Author Note: This story does NOT follow DH canon. It is the inbetweens of my two previous fics "Derailed" and "Adventures in Dress Shopping". This is pretty much canon through HBP and takes certain things from DH, however, I've put together different pairings and kept certain characters alive because I love them, and that's just how it is going to be. Reviews are more than welcome and I'd love constructive criticsim. I really hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not JKR. I do not own any of the characters. This story is merely my own interpretation of events based in the Universe that she created. Please don't sue.

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It had been two weeks since her visit to the Nott-Granger home and Ginny had made little headway in her own mind about Harry. Not that he'd been lax in his efforts to show her just how far he was willing to go to win her over. There had been a note the first day when she got back from her walk (which had turned into a lunch and then a shopping outing which lead then to meeting Katie Bell for dinner and drinks) saying that he'd been there and waited for a good long while on her front step before someone came by and essentially forced him off the stoop with the threat of the local police. Ever since then, there hadn't been a day where she didn't find isomething/i from him either around her flat or waiting on her doorstep. She never knew where she was going to find the next note or bouquet or picture or funny card from a muggle shop. Every day was something different and she found herself increasingly looking forward to how she was going to find her next surprise. Of course, as soon as she realized the smile on her face she scolded herself for getting excited over it. After all, wasn't she supposed to be keeping her guard up? Wasn't she determined not to let him in too soon? On the other hand, he was getting bloody creative with his delivery and it was interesting to see none the less.

Today, it came by way of an old friend.

Ginny was making herself eggs in a basket for breakfast and dancing around the kitchen to a rather obnoxiously loud wireless. It was moments like these that made her praise whatever powers that might be for silencing charms so her neighbors didn't complain. However, it was the loud music that made her nearly miss the tapping on the window. If it weren't for the fact that a snowy white owl in the middle of London flapping its wings about trying to get into a flat was entirely too conspicuous to be ignored, Ginny may have missed it. Running over to let the poor creature in, Ginny's eggs lay forgotten.

"Hedwig!" She exclaimed as the beautiful bird glided into the living room and took a perch on the back of the couch. The creature stuck her leg out to reveal a short bit of parchment tied with Ginny's name scrawled in all too familiar handwriting on the outside. Ginny hurried to untie it, giving Hedwig a soft stroke as she did so. Hedwig hooted low in appreciation and gave an affectionate nip at Ginny's hand. "I've missed you too." Ginny murmured to Hedwig as she un-scrolled the bit of parchment. "Why isn't it you came to visit me more, hmm?" Ginny was talking mostly to herself as her eyes began to scan the words scribbled messily across the page.

iGinny,

Meet me at/i Sandy D'si a muggle restaurant in Hyde Park on the corner near the church. 7 o'clock for dinner. Please.

-Harry/i

She wrinkled her nose and gave a look to the owl for a bit of sympathy. "What's he gotta go and do that for anyhow?" She asked, holding out her arm for the bird to perch. She had a decent sized jumper on and so she wouldn't be hurt by it. She walked the bird into the kitchen and set her down on the back of the chair as she reached up to grab her a bit of toast off the counter. "That's for you, and don't go telling him that I'm spoiling you because he'll be peeved at me like the last time." Hedwig hooted affectionately and took the bread. "Alright, well you'd better get on then. I'm not giving him a note back. Make him sweat it out a bit. 'Cause I'm mean. And apparently barmy as I'm talking to a bird…" She sighed and shook her head. "Here one more before you go then?" She tossed another piece of bread towards the owl that took it and then flew towards the window with a beautiful amount of grace. Ginny shut it closed behind her and walked back to the kitchen, collapsing in a chair with a great big sigh. "Brilliant. He'd better not be expecting me gussied up."

Seven o'clock came entirely too early for the redhead. It had taken her three trips up the block to find the blasted restaurant in the first place and only then she had to ask someone for help because she was getting nervous about being late. She was wearing a pair of muggle jeans Hermione and Tonks had gone shopping with her to get and a nice jumper she'd gotten as a Christmas present from one of the girls on the team. It was quite bitter outside so she had her heavy winter cloak on over that which made her stand out a bit more than she usually did, but damn she was warm. Wild red hair was pulled back out of her face and fastened with a clip that had a gripping charm on it so it didn't fall out like it was want to do.

When she finally got to Sandy D's, she was glad to notice it was a casual sort of place so she didn't feel out of sorts in her comfy clothes. It was a few minutes past seven and so she gave a look around for Harry, knowing full well that even if he was trying to blend in, he'd stick out with his messy black hair and those green eyes of his. She was craning her neck to find him when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"You're late." Harry said with a smile as she turned around to look at him.

"If you'd bothered with directions instead of that vague description of where it was I might've been on time." She quipped back, a smile threatened to tug at the corners of her mouth, but she fought the urge and simply gave him a defiant look. She had told herself she wasn't going to get like this so easily again, but a lot of shagging good that was doing her. He was trying so bloody hard and even she had to admit that she was impressed by his efforts.

"My description was brilliant. You just don't know how to look." He teased, offering to take her cloak before walking her to their table which was in the back corner away from the most of the busy chatter in the front.

"So then," She started as she slid into her side of the cozy booth. "What's all this about?" She asked, deliberately looking anywhere but at him directly. She fingered the edge of the menu absentmindedly.

"Oh come on, Gin. You know what this about." He said, reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I need to know if you've forgiven me for being the World's biggest wanker so I know just how many more times I'm going to have to get Ron, Hermione, George and Charlie to sneak into your flat to hide things for me." He was actually quite pleased with himself for how well he'd managed it. He didn't know her schedule half as well as 'Mione did and she was either able to slip in herself and give the others a head's up as to when would be a good time. Aside from arranging the drop though, Harry had been in charge of everything else. What was to go in, where it was to be placed and everything else that went along with it. They hadn't spoken since the night he'd waited outside her flat, but he wasn't sure any more talking at that point was going to do either of them any good. They'd gotten most of it out. It was time to show her that he was sorry. That he hadn't stopped thinking about her even for a moment while he was gone. That's what he had to prove now.

"Oh, so ithat's/i whose been breaking into my flat then? I'll know who to sic the Aurors on then." Ginny snipped back with a raised eyebrow. She didn't retract her hand though. It was of course a baby step, but that's how she was going to play this. It was how she had to play this. "I'd been wondering how you'd been getting in and out." She mused after a moment. "Think you're right clever don't you?"

Harry gave a shrug and a less than modest smile. "You just said yourself you couldn't figure it out. That has to count for something seeing how clever you are and all."

"Oh and the flattery begins!" Ginny gave a dry laugh, now taking her hand back to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Tell me, Mr. Potter, do you intend to win my forgiveness or my heart?" she teased.

"Both if I can manage." Harry answered truthfully. The smile was still evident on his face, though he turned slightly more serious as he spoke the words.

For her part, Ginny sat a bit stunned. That hadn't been the answer she was expecting in the least. She was sure she'd forgive him for acting the part of a complete and utter prat, and they'd work their way back towards friendship on those grounds. This…well this wasn't something she'd entirely anticipated.

"Ginny, I thought of you every day that I was gone. I thought about what you'd be doing, who you'd be with, if you would've moved on and forgotten all about me like you probably should've, if you'd yet realized that I was never any good for you. I thought about what I'd say if or when I ever saw you again. And let me tell you, ithat/i hasn't exactly gone according to plan. Which I blame entirely on you, mind." He paused and sighed.

"I reckon you had a lot of time for thinking." Ginny said with a glance away from him. "And how is it my fault anyhow?"

"'Cause you…You make it very hard to keep my thoughts even. 'Specially when you're sitting there all pouty and brooding." Harry said, still smiling at her. "So would you mind stopping that? I mean, don't get me wrong, you're right adorable when you do it, but it's sort of got me stuck by way of apologizing, which is what I'm supposed to be doing and all."

Ginny didn't mean to, but she laughed at that, showing a hint of a real smile.

"Well bugger all. That's clearly not going to do me any good either. Not if you're going to be ismiling/i like." Harry grinned, almost triumphantly. "Much too pretty when you smile."

"I wasn't smiling." Ginny said, trying to keep her face as even as she could.

"Well, then I'm in a heap of trouble for when you do, aren't I?" Harry asked, still grinning at her. It was becoming increasingly unclear how he let himself stay away from her for so long.

"You're in a heap of trouble no matter what." Ginny reminded him just as the waitress approached the table.

"'Ello there! Welcome to Sandy D's! My name is Tonya and I'll be your server tonight. Can I get you something to drink?" The blonde asked in an overly chipper voice, looking directly at Harry as she spoke. She gave a small flip of her hair and flashed him a toothy smile.

"Erm, water is just fine for me, thanks." Ginny said loudly, annoyance creeping into her voice.

"And for you, luv?" Tonya asked, not even giving a glance towards Ginny.

"Water is great. Thank you, Tonya. And if you could bring out a soda with the meal, I'd appreciate it." Harry said smoothly, giving the waitress a friendly smile.

"Of course! Are you ready to place your order now?" She gave another flip of her hair.

"No. We're not." Ginny snipped shortly, giving a roll of her eyes. Who in Godric's name did this cow think she was? Couldn't she see that they were clearly together? Okay, so they weren't itogether/i like that, but how in the hell did ishe/i know that. They very well could've been and she was being entirely shameless. And ihe/i was practically encouraging it!

"I'll be back then." Tonya said turning to leave. But not before she gave one more glance over to Harry.

Ginny glared in her direction and muttered under her breath as she picked up her menu to take a look. "Shameless harpy."

Harry gave a confused look. "What was that?" He asked, picking up his own menu.

"Nothing." Ginny sighed, turning the page.

"She's just being nice. Probably works for tips and the like." Harry justified with a half a laugh.

"Mmmhmm. Whatever you say." She was suddenly very interested in the salads being offered that night.

"Ginny, she was just—"

"Batting her eyelashes and flipping her hair more than Lavender Brown would consider appropriate, and that's bloody well saying something the way she parades around." She sighed and put down her menu, looking at him with pursed lips. "But you probably didn't notice through your drooling."

"You're imagining things now. I was just being polite is all." For his part, Harry was completely baffled. She was blowing this all way out of proportion. The poor girl was just trying to get a good tip out of him. And he was just being nice. That was all. She was seeing things. Hit in the head with one too many bludgers or something.

"Oh, am I?" Ginny challenged. "Imagining things? We'll see about that." Ginny said picking her menu back up.

"And how will we do that?" He asked, setting his own menu down and folding his hands on the table.

"You'll see. It'll be some sort of painfully obvious gesture. Honestly, she's got no tact at all." Ginny replied with a dismissive sigh. "I think I'll have the chicken, what do you think?"

"I think you've lost it." Harry mumbled. "Chicken looks good." It was his turn to shake his head.

"I heard that." Ginny muttered back. "And if you're so sure I've lost it, why don't you open your bloody eyes and pay attention this time. She's coming over."

Sure enough the blonde waitress was making her way back over with two glasses of water and that smile plastered on her face. "'Ere y'go." She said brightly setting the water down in front of each of them, but keeping her blue eyes on Harry. "All set then?"

"Yes, I think so." Ginny said, smiling smugly at Harry. "Are you rea—"

"What can I get for you, dear?" Tonya asked Harry, cutting Ginny off entirely. Instead of getting mad however, the redhead simply looked even more smug, if that was possible. She gave a triumphant smile to Harry who still looked rather oblivious to the whole thing.

"We'll both take the chicken, thank you." Harry said politely.

"Brilliant, then. I'll have that out in a mo—"

"Actually," Ginny interrupted. "I think I'll just have a burger come to think of it." She gave a sugary smile.

"Right." Was all Tonya said before grabbing the menus and turning to leave, once more glancing back at Harry.

Ginny gave a dry laugh as the blonde walked away and shook her head as she picked up her water to take a sip.

"Oh, what now?" Harry asked with a laugh. "She was just doing her job!"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. But I will put a bit of gold on her bringing me out the chicken."

Harry rolled his eyes and took a sip of his water. "Y'know, Gin, jealous really isn't a good colour on you." He teased with a grin.

"Me? Jealous?" Ginny scoffed. "Jealous of which exactly, the fact that I don't have to stoop to such levels to get anyone's attention, or the fact that iyou/i asked ime/i here to apologize for being a wanker. Which, might I add, is going ibrilliantly/i for you."

"Alright, alright." Harry held up his hands in surrender. "Point taken." He sighed but flashed a small smile. "I'm very sorry that I've been neglecting my apology. Can you ever forgive me?"

"That's yet to be decided, I think." Ginny pointed out.

Harry sighed and looked down at the table for a long moment. "There are only so many ways to say I'm sorry, Gin." He glanced up at her and ran a hand through his messy jet-black hair. "That doesn't mean I'm going to give up or stop trying to find new ways to say it, but it does mean that you've got to give a bloke a bit of hope so he doesn't feel completely defeated."

Ginny felt a pang of guilt and looked away from him as she collected her thoughts. He did have a bit of a point. At some point she had to let him know whether or not his attempts were worth it and if she were going to be completely honest, she had been trying to see just how far he'd go. It was cruel, she knew, but she had her reasons. She wasn't one who could trust so easily. Not after being hurt so badly. And without trust, what kind of friendship could they hope to have?

"Say something. Please?" Harry asked, reaching for her hand again.

"Look. Harry, I know you went through a lot right after everything happened. I'm not so selfish that I thought it would all just be sunshine and daisies after the war, but I wasn't expecting to be left alone for the better part of two years. I thought we'd be able to work through everything together." He opened his mouth to say something but she held up a hand to stop him. "Let me finish." She sighed. "Even though I didn't quite understand it at the time, and I don't all the way understand it now, I can appreciate the need to be alone for a bit to work things out. Not for two years mind you, but I'm willing to look past all that. Because as much as I ihate/i having to admit it, Teddy was bloody well iright/i…Again. But just like I would've been selfish to think things would go back to how they were after the war, things can't just go back to how they were now. It's going to take a bit of time. It's going to take a bit more than notes around my flat and flowers and photographs. I'm willing to give it a chance, Harry. But I need to be able to trust you again, and that might take a while."

He sat there thinking her words over. She was right of course. Had to remember to thank Teddy for whatever it was he'd said to her. The way he saw it he owed entirely too much to the former Slytherin. Which wasn't exactly how he liked it, but it was a fact none the less. It was worse that Teddy wasn't even smug about the whole thing. "I know I mucked this all up. And I know it's going to take a lot to fix it. But Ginny I will fix it. I'm going to get you to smile again and I'm going to get you to laugh again and I'm going to make all of this right."

"Well, that's a start at any rate." Ginny said softly.

"'Ere we go." Tonya said sweetly as she approached the table. She set the plates down in front of each of them and a soda in front of Harry and smiled. "Anything else I can get for you?"

"No, we're great, thank you." Harry answered politely.

"Alright, you just let me know, luv." She gave a wink and turned to leave.

Harry stared after her for a moment before turning back to Ginny with a smile. "Okay. I think you've got a point." Harry conceded with a bit of a laugh.

"Told you." Ginny smirked, picking up her burger.