We stood in the astronomy tower, overlooking the school grounds, just as we used to as kids, as we did the last time we heard the Phoenix' song as it flew into the mist, Dumbledore's soul on it's wings. Only Ron was not there, only Harry and me.
The light breeze lifted my bangs and brushed my cheeks. I stole a glance at Harry, only to find him staring back at me with a sparkle in his emerald eyes. His lips curled into a gentle smile and my heart skipped a beat. I took several shallow breaths the jump start my heart and just when I recovered, his arm brushed against my own and once again, my body defied all common sense. Ron was far from my mind and Ginny's name never escaped his lips.
The sun was beginning to set and in the distance an owl hooted and then again it was quiet as before and all I could hear was my heart thumping irregularly in my chest and my own breath.
I gripped the railing and stretched so my back and arms were alligned, just to release the tension of a life of struggle and sadness that consumed my wajing life and with a deep breath, I blew it away and stood again, shifting my hands slightly and without realising it, my pinky finger brushed his. My body jerked with the realisation of what had just occured and I began to pull my hand away, but he slid his hand over the top of mine, tenderly and I could feel his gaze burning my cheek.
I dared to glance at him again, wanting only to know his thoughts at that moment, but at the same time, not wanting things between us to change at all.
As if in synchronization our bodies faced each other and I closed my eyes to conceal content tears as he reached for a loose windblown strand of hair and pushed it behind my ear and his hand lingered on my jaw. Like a magnet I felt myself be drawn closer, until my lips were brushing his.
I opened my eyes and stared around the dark tiny room. Ron"s snoring cut into the the post sleep haze, reminding me where I was. A tear slipped down my cheek.
If Ron heard my sobbing, he certainly didn't make it known. There was no move to comfort me and when I thought about it I was glad of that, especially when I couldn't explain why I was so unhappy.
When morning came Ron rose from the bed and set about his morning routine, while I pretended I was asleep. Then he was off to work and I was alone in our room. I listened to the sounds of a typical morning at the Burrow. With Arthur already gone to work at the Ministry, Molly was bustling around the kitchen, her charms in action, clearing the table of the first round's breakfast mess. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was time to get ready. I had an early class that morning so there was no time to be lazy. After having risen and dressed, I joined a typically frazzled Molly in the kitchen. She had just sat and was pouring tea from the pot into a cup. She gestured towards the pot, smiling. I retrieved a cup for myself and poured tea into it.
"Got school today?" Molly asked.
I nodded.
"We're so proud of that, Love, you know that?"
"Thank you." There was an awkward silence and I wondered how it got this way. Molly and I always chatted, never running out of things to say, but I guess I could feel myself withdrawing from Molly, just as I was from Ron and the rest of the Weazley's. "I'm sorry I wasn't up to help you with breakfast."
"Its no problem at all. I know you must be going through some stress with exams coming up. If you need help with any of it, don't hesitate to ask." Molly had been a healer before Bill was born, and so, as I realised, was familiar with the workload I had taken on.
"I was lucky. I only had school to consentrate on, but you're a married woman with responsibilities. I keep forgetting how tough that must be."
"Its okay." I mumbled into my tea.
We sat again in silence.
I couldn't tell what class was about that day. My mind was consumed by the dream about Harry. Years ago at Hogwarts I would have chastised my friends for not paying attention to lessons and never missed any notes.
Now I was like those silly girls, I made fun of. I was worse than Ron in fourth year whenever the Beauxbaton girls were around, working their veela powers on every boy in site.
I hated that I was like this but at the same time, I loved the feeling that came over me when ever I thought about Harry. The warm cool rushes and the jelly legs that told me I was deeply in love with Harry were like pleasure and pain all at once.
I left my class, without taking one single note on my parchment. I barely blinked when Dean Thomas pointed out a spot of ink on my lower lip from where I had rested my quill. When class was over I simply floated out of the room and apparated to the Hogshead to start my shift.
I was not expecting to see him there, perched on his usual stool at the bar, laughing with Aberforth, his black rimmed glasses slipping slightly down his nose. I swallowed the lump of awkwardness in my throat as I approached the bar next to him.
"Hello, Mrs Weazley. You're a bit early aren't you?" My boss stared over the top of his glasses, just as his brother used to when he knew something was not right. Harry turned suddenly in my direction at the sound of my name.
"Am I?" I asked, feeling a little silly.
"Love, I understand you're keen for work, butik you're three hours early."
"Sorry. I can start early if you like." I offered.
"I appreciate the thought, but I couldn't afford to pay the hours. It's been a bad week, as I'm sure you're aware it." He shifted his eyes away, embarrassed to admit that things hadn't been to great for himself since the decline of the Deatheaters, for in spite of what damage the had caused our world, the had been his main clientelle and the pub thrived because of them.
"Hey now that you're here would you like a drink? It's my shout," Harry added when he saw hesitation in my eyes.
I nodded, "That would be great, thank you." I climbed on to the stool next to his and settled my satchel on the bar.
"Shouldn't you be teaching a class, though?" I asked.
"I gave my fifth years a free study period today. With their owl coming up, they'll need it."
"I wish our teacher had been that thoughtful."
"You and the rest of us, but you would have been the only one to use the time correctly." Harry gave me one of his knowing looks and I flushed.
"Not true," I argued playfully. "You would have, too."
"Only because you would've made me. Besides, we had Umbridge that year and she wasn't out to do us any favours."
"You're right," I agreed. I knew he had a point.
The conversation went down the usual path, back to our school days.
"I wish I had listened to you more. I would've been an auror by now." Historie eyes went sad.
"Harry don't beat yourself up. You had a lot going on back then. You didaktisk remarkably well in spite of everything, besides it wasn't your grades that stopped you. My grades were perfect and they wouldn't take me either. Malfoy scored lower Than you but He wasn accepted. Harry, we would've ruffled too many feathers." I din't realise straight way that my hand was resting on his shoulder, lightly. When I finally did, I pulled it away, sheepishly.
"I saw him the other day." Harry piped up, after an awkward silence.
"He seems to have really straightened up. Hé was even friendly to me," telling me about him and Luna expecting a baby. Hé was genuinely tickled pink about it."
"Harry, he's a Malfoy. He is the expert of keeping up appearances. Honestly if his marriage to Luna hadn't been arranged she'd be the last person he'd marry."
"You didn't see how happy he looked."
"Was it a smile or a smirk?" I asked, hating the direction the conversation was taking. I wanted to believe Harry sø bad, but seven years of torture ånd taunting from Draco Malfoy and his father would not let me forgive the scoundrel in a hurry.
"It wasn a genuine ear to ear smile, the kind Hagrid has whenever he shows us a new monster he's taken in as a pet."
I remembered the motherly smile he wore the day the egg hatched ånd Norbet was born.
I decided to change the subject. "How are Ginny and the children?"
"Great. Gin's really settling into motherhood." He answered.
"Well, she is Molly's daughter." I quipped.