Chapter Three
Four Years Later –
"Harry!" Ginny yelled excitedly. A man, who was tall and had a slight build, turned to search for the voice, his emerald eyes darting around. "Harry!" she called again, this time waving frantically in his direction. His eyes finally landed on her and he stood there rooted to the spot, a small smile playing across his lips. When Ginny made eye contact, she smiled brightly and took off at a run towards him, dodging the people walking in a mainstream down Diagon Alley. Harry was ready for her as she leapt into his arms and when he caught her he spun her around. She laughed, burying her face into his neck, deeply inhaling the smell of him. 'Ah, good,' she thought. 'He still smells the same, with a little something extra that I can't quite identify.' She smiled. 'I like it.'
After a moment – or perhaps five – Harry set her back down on the ground, his hands still remaining on her waist. He looked down at her and studied her. His eyes moved over her body, her face, taking in all her features as though it were the last time he'd ever get to lay eyes on her.
"Look at you," he whispered, his eyes looking into hers once again. "You look astounding. Of course, you've always looked astounding, but I haven't seen you in quite some time and parts of you have changed." At this, Ginny's eyebrows rose and a smile crept across her lips.
"Which parts, Harry?" she asked, a playful tone in her voice. He smiled, a twinkle in his eye, and looked over his shoulder as his name was called again.
"Harry! Is that really you?" Hermione Granger's face lit up like the city lights at night when she realized that it was, indeed, Harry. Ginny smiled as the two of them hugged, and she let her mind wander when they began to reminisce. Harry was alive and well, and standing right in front of her, and she could hardly contain her excitement. She was jittery and anxious, and wanted nothing more than to get him alone; they had reminiscing of their own to do. She reached down and gently grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his, and she saw him glance at her from the corner of his eye as he continued to chat with Hermione.
She heard Hermione ask, "Where have toy been all this time, Harry?" and Ginny looked up at him as well.
"Yes, Harry," she joined in. "Where have you been?" Harry looked from one girl to the other and cleared his throat.
"I knew that question was bound to come up sooner or later, and I regret to say that I simply cannot tell you. Either one of you."
"And why is that?" Hermione threw out, asking the same question that was on the tip of Ginny's tongue. They both stared at him expectantly.
"I can't tell you because there may come a time when I need to go back o that place, and I feel it would be best if I were the only one who knew that location." Hermione opened her mouth, no doubt to ask another question, but Harry cut her off before she could even get started. "No more questions, ladies, please. I'll all work itself out, I promise. Just trust me, okay?" He looked to each of them, waiting for their nod, and when he got it he gave a nod of his own. "Good." There was silence between them for a moment and then Hermione spoke again. "Harry, it's not that we don't trust you," she said quietly. "We just worry about you." Her last statement lingered in the air between the three of them for a moment before Harry said, "I know you do. And I'm thankful for all of you." Hermione smiled and touched his arm briefly, then sighed.
"I really hate to, but I've got to dash. I was supposed to be home a while ago. Ron's probably wondering where I am. I'll see you soon, though, Harry, okay?" But before she could let him confirm, she hugged him and Ginny both and Disapparated on the spot. Harry smiled and shook his head, turning back to her.
"She's a very persistent little thing, isn't she?"
"That she is," Ginny agreed, smiling. "She may even get you to reveal your little hiding place one day."
"She can try, but it's best that no one knows where I was."
"Why?" Ginny asked.
"For the safety of others. I'm risking a lot being out right now, but it was necessary." Ginny searched his face for some indication, some sign, but found nothing and nodded, looking down at the cobblestone street. Harry lifted her chin with his index finger and smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry about me, Gin."
"I can't help but to worry about you," she said faintly.
"I know, but I'll be okay. I swear it." Ginny sniffled and bit down on her lower lip, and Harry drew her closer to him. "Hey, cheer up, all right? I'm here now and I don't plan on going anywhere for a while." Ginny was quiet for a moment, staring into the emerald gems that were his eyes. She supposed she would have to trust him. He'd never let her down before.
"Harry?" She looked him square in the eye and didn't continue until she had his full, undivided attention. "Kiss me." Harry raised his eyebrows at the demand and smiled. He'd hoped they would get around to that.
"Yes, ma'am." He lowered his head slowly and stopped when his lips were a breath away from hers. He teased her, brushing his lips oh-so-lightly across hers, and when she let out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding, he kissed her.
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Ginny's eyes popped open and she looked around her dark room frantically, hoping to see Harry standing near by.
He wasn't.
She let out a deep sigh and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to start her dream where it had left off, but the memories of the dream were quickly fading, and she could only remember the kiss, which was probably the most important part of the whole dream. Tears had started to form in her eyes when she opened them again, and she sat up in her bed and pressed her fingers to her lips.
Merlin only knew how much she missed his kisses. Before she'd ever been kissed by Harry Potter, she'd had quite a bit of experience under her belt, so she thought she knew what good was. Dean was been good. She'd only kissed Neville once and he was…scared, mostly, poor bloke, but not half bad. There were a few others as well, but that day, after the Quidditch match, when Harry kissed her for the first time, her whole body came to life, tingling with excitement and desire. Kissing Harry never got old; each and every kiss was just as thrilling as the last. Kissing guys now was just stupid after experiencing something like that. She'd tried to find that feeling again, but couldn't. She hated and loved Harry for being the only one to make her feel that way.
Knowing that sleep would be impossible now, Ginny slid out of bed and felt her way out into the hallway of her small flat, then trudged to the kitchen to make herself some warm milk. Her thoughts, which were spinning around in her head, and hopefully the warm milk would tire her enough to lull her back to sleep.
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Miles away, at Hermione Grangers flat, Hermione awoke with a start, startling Ron who was fast asleep next to her. He had moved in with her two weeks prior, but still hadn't become accustomed to Hermione's recent bout of nightmares. Ron searched blindly for the light, and when he found it he switched it on, blinking rapidly so that he could adjust his eyes quicker. When he could see, he sat up and rubbed his eyes groggily.
"'Mione? You all right?" When she said nothing, he reached over to rub her back.
"It's a sign, Ron." She said suddenly, looking up at him. "It has to be."
"Erm…what's a sign?"
"My dreams!" she said, somewhat impatiently. She slid out of bed and pulled on a robe over her pajamas. She slipped her hands into the pockets of the robe and paced in front of the bed. "It was about Harry, again. He was with Ginny in Diagon Alley and he was telling us about how he couldn't mention where he'd been all these years, because it was safer that way, and he said that we shouldn't worry, that things would eventually work themselves out. I'm telling you, Harry's alive, and out there somewhere."
"Hermione," Ron started, but she went on as if he'd never said a word.
"Just the thought of Harry being alive is…unreal, and fantastic."
"Hermione," Ron said again, this time a little louder, but he was cut off.
"I know what you're going to say, Ron. You're going to say that if Harry were alive why wouldn't he have turned up by now." Hermione turned to face him. "He hasn't turned up because he's trying to protect us. I think my dreams are supposed to mean something, though, and every time I hope one I get this feeling of hope. Please, Ron, don't destroy that feeling. I'd like to hold onto it for as long as I possibly can."
"I understand, Hermione. I'd like to believe that he's out there, somewhere, too. I just don't want to see you sad should you ever lose that hope. I don't want it to be a false sense, ya know?" Hermione went back around to her side of the bed and sat down beside him.
"I know you don't, but at this point I don't think it's false at all. I think it's very real, and I honestly do think that my dreams are trying to tell me something. You must think I'm going crazy, a sensible woman like me all of a sudden analyzing her dreams the same way Trelawney analyzes that silly crystal ball of hers." Ron smiled at the last bit, shook his head, and said, "I don't think you're going crazy. But I do think that you should get some more sleep, so you actually have dreams to analyze." She gave him a weak smile and a nod, pulled off her robe, then slid back under the covers.
"Thanks, Ron," she whispered as he reached over to turn out the light again. He looked over at her and furrowed his brow.
"What're you thanking me for?" Hermione smiled at him in the dark and reached over to run her hand over his cheek.
"For not destroying my hope."
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NOTE: I know that took really long to get up, and I apologize! It's not as long as I would have liked it to be, but I'm leaving things for later chapters, so…I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for being patient!