Chapter 2

The Good News

Ginny was driving her new car, a Mini, from One Hyde Park to go meet Harry for dinner at Byron. She had to admit, it always annoyed her just how much time he spent at the hospital nowadays. Ginny supposed she was lucky he only went to visit Hermione on Wednesdays. She would have gone with him today, but she'd had class studying computer technology. When he'd left the hospital, Harry had called her to let her know that he was on his way, and that he had some excellent news, but he wouldn't tell her what it was. He had promised that his visits to Hermione would be stopping soon, or at least becoming less frequent. This had led Ginny to fantasise about all the different possibilities that the good news could be. Maybe he'd got a new job and he would finally be working instead of just wandering around all day. Maybe he'd given up on Hermione (though that wasn't good, so she'd eliminated that pretty fast). She got caught in traffic around South Kensington, so she sat there for a while, drumming her hands on the wheel and just thinking. When the red light finally turned green, she practically floored the pedal. She never wanted to be late for dates with Harry. Because of class, she barely ever got to spent time with him any more. It made Ginny sad to think like this, which was why she always tried to look on the bright side. She was a relentless optimist, often fetching laughter from Harry when she tried to make a joke about Hermione - 'On the bright side, she won't have to sleep again for another two years' - Harry had laughed, but she had heard the strain in his voice, and knew it was fake. Ginny knew that the man she had loved back in 5th and 6th year was gone. So many people had died for him, so many of their friends were gone. It must be hard having all that on your shoulders. The problem was, when she realised this, that old Harry was gone, it always made her wonder if she should stay with the new Harry. She shook away the grey cloud that had settled over her head, as she pulled into a park on a side street. Opening the door, she slipped out quickly, so as to avoid the traffic. Ginny shut the door of the little red Mini (it was red as a homage to her red-head family) and locked it behind her. Quickly, she walked over to the sidewalk, a little concrete-paved strip which was cracked and growing weeds in places. It was clear no one used this street for parking much. She slipped her hands into her coat pockets and set off for dinner, boot heels clicking on the concrete pavers.

Byron was always busy at this time of night, and she was glad she'd told Harry to get a booking. Pushing open the door, Ginny was rushed with an explosion of warm air. After lifting away the little fronds of red that had settled on her face, she looked around to see if she could find Harry. After looking around about three times and successfully missing him all three, she finally found him sitting at a small round table in the corner, reading a menu. She walked over quickly, and pulled out a chair.

"I'm so sorry," she said, as she slid her bag under the table. "The traffic around South Ken was appalling!" Harry looked up, smiling. He didn't seem to mind that she was late.

"It's okay, Ginny," he said. She smiled gratefully. Ginny was always relieved that she had such an understanding boyfriend.

"So, what was this mysterious 'excellent news' you were telling me about?" she said, dropping into her chair, resting her chin in her hands curiously. Harry grinned. It was clear that he'd been looking forward to telling her this all evening.

"Well, I was at the hospital, right," he said. Ginny sighed. Of course it was news about Hermione. It was always news about Hermione. She settled in for a long story.

"Yeah?" she said.

"Ron was there too," he said. Ginny smiled. Ron would do anything for Hermione. "Basically, he noticed that Hermione was, like, legitimately moving. You know, like when you toss and turn in your sleep." Ginny perked up. This story might actually be more interesting than the countless other Hermione stories he told her.

"So I called the healer, using the emergency button, you know, the one on the wall." Ginny nodded.

"Yeah, I know the one," she said.

'Yeah that one. Anyway, the healer arrived with this thing called a 'healer box'," he said. "She tried a couple things from the healer box, like a wet cloth, but none of it worked." Ginny was interested. This wasn't a story with an end she could predict.

"Eventually, she just tried pinching her, " he said, miming a pinching gesture with his hands. "The shaking just stopped, just like that!" Ginny sighed. Of course it was a story with a happy ending. Hermione didn't die, yay, everyone can just get on with their lives now. Ginny hated sounding so bitter, but Hermione had been in a coma for so long that stories like these got boring after a while.

"Then, she told us something," he said. "This was what I wanted to tell you!" Ginny looked up. She hadn't actually expected him to speak again, and had been preparing for an awkward silence. To be honest, Ginny really didn't know why she needed all of this extra backstory before they reached the actual news.

"Can we just get to the point?" she asked, twiddling a fork in her hands and doing napkin origami. "I'm starving!" Harry just smiled. She could tell he wasn't really listening.

"Hermione is going to wake up!" Harry yelled. Ginny could feel her cheeks going bright red. Everyone in the restaurant was looking, and she pulled up her coat hood to hide her face. The loud chitchat from before had disappeared, and it was dead silent.

"Harry," she whispered through gritted teeth. His face was bright red too, but he was grinning.

"Sorry," he whispered back apologetically. Slowly the voices trickled back into hearing, until it was just as loud as before. Once the embarrassment from before had worn off, and her face had returned to a less-tomato like hue, Ginny had time to fully process the news (and to remove her hood).

"Harry, that's great news!" she said enthusiastically. "We'll see Hermione again!" Harry nodded enthusiastically. True, she wasn't as ecstatic as Harry over the news, but she was happy for Ron, who had spent the last two years pining over this girl.

"Now that we've got that covered, shall we order?" asked Harry. "I'll pay if you like." Ginny smiled, nodding. She could tell he was trying to be chivalrous, and even if he wasn't the best at it, she appreciated the gesture.

"Do we have any other menus?" she asked. Harry looked around him, but came up with nothing.

"Hold on," he said. "I'll call a waiter over." He put up a hand to call one, rather than actually call out. Ginny was glad he had opted for a less, shall we say, loud approach to the situation. She'd had quite enough embarrassment for one evening. Soon, a small woman, who was on the larger side of the scales, bustled over. Her grey bun had strands falling loose at the edges.

"Sorry, sorry," she said in an immensely strong Scottish accent. She reminded Ginny of Professor McGonagall, and for a moment she got nostalgic of her Hogwarts days.

"My name is Lisa," she said. "I'll be serving you this evening." Harry smiled at her.

"Could we please have one more menu?" he asked, clearly very awkward in the situation. He was rubbing the back of his head. The waitress huffed, most likely annoyed at being called for such a trivial task.

"I'll get that right away for you," she said, waddling away. Ginny turned her head from where she'd been watching the waitress, mouth open. Harry was watching her, and they both subsequently burst into laughter. Hands shaking, she gripped the table, taking long breaths to calm herself down. There was a small sound that came from her right, and Ginny looked over to see Lisa standing there, arms crossed, her eyes staring daggers. It was clear she wasn't exactly a people person.

"I brought a menu," she said, her Scottish accent laced through with anger. "Here you go." She flipped one of her arms out from its folded position, producing a laminated menu. Ginny took it, blushing. Harry was grinning, trying hard not to laugh.

"Thanks," said Ginny. Lisa waddled off again to serve another table, two muggle adults and a child.

"Have you ever been here before?" Harry asked, not looking and reading the menu.

"No, I haven't," said Ginny, nonchalantly, reading the menu. There were so many things to choose from - Classic, Cheese, Chilli Queen, Chicken, and even some things that didn't start with C!

"What would you recommend?" she asked Harry. He looked up.

"Oh, I'm not sure," he said sheepishly. "I'm pretty fussy… Normally I have a custom order." Ginny was surprised, but then again, when had Harry ever been a stick-to-the-rules, conform to society kind of guy? We were talking about the guy who had called You-Know-Who Voldemort from the moment he'd known how.

Things went on like this for the majority of the evening. Ginny finally decided on just having the Classic burger, and Harry had his crazy custom order (toasted brioche bun, wagyu beef cooked medium rare, special cheese, special salad, and on and on it went). Once they arrived, they ate, talked some more, and both decided not to have dessert, even though there was some argument on Harry's end. At about 8:00 in the evening, Harry called for the bill. After a brief argument, they agreed to split the bill. Harry was trying to be chivalrous and Ginny wasn't having it. So far, it was Ginny - 2, Harry - 0, on the argument winning chart this evening. Leaving the restaurant, Harry insisted upon opening the door for her. Whether this was good or bad she didn't know, because it meant she had to go into the cold before him. Harry had called a cab to pick them up from the restaurant, which was good, because it meant she didn't have to make the long, cold walk back to her car.

Sitting in the cab together, listening to the tinny music, Harry was obviously elsewhere. He hadn't even complained about the loss of England to Ireland in the Quidditch cup. Ginny sighed. She would obviously have to entertain herself with her own thoughts. She sat there wondering for a while, about various things she didn't care to name. Eventually they arrived home. Ginny was in a kind of daze, and so it wasn't until Harry actually forcefully shook her shoulder that she realised they were home. Shaking of the dew from her daydream, Ginny took Harry's hand and climbed out of the cab into the cold. She drew her coat closer around her, shivering. Harry put his arm around her and drew her close. She was grateful for the warmth. Harry pushed open the revolving glass doors and entered the grand foyer. It was empty, completely empty, except for them. The click of their shoe heels echoed throughout, as Harry walked quickly to the elevator, seemingly on-edge. Ginny shook her head internally. It had been 2 years since Voldemort was defeated, but Harry was still afraid. It was fair, but still. Most of the death eaters had been defeated. Reaching the elevator, Ginny extended her hand to push the button. Once she did, the two of them stood there, hand in hand, the awkward silence embracing them. The metal doors slid open, and in they went. Now, instead of awkward silence embracing them, it was awkward elevator music.

The shiny steel doors slid open once again on the penthouse floor, and Harry stepped out. Ginny followed, and took yet another double take. It didn't matter how many different times she came here, she could never get over just how big it was. So many rooms to see, but it felt like she would never see them all. It felt as though it was endless, a thousand leagues from the cramped, homely style of the burrow. Sometimes Ginny missed the Burrow, how comforting and familiar it was, compared to how open and cold this apartment was. Harry seemed to feel at home in the openness, but he had grown up under the stairs. The openness for him was a beautiful thing.
"So…" she said, struggling to find a conversation topic. Harry ran a hand through his dark hair, clearly feeling awkward .

"Do you want to, I don't know, watch a film or something?" asked Harry. Ginny nodded, smiling. An hour and a half of not talking and not feeling awkward.

"Sure," she said. "We didn't exactly talk much at dinner." Harry laughed.

"True," he said. "We haven't been talking much lately." Ginny nodded sadly.

"Well, what with uni, and Hermione, we haven't had much of a chance," she said. "I wish we could talk more, but you're always with her, you know?" Harry put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," he said. "When Hermione wakes up, you and I will have loads more us time, ok?" Ginny nodded, blinking away the tears that had formed so suddenly.

"Promise?" she asked, looking up at him. He smiled.

"Promise

Later that night, when the movie was over, she lay next to Harry in bed, with the lights off, eyes open, just thinking. The soft sound of Harry's breathing was lulling her slowly to sleep. Her eyes were open, and she was just staring into the darkness. Why was she still with Harry? They had so many differences. Maybe it was just the tail end of a childish crush. Maybe they just hadn't quite clicked yet, hadn't found their place. Ginny wanted to persist with Harry, wanted to be understanding. His best friend was in a coma. But what if she reached a point where she couldn't persist any more? What if, what if, what if. There was no use wondering, if it would just make her sadder. Ginny decided that she ought to just go to sleep. Worries can't trouble you in the great sea of dreams. Rolling over in the bed to face away from Harry, Ginny shut her eyes and proceeded to keep them shut until she fell asleep.

That night, Ginny dreamt. She dreamt of Hermione and Harry, seeing them together, happy and in love, with her and Ron on the sidelines. If she looked too hard at Ron, his skin melted away, revealing tiny shattered fragments of his heart, and no bones or organs. Ginny turned away, but there was Harry and Hermione. Turn back, broken-hearted Ron. Noise swelled, Ron sobbing, Harry laughing, Hermione talking, her own voice yelling, screaming, tears, laughter, happiness, anger, sadness. Ginny bolted upwards, cold sweat dotting her face and back. She looked over, only to see that Harry was gone. The blinds were still drawn, the lights were still dark. Where was he? climbing out of bed, dangling her feet over the edge of the bed until they touched the carpet. Climbing out of bed, she shivered. Why had she chosen such a skimpy nightie? Ginny had no idea why, she was wearing long pyjamas. It was if she could sense that something was wrong. Feeling around of the bedside table for her phone, she grabbed it and made sure it was open to the phone app, ready to dial 999 if she had to. Slowly, quietly, she walked to the door, ever cautious. Opening the door, she saw that the living room was completely empty. The large, open space scared Ginny. Nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. Shaking of the thin veil of fear, Ginny continued walking on the cold, marble floor. Even though this was her house, she had never felt so alone. She kept walking, over to the slightly ajar door in the corner. Strangely, she could have sworn that she'd never seen this particular door before. Walking cautiously over to the door, Ginny pushed it open, only to see Hermione and Harry - kissing.

Once more, Ginny bolted upright. Before she decided to do anything rash, she made sure to check her surroundings. Was Harry next to her? Yes. She could see morning light shining around the edges of the blinds, and she sighed with relief. No more creepy night scenes for her. Ginny reached a hand out, and placed it onto Harry's bare shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. Groggily, Harry moved his shoulder away, grunting. Ginny smiled, giggling.

"Wake up!" she said playfully, giving him a shove. Lifting up his other hand, Harry batted hers away, before rolling over, grinning.

"Morning," he said. "Normally you're up after I've left. Why are you up?" Ginny shook her head.

"There's no point," she said, evasively. "Just some bad dreams." Harry propped himself up on one elbow.

"What were they about?" he asked. She could hear the sympathy in his voice, and she looked away. Ginny had no need for her boyfriend to find out that she was having horrific nightmares that woke her in cold sweats about him and another woman. Rubbing her forehead, she looked back.

"You know what, I really can't remember," Ginny said. She wasn't a great liar, but Harry always seemed to buy it. Harry nodded sympathetically.

"Just know," he said. "You can always tell me anything." Ginny smiled. It was true, she told Harry about almost everything, but she didn't think that he would want to hear this. She rolled over and slipped out of the bed, onto the floor. Stretching like a cat, flexing her back, Ginny rubbed her eyes. Tiny bits of sleep were still stuck in the corners. When she turned around, Harry had swivelled around, put on his glasses, and was sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I've got to go to class," said Ginny, walking over to the closet. Harry looked over at her.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Ginny cocked her head, almost like a puppy.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she said, he voice accusatory. "I have my exams next week!" Harry nodded.

"True, but will you be able to focus?" he asked. "I mean, you didn't get much sleep last night." Ginny raised an eyebrow. He was actually concerned about her amounts of sleep?

"I got about as much as you," she said. Ginny wasn't looking at him anymore. She'd opened her closet, and was trying to decide between different outfits. Jeans and jumper? Summer dress and boots? It hardly helped that she didn't know what the weather would be.

"Hey Harry?" she said, turning her head.

"Mmm?" he said. He had returned to lying down, his head in the book he was currently reading, Game of Thrones. Ginny sighed. He'd lived the whole fantasy lifestyle himself, he hardly had to read about a bunch of other magical folks going about their magical fantasy lives.

"Do you know what the weather'll be today?" she asked, turning back to the closet, and flicking through all the different clothes, even considering wearing one of Harry's shirts untucked over jeans. That would look pretty cool, right?

"No clue," he said. Ginny shook her head.

"Thanks for the help," she muttered under her breath, resuming her rifling through the closet. Shutting the closet door in frustration, Ginny walked back over and flopped onto the bed, hands to her face.

"You know what, I might not go to class," she said. Harry laughed.

"Something as simple as not knowing the temperature can ruin your day?" he said, incredulously. She looked over at him, eyebrows raised.

"No," she said. "Something as simple as not having anything to wear can be incredibly frustrating." Harry shook his head, and Ginny laughed.

"You don't know the female struggle," she said.

"You're completely right," he said. "I totally don't." Ginny reached over to find her phone on the bedside table, feeling around for its outline. As she touched the cold metal (she was too lazy to buy a case) Ginny grabbed it and lifted it up to her face. She unlocked it (her password was Lumos) and opened the weather app. It was Summer here in London, which meant it was about 19 degrees (celsius). Looks like it was a jeans and jumper day.

"Don't look," she said. "I'm getting changed." Harry made some sort of sound which was like a grunt, and sort of like a 'yes'.

When Ginny finished getting dressed, she walked out into the living room where all her textbooks (and her car keys) sat waiting on the table. Before she picked them up, she walked into the entrance way to pick up her book bag, which was plain red and emblazoned with dozens of shiny buttons. Walking back over to the coffee table, Ginny swept her Maths, History, English, Science, Business and Law textbooks into her bag. She picked up her red folder which held all of her assignments, her tests, exams, notebooks, lecture notes, her schedule and her laptop. Sliding the bag up to her left shoulder, and folding her right arm over her folder, she picked up her keys with limited amounts of trouble and walked over to the door.

"Bye Harry," she said, fiddling with one hand to open the door. She heard some sort of muffled reply from the bedroom, and smiled. He was so lazy sometimes. Opening the the door, Ginny headed off to class.

Returning later that evening, tired to the bone, Ginny opened the door, dumped her books, and flopped onto the sofa. Harry's head poked out from around the corner, before he walked out, dressed in a jumper that her mum had knitted for him, jeans, and converse sneakers.

"Good day at school?" he asked. Ginny looked up.

"Bleugh," she said. Harry grinned.

"I'm going to take that as a no," he said. Ginny nodded, her eyes shut.

"It's not school," she said. "It's muggle university. It's like 100% harder." Harry chuckled.

"I bet you're really regretting your decision not to sign up with me right now, huh?" she said, smiling. Harry grinned.

"Absolutely," he said. "I can't believe I didn't!" She gave him a playful shove.

"I've got so much homework," she groaned, hands to her face. Harry stopped smiling.

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll help you." She rolled over, looking at him.

"No offense, Harry," she said. "But what exactly do you know about Trigonometry, criminal law, and running a business?" Harry looked sheepish.

"Not much, admittedly," he said. "But I can still help, you know, as moral support?" Ginny smiled.

"Thanks, Harry," she said. "At least if we can't go on dates, we can bond over homework!" Harry smiled sadly.

"We really don't hang out much anymore, do we?" he said. Ginny looked up, eyes wide.

"Do you think that we're working out?" she asked. "You know, as a couple?" Now it was Harry's turn to look surprised.

"Of course!" he said. "Why would you think that we aren't?" Ginny shook her head.

"I don't know," she said. "It's just… We never hang out anymore, and you spend more time with Hermione than me, and I just… I just don't know." Ginny broke down, crying. She could feel Harry's arms around her, his hand stroking her hair.

"Shhh," he said to her. "It's ok, you're ok, I won't leave you, not ever." Ginny smiled into the fabric of his t-shirt, comforted by his words. He wouldn't leave her, not ever.

I'm really sorry for the lack of chapters and updates recently, I've been really caught up in schoolwork. Thanks to everyone who has followed, favourited and left reviews, and all your support is really great!