"ALWAYS"

Chapter 3: Always

Harry followed Ginny halfway up the stairs to the girls' corridor until they both stopped.

"Good night, Harry," she smiled as she kissed him. "That was really fun, at the lake…"

"I want to see you after." Harry said. The thought of being away from Ginny was unbearable, especially since he had wanted to be with her for so long.

Ginny agreed quickly. She thought for a moment. "Okay. Let's both get cleaned up, have a shower and then see each other after that downstairs."

Harry beamed. Ginny always had a solution for everything. He loved that about her. "Deal," he said.

Half an hour later, Ginny walked down the stairs of the girls' dormitory to find Harry already eagerly waiting for her in the common room. He was writing on a piece of parchment.

Ginny grinned and sat beside him on the couch, putting an arm across his shoulder and kissing his cheek. "What are you doing?" she asked, sitting next to him comfortably.

Harry turned. Ginny was as beautiful as ever, and she smelled even better than usual.

"Just finishing off an essay for Snape. Ron and Hermione have already finished theirs."

"Ron's finished? Gee, you're definitely behind then," Ginny said.

Harry smiled. She could be harsh to Ron, but it was all innocent fun. Siblings teased each other. It was normal. Suddenly, Harry thought what it would be like if he had a brother or sister. But he quickly shook that thought out of his head. I have all I need. I have Ginny, I have my friends… what more could I ask for?

He took his mind off it when Ginny interrupted his thoughts. She looked sympathetic towards him; Snape was tough towards any students that weren't from Slytherin, and she knew it. He was particularly strict with Harry, though. "It's fun, huh?" she said sarcastically.

"Er… what?" Harry looked back at her.

"The essay."

"Oh. Er, right. Well… it just got a bit more fun, with you here," he whispered to Ginny, pulling her close. He dropped his piece of parchment, not caring if the ink smudged, and kissed her.

"Good answer," she replied.

Ginny sat with him as he finished his essay. It took a while, especially since Harry knew Ginny was watching him. He resisted the urge to keep kissing her. She kept watching him, sitting close and touching his shoulder, sending shivers down his spine every time. After a while, Harry stopped for a while. "I'm glad you're here," he said as he turned to look at Ginny.

"Me too."

They remained silent for the next few minutes. The only sounds they could hear was Harry's quill scraping against the parchment as he wrote and the warm fire blazing in the fireplace. The silence gave them both a sense of comfort and peace. Words weren't needed now; they were both happy. They knew that. Why interrupt the beautiful vibe by talking?

Finally Harry finished, and they kissed again, this time more passionately. Harry thought of the kiss as a reward for him finishing the essay. It sure was a good reward.

"Goodnight," Ginny yawned, lying on top of Harry on the couch. She put an arm around his neck and one on his stomach. She liked the way it felt. She felt protected by him… he was her hero. He had, after all, saved her from the Chamber of Secrets four years before. Without him saving her, she wouldn't be there at this moment, holding him…

Ginny fell asleep with a smile on her face. It was late, and she'd been very tired. She had helped Harry with some words he had stumbled across, just like Hermione did with him and Ron. Only Harry didn't feel all hot when Hermione had corrected him. Ginny was the only one that made him feel like that.

Harry stroked her hair as he admired her beauty. She looked just as beautiful asleep as she did awake. His heart thumped in his chest. He had never felt this happy, besides his time with Sirius and when he thought of his parents being with him…

"I love you, too. Always," he whispered, thinking of their time at the lake three hours ago, where she had told him she loved him. He loved that memory. He would always remember it. Harry touched her soft hair again, the way he had when they first kissed right in that same room. He kissed her cheek one more time, and then he too fell asleep, his hand still touching her hair and the other arm around her waist. Ginny's head was lying comfortably on his chest.

Everything was alright. At this moment, nothing Voldemort did would ever scare him… Ginny would be right there when he woke up in the morning.

HARRY&GINNY FOREVER