you left, about me being not like Voldemort, that's what got me through when Snape penetrated my mind. I just want you to know that I do take you seriously. Your opinion means a lot to me."
Ginny smiled shyly and whispered, "So now what?" Harry smiled shyly back at her and replied, "Well…that's entirely up to you." Ginny clapped her hand over her mouth and whispered, "What about Cho! Harry! You can't dump her because of this! She hates me enough as it is!" Harry rolled his eyes and paced around, "She doesn't hate you, but I guess you have a very similar taste in guys…" He winked at her and she couldn't help but giggle as she replied, "Don't flatter yourself, Harry." He chuckled and she asked again, "Seriously, how are we going to handle this though? Or was this a once off thing?" Harry groaned, "Ginny! I would never have kissed you if I didn't feel more than friendship for you. Even though I've tried to move on and put it behind me for the sake of our friendship, those feelings I've felt ever since second year after the chamber have always been there!"
He inhaled sharply as he stopped pacing and Ginny blushed profusely, "I wish I could say the same." He grinned at her and whispered, "That's not your fault though. That was Tom…" Harry paused in his pacing and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, you still don't want to talk about your…infatuation with Tom, do you?" The way he said Riddle's name made her cringe internally and she shook her head, "Nope! Stop trying to change the subject! What are we going to do about…us?" Harry turned to her and sighed, "I don't know…what do you want to do?"
Ginny felt really awkward all of a sudden. Maybe it was because herself and Harry had been just friends for so long that getting out of the friendship zone was going to be more of a challenge than she thought. Harry asked suddenly, "What about Ron? I feel like he wouldn't react well to this!" Ginny nodded in agreement, "Nor Fred and George…" The more she spoke about it, the more problems this situation was seeming to have. She groaned and flopped herself down on the bed. She whispered, "I think we should have thought this through a little bit more."
Harry nodded and whispered, "Maybe we should just keep it a secret?" he suggested. Ginny raised her eyebrows and Harry quickly added, "For now." She grimaced and whispered, "Maybe that would be best. Let's just let dad get better first and then we can decide what we want to do from there." Harry nodded in agreement and grinned, "Good idea. So for now, you're my secret girlfriend?" She blushed and shook her head in disbelief. He sighed and murmured, "Or…we can just date if you want."
Ginny giggled at his downcast expression and got up off the bed, placing her hand on the side of his cheek and she whispered, "No! I was shaking my head in disbelief at you calling me you girlfriend. I like it." He chuckled and whispered, "I like it too," as he pulled her closer before kissing her softly. They heard footsteps echoing up the stairs and quickly jumped apart. Ron appeared in the doorway and he said grumpily, "Oi! What's taking you two so long? You need to come and have lunch or else it will be stone cold!" Harry glanced at her and she giggled as he rolled his eyes and together, they followed Ron down the stairs, holding hands so that he couldn't see, smiles etched across both of their faces.
Author's note: Soooo it's finally happened! Harry and Ginny are together! The whole point of this story is that I wanted them to be really good friends first before they dived head first into a relationship. As some of you have noted, Ginny doesn't actually appear much in the books. Her character is quite a minor role. This has bugged me for a while because suddenly she's Harry's wife (especially in the movies, their relationship isn't even a relationship which annoys me so much!) and I feel like their story needs a little more depth to it! So here it is!
Don't get me wrong, I totally understand why J.K.R made them have a short relationship-it would have been too hard for Harry to not take Ginny with them when they needed to find the Horcruxes, but I still feel like their relationship should have had a bigger part to play throughout the books. They depend on each other a lot in my version! This chapter was five pages of writing and by far one of my favourites to write! Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did! Thank you to all of my amazing reviewers! You guys are the best!