Morning came much too quickly for Ginny. Having spent most of the night in a half-sleep, she was immensely tired, her body aching as if she had just run a mile. Somehow she managed to get out of bed and pull on her favorite pair of Muggle jeans along with a chocolate brown top Harry had once complimented her on.
"Am I really so obsessive?" Ginny sighed into the mirror.
"Yes," the mirror replied, earning itself a malicious scowl from Ginny. The latter began her way around the dormitory, collecting stray items to finish her packing. With all her belongings packed away, Ginny closed her trunk with a snap. Pulling her trademark Weasley red hair into a loose bun to get it out of her face, Ginny picked up her wand from its place on the nightstand and tucked it into her back pocket.
"Come on, Gin! Someone just arrived to Apparate with you!"
Ginny jumped slightly at the sound of her name, but launched into action. After pulling her wand out of her pocket once again, she levitated her trunk with a lazy flick of her wand, sending it out of the room and down the stairs. She followed it, thinking about how nice it was that Hermione had come to Apparate with her. She really didn't need to perform Side-Along Apparition; she was of age and legal. But it was still rather sweet of Hermione to think of her.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Ginny was floored to see the sharp green eyes from her dream smiling up at her. She flew into his arms, relishing the moment as he laughed and returned the hug.
"Gin," said a muffled voice. "I can't…breathe." Ginny hurriedly stepped back, blushing furiously.
"Sorry, Harry," she murmured, head down. Harry bent down a little to see her face, and soon she was lost in those green eyes again. i Merlin, stop doing that! /i she thought hazily. Harry attempted a serious expression, but Ginny could see the corners of his mouth twisting up on their own accord.
"Don't be sorry. If I had to have my ribs crushed, I'd much rather they be crushed by you." Ginny giggled at this, immediately put at ease. Harry, on the other hand, blushed slightly when he realized what he had said. He looked around nervously.
"Shall we go, then?"
Ginny nodded. "Just let me say goodbye to Ruth," she replied, stomach churning nervously at the thought of the trip back alone with Harry. She turned around to say her goodbyes while Harry continued to scan the Common Room. There were so many memories for Harry here, it almost hurt. Cramming for exams with Ron, being nagged by Hermione...his first kiss with Ginny…all the memories flashed in his mind. Harry's eyes darted around the room, taking in how little the room had changed.
When Ginny turned back to Harry, he wasn't there. After a few frantic moments, she spotted him staring into the fire. She sat down next to him on the sofa, following his gaze.
"Anything wrong, Harry?"
"No. Just…remembering."
Ginny shivered involuntarily. The last time she had sat here with Harry, she had just gotten back from her encounter with the Death Eaters. The memories flashed in bits and pieces as she stared into the fire.
i "We've got your precious Weasel, Potty."
"Let her go, Malfoy!"
"Why should I? Besides, the Dark Lord has plans for her. Would you like to watch?" /i
She could still see that face, the pale skin, the red slits for eyes…
i "Let's play a little game, shall we, Potter?"
"Leave her alone! She hasn't done anything!"
"Ah, but it's you I want. Will I have to kill her to get you over to my side?"
"Just let her go…I'll do anything…"
"Harry, no! Don't listen to him! He's a foul, pathetic excuse for a person—"
"Crucio!"
"Nooooooooo!" /i
Harry's shouts of anguish as he watched her scream still haunted her.
"I remember, Harry." She slid her hand into his and squeezed reassuringly. Ginny couldn't suppress a small smile when he squeezed back. His hand was so warm…they were so close…
"Bye, Ginny!"
Ginny waved silently, still focused on Harry, but he had snapped out of his reverie. Harry stood, letting go of her hand. He turned to look down on her, the smile back on his face. But this time there was an emptiness behind his eyes.
"Shall we go, then?"
hr
Half an hour later, after saying a tearful goodbye to Hagrid, Harry and Ginny continued walking towards the Gates. There was a sense of separation between them that neither could explain. After going from talk-loving Hagrid to the silent grounds, neither of them really felt much like talking.
Ginny looked up at him, her thoughts swirling. i Should I tell him about the dream? Is that too personal? Would he laugh at me? No, Harry wouldn't do that. Would he? /i She began to bite her nails nervously.
"What are you going to do now, Gin?"
Harry's voice startled her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, I'm just going to go into Healer training. I like helping people."
"That's great, Gin! You'll make a great Healer. The best there is, probably."
Ginny basked in his compliments, deciding hastily to take the plunge and tell him. But first, a little introduction was in order.
"What do you know about Seers, Harry?"
"Not much, why?"
"Oh, no reason. I just…I just had this weird dream last night."
She could feel his eyes on her. Harry stopped walking and turned to face her, genuine concern marked in his eyes.
"You're not having nightmares again, are you?"
Ginny shook her head. The nightmares hadn't returned for several nights. In fact, this last one had lifted her spirits even if she didn't know if it was the future or not. Oh, how she wished it was.
"Well, you know you can talk to me, right?"
She couldn't suppress her snort. Harry had avoided being too close to her ever since he had broken up with her last year. She had long since gotten used to the short letters and nonexistent visits. At least now he would be staying at the Burrow for a whole summer. Maybe now they could start over.
Harry's concerned look had turned into an angry one.
"Ginny, you know you can talk to me!"
"Harry, you've practically disappeared until the night you destroyed him. I'd almost given up you would come."
She watched as Harry struggled with himself. He knew what she said was true, and he had purposely distanced himself from her. But it was for a good reason!
"You don't understand."
"No, Harry, you don't understand. You don't understand how it feels to…to lo-" She stopped herself just in time. Harry would never know her true feelings, at least until he voiced his own. Ginny took a deep breath and continued. "You don't understand how it feels to feel this way."
Harry stared at her. What was she talking about?
"Ginny, what did you dream?"
His question caught her off guard. She wasn't expecting him to ask right out. Her voice shook as she tried to gain her composure. "I-I had a dream about…us, Harry. I think it might…I think it might have been…the future."
hr
Harry could feel himself stiffen. Every sinew in his body longed to cry out, begging to know what the dream had been about. He ran a shaky hand through his hair, ruffling it up even more than usual.
i Don't tell me we're…we're…dead or something… /i he thought desperately.
Harry swallowed nervously. Ever since he had broken up with Ginny a year ago, Harry had just barely managed to stop himself from running back to her. The world was still dangerous, even though he had personally destroyed Voldemort a few months before. Death Eaters still roamed, and Harry had no doubt that they were still looking for him. The night he destroyed Voldemort had proven that. A dozen Death Eaters had escaped, no matter what any of the Aurors could do. They had simply Apparated away.
Risking a look at Ginny, Harry felt his insides begin to swirl around again when he caught her eye. She quickly averted her gaze, and Harry sighed softly.
i Merlin, Harry, why'd you have to be such a git? /i
Harry shook his head in a futile effort to clear it.
i You just had to go and dump her, didn't you?
b It was too dangerous! /b
/i And now he was arguing with himself.
i Great. I'm insane. I can see it in the /i Prophet i now: The Chosen One Has Finally Lost It. /i
By this time, the two had reached the Front Gates. Harry watched ruefully as Ginny stepped over the boundary and immediately Disapparated. Cursing himself for his overall idiocy, Harry too Disapparated.
hr
As soon as she reached the Burrow, Ginny found herself being squashed by her mother in a giant hug. She struggled to get free.
"Hey, Mum." Molly Weasley began running around the kitchen again, taking things out of cabinets and charming a pair of knives to start chopping carrots.
"We're going to have such a grand party tonight! Remus and Tonks are joining us, and Minerva, and Ron and Hermione, and Harry of course!"
Ginny's heart sank at the mention of Harry. Their talk hadn't gone quite as well as she'd hoped. Mrs. Weasley hadn't noticed, and was still talking.
"Speaking of Harry, where is he? He was going to Apparate with you."
"He did, Mum."
"Well, then where is he? He just jumped at the chance to see you again."
"Yeah, right."
Before Mrs. Weasley could respond, Harry Apparated into the kitchen. The plump older witch rushed over to envelope him in a hug. Ginny stiffened at the sight of Harry and quickly left the room, accidentally brushing against Harry's shoulder as she hurried out. He touched his shoulder where she had touched it, and let out a small sigh. Mrs. Weasley watched in bewilderment as he, too, left the kitchen in a hurry.
To his relief, Ginny was still on the stairs. He took them two at a time and finally stepped in front of her. She scowled at him and tried to get past, but he wouldn't have any of it. She wasn't going anywhere until he said what was on his mind.
"Ginny, I'm sorry."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do."
The intensity of her glare startled him. What the hell? "Ginny, I'm sorry about the dream." This only caused the glare to intensify.
"I'm not sorry. I enjoyed it."
"What?" Now Harry was definitely confused. Why was she so nervous about telling him if it wasn't something bad?
"I said, I enjoyed it. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to unpack."
Harry let her pass, but grabbed her arm at the last moment. She turned around slowly, studying him. Harry could have sworn he saw a tear forming before she whirled around and ran into her room.
Ginny closed the door behind her with a snap and leaned against it for support as she cried silently. She wasn't even sure why she was crying, and normally she wouldn't cry over a silly dream, but this one was different. And Harry had treated it like rubbish! Ginny wiped her eyes before flopping down on her bed. It wasn't really Harry's fault. How could she have been so naïve? What had she expected him to do? Jump and shout for joy? No, it was something much worse. In the deep dark depths of her mind, she had been hoping Harry would want to…well, kiss her and make everything better. Ginny shook her head roughly, thoroughly disgusted with herself. Since when had she become such an emotional hosepipe? She was just as bad as Cho.
She reached over to her nightstand to retrieve the book she had started over the Easter holidays when she saw the letter. Opening up the envelope, she immediately recognized Hermione's neat handwriting.
i Dear Ginny,
I had this sent to the Burrow so it would be there when you arrived. Ron and I will be arriving at approximately eleven o'clock. I am so looking forward to seeing you! You'll have to fill me in on everything.
Anyway, Ron says hello. He also wants to know if it's true you went out with Colin Creevey this year. I swear, that man can be such a prat!
Don't you worry about anything, Ginny. We'll have a nice long chat after supper.
See you soon,
Hermione /i
Ginny glanced at the watch Hermione had given her for Christmas. 10:55.
hr
Meanwhile, down in the kitchen, Harry had been enlisted by Mrs. Weasley to help her with lunch. After dodging several rather too personal questions pertaining to his rather nonexistent love life, Harry escaped to the garden where he promptly knocked over Ron.
"Hey, watch it—Harry!" Harry grinned as he helped up his friend, but noticed someone was missing.
"Where's Hermione?" Ron groaned and looked around. With a crack, he disappeared again, only to appear again a few seconds later with Hermione on his arm. Harry frowned when he heard them going at it.
"I can take as long as I want to get ready!"
"'Mione, it's just Mum's."
"Just Mum's indeed! Harry's going to be here, we haven't seen him in ages!"
"Hermione, he's right—"
"I mean really! I want to look at least halfway decent…not to mention my hair…"
Harry grinned and slipped behind Hermione as she rambled on. When he was quite sure she was completely engrossed in telling the amused Ron how hard it was to keep her hair in place even with magic, Harry leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Boo."
Hermione screamed so loud Mrs. Weasley came running out of the house.
"What in Merlin's name is going on?"
Ron was rolling around on the ground laughing as Hermione repeatedly whacked Harry over the head with her purse. Harry was laughing, too, until he caught sight of Ginny's face in the window. She was gone as soon as they made eye contact. Harry was brought back to the situation at hand when Hermione hit him square in the jaw, knocking him flat.
"Take that, you slimy no-good—"
"No good what, 'Mione? I'm a no-good Chosen One? No-good Boy Who Lived?"
"A no-good git, that's what you are!"
Hermione was soon laughing with the rest of them. Mrs. Weasley helped Harry up and promptly admonished Ron for not coming to see her sooner.
"We couldn't Mum, we were…busy…"
Hermione turned a rather deep shade of red to rival any Weasley and Disapparated.