The rest of the day, being a Sunday, passed by slowly. Ginny didn't hear another word from Harry, but he stuck a little closer to her than usual. If she was in the kitchen, he would lean against the fridge, instead of the couch. If she walked back to the weight room, he'd follow her, instead of just track her progress with his eyes.
Those gorgeous, green eyes. She'd stared at them quite a bit the past five days, but she apparently hadn't been looking close enough. She'd gaped at him when he'd come out of the shower this morning.
"You're wearing glasses!" She'd said in amazement. He'd stopped, picked the glasses off his head, examined them, and looked at them in fake astonishment, as if he'd just realized they were there.
"There's no need to get smart." She griped at him, snagging the last of the coffee for herself. He settled himself against her refrigerator. "I'm just surprised. I've never seen you wear them." He looked back at her steadily behind the round frames.
"And…that's because you wear contacts." She'd said. He nodded. "Hmm." She'd contemplated him, but didn't get a chance to question him further. Her cell phone rang suddenly, and she was too busy assuring her mother of her safety to focus on anything else.
oOo
Harry watched Ginny and Hermione on the couch. She'd gotten here a few minutes ago, and Harry could see that Ginny was happy to have a friend with her. He let out a long, silent breath and settled into his surveillance position next to the door. It had been a long day for both of them, and he was glad to have Ginny's attention away from him for a while. It gave Harry a chance to re-group.
He listened to their conversation absently. He could still feel Ginny against him. His nose was still filled with a faint, vanilla scent that was different from her usual, flowery smell.
At first, when she'd jumped into his arms, he'd been relieved. He'd needed as much reassurance as she had. He shook his head softly. This was why he did not do personal surveillance. He was already attached to her, and after only a couple of days. It was ridiculous. He wasn't soft. He was supposed to have complete control over his emotions.
But if he had so much control, why couldn't he stop feeling the silk of her hair on his fingertips? His hand clenched at his side and he commanded himself to get a grip. He could get a hold on himself for a couple more weeks.
Even as he said it in his head, he knew that there was a very large chance that he wouldn't make it that long. From day one, this infuriating, gorgeous girl had had him twisted up in knots. Maybe you should ask to be taken off her case. A rational part of him whispered. But even as he thought it, he knew that he couldn't do it.
And that's because you've taken it as a personal challenge to catch the guy sending the threats. A non-rational part lied to him. It's got nothing to do with the subject. At all.
And that's exactly what he would tell his supervisor, if it came down to it. The guy had infiltrated Harry's security net by getting up to Ginny's balcony and hanging the doll. It was a direct assault to his skills as an agent. Yep. That was it. No personal entrapments at all… He caught himself gazing at Ginny; she was staring back at him.
"Well?" She asked, and he kept his face bland, blinking at her. She rolled her eyes. "See?" She motioned angrily at him. "He doesn't talk to me at all!" She said to Hermione, who was watching him as well.
"Well, yes. That's actually a fairly widely practiced guarding technique. Ron got trained in it. He said it was pretty hard. If Harry's gone all this time without talking to you, that's really a testament to his expertise."
Harry smiled smugly at her, tilting his head in a salute. Ginny scoffed.
"He won't even smile at me! How come she gets a smile and I get nothing?" she demanded.
Hermione patted her hand. "Well, I'm not his charge, Gin. I'm sure it has nothing to do with you. I think it's very professional of him. And," she glared at Ginny, "I don't think you should bait him like you do." She said sternly. "He's clearly trying to do his work, and you might be distracting him. As a personal surveillance expert, his job is to blend as seamlessly into the background while providing the most efficient forms of protection. The charge is, ideally, not even supposed to know that they're there at all."
Harry blinked at that. How the woman in front of him had memorized, word for word, the guarding passage from the officer's manual, he had no idea. But here she was, quoting what was the equivalent to Harry's bible. There was no higher word, in his eyes. His respect for Hermione went up immensely.
Within the hour, Ginny's apartment was bursting with people. Ron had shown up shortly after Hermione. He'd clapped Harry on the back, and been indifferent when Ginny had complained to him about her silent guard. Next, Arthur came in, followed closely by his sniffling wife. After that, Bill and his wife, Fleur had stopped in to show their support, and then Fred and George had joined the group, bringing three very large bottles of Firewhiskey, which were quickly shut in the liquor cabinet, before Molly could catch sight of them.
Charlie was the only brother missing, but he called after the whole crew had been there for a little over an hour. They put him on speaker phone and crowded around the coffee table so that they could all talk to him.
And this, Harry saw, was what Ginny had truly needed. Her apartment was barely big enough to fit all of them, but her family made her feel better than she had all day. And he had to be thankful for that, even if it was a logistical nightmare.
Despite the fact that he didn't have her clearly in his line of sight, couldn't keep everyone away from the windows, and had to tell Reginald, the guard on duty, not to let anyone else in, he was glad for their presence.
And, like last time, they refused to let him just sit there. Harry found himself drawn into conversation with Ron. He had grown to like the other man, even in such a short time. He was close to Harry's age and they had a lot in common.
Between the bright conversations around them, and Harry watching Ginny grow more and more relaxed and happy, he didn't realize how fast time was going by. When the Weasleys began to trickle out the door, Harry was shocked to see that it was close to ten p.m.
"I'll come by for the Bulls game, yeah?" Ron asked, shaking Harry's hand as he and Hermione walked out the door. Harry nodded, looking forward to seeing the couple again. The three of them just seemed to get along splendidly, and Harry had forgotten what it was like to have friends outside the force.
After he'd closed and locked the door behind the last of the lingering Weasleys, it was almost eleven. He heard Ginny sigh behind him, and he turned, resuming his watch, his arms crossed. Ginny was sitting in the middle of her couch, staring listlessly at the door. She looked very small without the large masses of red hair that had just been surrounding her.
"It's late." She said, not looking at him. "Are you hungry? Or tea. I could make some tea to…" She trailed off, still not looking at him. She continued to stare past him, at the doorknob for long moments. Her eyes were getting bigger and bigger in her face, her freckles beginning to stand out more. Harry was beginning to wonder if he should get her attention to break her out of her trance when she spoke quietly.
"I know that this is a bad situation. I know that. But having my family remind me of that over and over… It doesn't help." Her eyes flickered to his. "And I know they're wonderful. They're the best family in the world, but I can't be strong for all of them. That's a lot of expectation to live up to. I'm supposed to be their tough little Gin-Gin, but I'm really scared. That's why I didn't want you, at first. Because if I took you on, it would make everything so real.
"I could kid myself all day that the letters weren't really serious, and that they'd go away but…" She took a steadying breath. "What they did today, that was personal. It's not a joke and it's not going to go away. If anything, it's going to get worse and…And I'm really glad you're here." She angrily swiped a few fallen tears from her cheeks. "Even if you're an infuriating git, and I don't know a single thing about you except that you sleep in your boxers and wear contacts." Ginny sniffed quietly.
"And you know everything about me, don't you. Because I talk constantly. But, I find that comforting, the talking. Because I know that you're listening and it reminds me that you're there. And I know Hermione said that I wasn't supposed to notice you and that I shouldn't talk to you, but I'm really afraid right now, and I need to notice you…"
Harry was frozen in place by her words. She allowed a single sob to escape her mouth before she closed her eyes to take some deep breaths. He had to admire her. The emotional trauma of such a personal attack would scare anyone to tears, but she was controlling her fear. Letting it go in the only outlet she had, at the moment: talking to him.
She breathed through her nose and out through her mouth a couple of times. It was a technique that Harry used himself, on occasion. He'd used it this morning, after he'd seen she was safe. He hesitated, remembering how she'd been better with her parents sitting close to her. He made a decision and walked quietly towards her, perching on the edge of the arm chair, leaning forward on his knees. His head was inches away from hers. Ginny's fingers were clasped in front of her, elbows resting on her knees. Harry mimicked her position so that their hands were almost touching.
Her eyes opened after a last breath, and she didn't look surprised to see him next to her.
"I don't want to sleep in my bedroom tonight." She said. He nodded slowly. It seemed that the thought of being alone tonight spooked her. He couldn't blame her. He'd been planning on sleeping outside her door tonight, anyways. If the door was to the guest bedroom and it happened to be open, it wouldn't matter. He didn't want walls between them again, tonight. He'd pull up a chair and watch her sleep, if he had to.
Ginny bit her lip. "So…I need a shower. Can I…can I keep the doors open?" she asked, hesitatingly. He nodded, emphatically. He'd seen the horror movies, too. Girl in shower didn't make for the safest scenario. She smiled at him, shakily.
"No peeking, ok?" She asked. He held up three fingers. Scout's honor. She swallowed thickly before standing. "Boy scout, huh? Good to know." She said absently, making her way to her bedroom, then turning on the lights in the bathroom. Harry heard the shower turn on, and sat back in his chair, trying with Herculean effort to keep his "no peeking" promise.
oOo
When Ginny woke the next morning, she was disoriented until she remembered that Harry had silently insisted that she take his bed, and not the couch. She was in her guest bedroom. Her eyes flicked around. She didn't come in here, often, but it was nice enough, she supposed. Her gaze landed on a small bottle of sleeping pills and a half-empty cup of cold tea.
Harry had insisted on these last night, as well. She'd watched as he'd carefully crushed up half a pill, then stirred it gently into her chamomile tea, which he'd brewed while she'd been in the shower. Ginny had been touched by his thoughtfulness, even wordless thoughtfulness, and this comfort had lulled her to sleep more than the drugs did.
She sat up slowly, and her eyes found Harry's. She started. He was sitting outside the open door in the hallway, in a chair directly in front of her door. His legs were stretched out in front of him, his arms were (as usual) crossed over his chest, and his feet were bare. He looked back at her steadily.
"Did you sleep there last night?" She asked, breathlessly. She had no idea how long he'd been sitting there, but the thought that he'd watched her sleep not only eased her mind, but set her heart pounding. He shook his head at her.
"So you slept on the couch?" she asked, swinging her legs out of bed and walking slowly towards him. He stood and drew the chair out of her way as she made her way to her own room. He didn't bother answering her, and she didn't bother looking for an answer. They both knew that he hadn't slept, or moved from the chair, for an instant last night.
Ginny paused before her closed bedroom door. Harry brushed past her and opened the door, walking to the window and flicking the curtains aside to get a look before pulling them back all the way. He nodded at her and passed her again to lean against the door frame, facing out from the room.
Ginny shivered when she felt his arm brush against hers, and silently thanked the Heavens that he seemed to be able to read her thoughts. She changed hurriedly into her work-out gear, and they headed to the weight room. She paused when climbing on the treadmill.
"Do you want this?" She asked, indicating the machine she was standing on. Harry made a show of leaning against the opposite wall. He wasn't working out, today. He was just there to watch. Ginny pressed the power button and started walking as her warm-up.
"Well, I still feel bad." She said. "I'm sure that your workout contains at least three miles every day, and you haven't really gotten that since you've been here. Maybe we should get another one. I mean," she added quickly, "If you think you might be around for a while. I would hate for you to get out of shape…" She trailed off when she felt the incline kick in.
Later, when they'd settled in at Ginny's office, Harry's cell rang.
"Potter." He answered, and she looked up at him, like she always did when she heard his voice.
"Yes, sir…Did they run the…Yes. Good…" His eyebrows shot up and his eyes flicked to hers. "That's…no sir, it's not." He crossed suddenly to her door. He kept his back to her and talked so softly that she couldn't hear. A moment later, he hung up, but dialed his phone. He talked quickly to whoever was on the other end of the new call before hanging up and shoving the phone back in his pocket and coming back into the room.
"New developments with my case?" She asked lightly, keeping her eyes on him. He didn't look at her.
When they got back to her apartment, a padded cot with sheets and a pillow had been placed in the hall across from the guest room, replacing his chair from last night. A box of contacts were laid on the kitchen table, along with a bottle of men's shampoo and an mp3 player. When she glanced into the work-out room, she saw that an extra treadmill had been placed next to her existing one.
"So, I guess you're here to stay for a while?" She asked, facing him. He looked at her grimly and handed her a cup of chamomile tea. She sighed.
"That's what I thought." She found that she didn't feel at all upset about his stay and, when their fingers brushed when he passed the mug to her, she felt a few butterflies twitter around in her stomach. They looked at each other silently while she sipped her tea, each not knowing that the other was thinking the exact same thing.
Great.