Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

If You Can Help Her – Chapter 4 - Halloween

On Halloween morning, Harry awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast, feeling slightly disappointed that he couldn't visit Hogsmeade, but glad that he would be able to spend the whole day with Ginny. They had decided to spend the day doing anything but homework. They didn't have a set schedule. They'd do whatever they wanted (without getting expelled), wandering around the castle and grounds. They even planned to have a picnic at their favorite spot by the lake. At breakfast, Ron and Hermione promised to bring them lots of sweets from Honeydukes, and then left the castle, promising to return for the evening feast. Ginny and Harry decided to play a few games of chess, so they walked hand in hand back to the common room.

After being beaten three times, Harry admitted, "I think you've proven your superiority in chess, Ginny. Could we do something else, now?"

Ginny smiled and replied lightly, "Sore loser. If you insist. What do you want to do now?"

"I know it's only ten o'clock, but I thought we could go down to the lake with our picnic basket, now. It'll give us time to talk. It's hard to find time for that without sneaking around in the middle of the night."

Ginny chuckled. "I didn't think that was so bad. I just wish we did that more often." She then put on a concerned expression and looked in Harry's eyes and asked, "Was there something specific you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I don't know. I just enjoy being alone with you, not just for kissing, but really talking to you." Harry took her hand in his. "I miss that."

Ginny squeezed his hand and agreed, "Okay, Harry. I miss that, too. Let's go. But could we stop by the Owlery first? I have to send a letter to my mum."

"Sure, no problem. If you'd like, you can use Hedwig."

"Really? Thanks, Harry. I never feel comfortable using Errol. I'm always worried he'll drop dead on the way."

Harry chuckled. "I know what you mean." He stood up from the table and helped Ginny up.

They walked out the portrait towards the owlery. Before they reached it, they heard a voice calling Harry's name. They looked around for the source of the voice, and saw Professor Lupin. He invited them into his office for a cup of tea and showed them a grindylow he'd just taken delivery of. They spent about an hour with him, talking about grindylows, boggarts, and Dementors. While they were there, Professor Snape arrived with a smoking goblet for Professor Lupin. Despite veiled warnings from both Harry and Ginny, Lupin drank it, claiming that he'd been ill.

Not long after, they left his office, and continued on to the owlery, where Ginny tied her letter to Hedwig after adding, "P.S. Harry says hi. He let me borrow Hedwig." When Hedwig had flown away, Ginny walked up to Harry, put her arms around his waist, said, "Thank you," and then proceeded to kiss him deeply. After snogging for a few minutes, Harry and Ginny headed outside to their favorite spot by the lake, holding hands.

Ginny sat down first, and then Harry did the same a few feet away, facing her, looking nervous. Ginny, noticing how far away he'd chosen to sit, looked concerned. They faced each other for about five minutes before Harry finally spoke. "Ginny?"

Ginny's voice was very shaky when she answered, "Yes?"

"Um, I, That is, Have you felt that things are moving too fast with us?"

She looked like she was unsuccessfully hiding concern when she replied, "Er, What do you mean?"

"I mean, most kids don't start snogging like we've been until they're fourteen or fifteen. Do you think we're a bit too young?"

"Harry," Ginny responded with a sad expression on her face, "Are you trying to break up with me?"

"No, Ginny!" Harry moved forward, gently grabbing onto her hands, "Don't think that! That's not it at all! How could I ever want to break up with you? You mean so much to me!"

Ginny's expression changed from sad to concerned as she asked, "You mean a lot to me, too and I'm glad you don't want to break up, but tell me, what's bothering you?"

"It's just, I overheard some people talking about us, saying that I'm taking advantage of you. I'm thirteen, which, in their opinion, is a little young for snogging, but you're only twelve." He looked directly into her eyes and continued, "I don't normally care what people are saying about me, but this really got me to thinking.

"Ginny, I've been expressing how I feel about you in the way that seems natural to me, but I don't want you to feel pressure to do anything you don't feel ready for. I'm not trying to take advantage of you. I would never do anything to hurt you in any way. Please tell me if I start to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I promise that I won't get mad at you."

Ginny closed her eyes for a few moments, while a small smile formed on her lips. She said softly, "You're worried about me. That's why you wanted to talk to me. You really do care about me."

"Of course I care about you, Gin."

"Well, then I thank you for your concern. It does mean a lot to me, but I want to make it clear to you that I would never let anyone, not even you, pressure me into something I didn't want to do! As far as being too young, I don't think either of us should worry about that. I feel that our experiences with Tom have made us age quicker. We've both had to face the real possibility of dying! My experience with him changed me! I'm not an innocent little girl anymore! I shared my mind with pure evil!

"I've felt his hatred, and now I'm ready to feel love. That doesn't mean I'll let you do anything you want, Harry. I enjoy snogging you, but I'm not about to let you do more than that. At least, not for a few years. Not until I feel that I'm ready. So to answer your question; no, I don't feel like snogging you is going too fast, and I don't care what anybody says about us! In fact, I want to snog you right now!" With that said, she leaned into his face and began doing just that.

Hours later, they found themselves back in the common room playing exploding snap when Ron and Hermione returned from Hogsmeade. They showered both Harry and Ginny with candy and proceeded to tell them all about the village. When it was time, they all went to the feast together and thoroughly enjoyed it. They were all in high spirits when they started back toward Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found it jammed with students.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" asked Ron, curiously.

Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait seemed to be closed.

It turned out that Sirius Black had somehow gotten into the castle during the feast and attempted to enter Gryffindor Tower. When the Fat Lady refused him entrance, he got mad and slashed her portrait with a knife. All the students ended up spending the night in sleeping bags in the Great Hall. Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were together in a corner pretending to be asleep while teachers returned every hour, thinking that all the students were carefree enough to be able to sleep with no concern that a crazy murderer might be running loose in the castle; and deaf so they wouldn't hear the teachers talking.

Sometime during the night, Harry heard Ginny, who was in the next sleeping bag over, sobbing. He whispered to her, "Ginny, besides the obvious, what's the matter?"

She whispered back, "He's after you, Harry! Don't you see? If he'd run into you, he'd have killed you! Doesn't that even bother you?"

Harry reached his right arm out of his sleeping and began drying her eyes with his hand. He whispered, "Of course it bothers me a little, but like you said earlier, I've had to face death before. Maybe I'm starting to get used to it. Anyway, it didn't happen, and I can't worry about what might have happened.

"In my first year, I might have been killed by a cursed broom, a three-headed dog, devil's snare, a life-size chess set, a potion, a troll, or Voldemort himself. In my second year, I might have been killed by a whomping willow, a cursed bludger, a huge spider, a basilisk, or Voldemort again. Now it's one of his supporters after me. I'm beginning to pick up a pattern. There's always someone or something trying to do me in.

"I think the best thing to do is not let it ruin my life. Right now I've got the two best friends anybody could ask for, and I'm going out with cutest witch at Hogwarts!" At this moment Ginny blushed. Harry continued, "I'm happy and healthy, and I get to sleep near my girlfriend tonight. No one can bother us with this many students around. Try to go to sleep, Ginny, and don't worry about anything. If you do, I promise that I'll kiss you good morning. Now give me a smile, Ginny."

She managed a small smile and whispered, "Good night Harry."

-IYCHH-

Chapter end