Chapter 5

"Ron! Let me at him!" screamed Ginny, getting to her feet. She had been knocked to the floor with the force of the shield charm Ron had put up between her and Harry. Ron, however, ignored her. He still stood in the doorway, wand clutched in his hands, staring at Harry who looked as if he wished he could just disappear.

"I can't believe it," said Ron after a long moment. "You're really here." He bounded across the room in a few long strides and hugged the best mate he'd thought he had lost forever. Harry let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding when Ron took a step back.

"You're not mad?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well, I was at first," said Ron, turning slightly red. "But then I thought about how I skipped out on you and Hermione and well . . ."

"Will someone please get rid of this stupid shield charm?" came Ginny's angry voice from behind them.

"Not until you calm down," said Ron.

"CALM DOWN? You want me to CALM DOWN?" she screamed. "How can you even forgive him? He left, Ron. Left us all behind. He didn't care about us!"

"Ginny, please," pleaded Hermione. She was standing and looking between the three of them, quite unsure of what to do.

"NO! He didn't care then, what makes you think he does now. He's probably only here tonight out of guilt. Who knows where he'll run off to next!" said Ginny. Red sparks flew out of the tip of her wand.

"I'm sorry," said Harry in a low voice. "More sorry then you know. I don't want to leave again."

"You can't just come here, Harry Potter, and expect me to forgive and forget. It's not that simple," said Ginny. "Will you get rid of this stupid shield now? I want to hex him into next year for what he did to us, for what he did to me!" she said, rounding on her brother.

"Ginny, I can't let you do that," said Ron.

"FINE!" she screamed. She turned on the spot and with an audible pop, and she was gone.

"Well, that went well," said Hermione in a shaky voice.

"Maybe I should go and talk to her," said Harry.

"That's probably not such a good idea," said Ron. "Let her cool down a bit first."

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his hair, making it stand up at odd angles. He didn't know what he had expected. Of course Ginny wasn't going to welcome him back with open arms. He had left her without even a goodbye. "She hates me," he said.

"She doesn't hate you. She's just bit upset right now. I'm sure she'll see reason once she calms down," said Hermione, trying her best to reassure him.

"I shouldn't have come here."

"What are you talking about? You should have never left," said Ron. "Why did you do it?"

Harry looked at Hermione for help. After everything that had happened that evening, he wasn't feeling up to explaining the whole story again, even though he knew Ron deserved an explanation.

"I'll explain everything later," said Hermione with a sideways glance at Harry. "I'm sure Harry's tired. Why don't you go home. We'll talk tomorrow," she said, turning to Harry.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," said Harry.

"Floo over in the morning and we'll talk," said Hermione, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Don't run off or anything," said Ron, clapping Harry on the back. Harry laughed nervously before pulling out his wand and turning on the spot. He reappeared a moment later in the sitting room of his flat. Both Paul and Anthony jumped in alarm at the sudden appearance of their flatmate.

"Is that another magic thing?" asked Anthony, clutching at his chest. Harry nodded. "Maybe a little warning next time?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Harry, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So, how did it go with the ex?" asked Paul, leaning back on the sofa.

"Not so good," said Harry, shaking his head. "I think she wanted to hex my bits off." Paul and Anthony both cringed.

"I don't know much about this whole magic thing you've got going on, but that does not sound fun," said Anthony.

"Yeah, well. I can't say I really blame her," said Harry. "I think I'm going to turn in."

"Oh, ok," said Paul. "Good night. But don't forget, we want to know more about the whole . . . well . . . you know . . ."

"Yeah, I know. You two deserve an explanation." said Harry. "Good night."

Harry quickly retreated to his room, locking the door behind him, and fell face first onto his bed. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he had ever been this confused. He knew he missed everyone from his old life immensely, but how did he go about making amends? And Ginny was obviously happy, no matter what Hermione said. She was getting married after all. She had moved on with her life, whereas he was in a standstill.

He rolled over and clutched a pillow to his chest. For the first time in two years, he was second guessing his decision to leave.

* * * * *

Ginny pounded on the front door of Dean's flat. In her hast to leave Hermione's, she had apparated to the first place she could think of. When Dean finally opened the door, she flung herself in his arms, tears pouring down her face.

"Ginny? What happened? What's wrong?" said Dean, panicked. "Are you hurt?

Ginny shook her head, sniffling. Dean pulled her inside and sat her down gently on the sofa. "Ginny, please," said Dean, pleadingly. "Tell me what happened."

Ginny looked up, tears still pouring down her face. "Harry," she said.

"Harry? Harry who?"

"Potter. Harry Potter."

"I don't understand," said Dean, shaking his head. "No one's seen Harry in two years."

"I just saw him at Ron and Hermione's," said Ginny between sobs. "He's the reason why I left the other night at the restaurant."

"He's back?"

"Apparently," sniffed Ginny. "He's been living as a muggle from what I know."

Dean, who had kneeled down in front of Ginny, rocked back on his heels. "I still don't understand. Why is this so upsetting to you?"

"I don't know. I . . . I just . . . I don't know," said Ginny, shaking her head.

"Ginny, he can't hurt you anymore. I know what it did to you when he left. But Potter didn't deserve you then and he sure as hell doesn't deserve you now. I hope you hexed him," said Dean.

"I tried," said Ginny with a weak chuckle. "Ron put up a shield charm so I couldn't get to him."

"Don't worry. You'll have your chance," said Dean in an attempt to cheer her up. "Don't let him get to you."

"I won't. It was just a bit of a shock."

"Go home and get some rest," said Dean, helping her to her feet. "Don't forget we're meeting with the caterer tomorrow."

Ginny nodded and gave him a quick kiss before apparating directly into her bedroom at the Burrow. She fell onto her bed, her head spinning. Just a few short days ago, she was celebrating her new position with the Harpies' and getting engaged. Now, her whole world was spinning out of control and she had no idea how to stop it.

* * * * *

Hermione sat at her kitchen table, reading the morning edition of The Daily Prophet and sipping on a cup of tea. She had spent the remaining of the previous evening and much of this morning wracking her brain for any idea of what she should do about Harry. And for that matter, Ginny. After all the talks and planning she did with Ginny before she went and tracked Harry down, she never expected her to react the way she did. But the more she thought about it, she couldn't say she really blamed her. Ginny was devastated when she had found out that Harry had left.

"Do you think he's going to show?" said Ron, yawning loudly and sitting down next to her. Hermione flicked her wand in the direction of the kitchen and a cup of tea landed in front of him.

"I don't know. I hope so," she said. "You know, you never told me why you were even home last night. I thought you were still working nights."

"Oh, that. There wasn't anything going on so I asked if I could skip out early. I wanted to check on you. You've been acting a bit suspicious the last few days," said Ron.

"You do understand why I didn't tell you, don't you?"

Ron let out a long breath. "Probably because I would have dragged him back whether he wanted to or not," he said.

"Exactly. And Harry would have fought you. He didn't think we wanted him to come back. Probably still doesn't"

"Do you think Ginny will forgive him?"

"I hope so," said Hermione. "I don't think she really wants to marry Dean."

"Really?"

"Oh, come on Ron. You can't honestly tell me that Ginny seems happy with him. I believe that she loves him, but not the way she should," said Hermione. She folded up the paper and sat in aside on the table. "And I know that Harry still loves her."

Ron glanced down at his watch. "Well, we have to figure something out. He'll be here soon if he's coming."

* * * * *

A/N: After the way Ron ran out on Harry and Hermione in 'Deathly Hallows', I don't believe that Ron would hold a grudge against Harry and would probably be the quickest to welcome him back. Ginny, on the other hand, wouldn't forgive that easily! Let me know what you review! :)