Chapter 6: Take Your Time... Don't Live Too Fast

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," sighed Harry as he reached an empty corridor. When the map appeared Harry searched frantically for Ginny's name. He finally found it in the Gryffindor common room. It was slowly headed towards the girl's dormitories. Exhaling, he searched for George's name, but it was no where to be seen. He hurried along the corridor towards Gryffindor tower. He looked around as he jogged. The castle looked amazing. It was fully repaired.

Harry finally reached the the Fat Lady. She did not even wait for him to give any form of a password. She merely said to one of her fellow portraits,

"If I had any money, I'd bet he's looking for the Weasley girl."

Harry heard the other portrait laugh as the Fat Lady swung closed. Harry walked quickly across the common room and made his way to the door that said 'girl'. He opened the door and stared up at the staircase. He took the first few steps at a run, but was forced back to the bottom when the staircase turned into a slide.

"Damn," he muttered. He said a few choise swearwords to the slide as he continues his attempts to go up it, unaware at how loud he was being. He stopped when he heard a door creak open.

"Hello?" said a familiar voice timidly.

"Ginny!" yelled Harry. He heard a quick intake of breath and then heard Ginny yell,

"Bloody hell Harry! You scared me!"

Ginny suddenly appeared as she slid gracefully down the slide. She landed at Harry's feet and he held out a hand. She took it and he helped her up.

"Sorry," he said honestly. "I was just trying to figure out how to get up the slide."

"How come?"

"Trying to get to you. You disapeared after the funeral."

"Oh..." she said quietly. "Well honestly I didn't feel like being around people that much." She tried to wipe her eyes casually, hoping that Harry wouldn't notice they were puffy and red.

"Are you alright?" asked Harry dumbly.

"Yeah, yeah- I'm f-f-fine..." she hiccupped and hid her face. Harry made to pull them away, but she stepped back.

"No, no don't. I h-hate crying. It makes me l-l-look so w-w-weak."

"Only a bloody right git could possibly think you're weak Ginny Weasley," Harry said as he pulled her into a hug. She kept her hands over her face, but sunk towards him.

"I know you miss him," said Harry quietly. As he said this he thought of his parents and Sirius and Lupin and Tonks.

"I feel so stupid crying like this," she said stubbornly, her voice muffled. She pulled herself out of Harry's arms and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. He had the sudden urge to kiss her, but ignored this impulse and instead said,

"Let's go down to the common room. I hardly think I'll manage getting into the girl's dormitories."

Ginny nodded and Harry grabbed her hand. They walked into the empty common room. They went and sat down on a couch near the fire. Harry conjured a handkerchief and handed it to Ginny.

"I'm fine Harry," said Ginny when Harry opened his mouth to talk.

"Sorry, but quoting you: 'No you're not. And I'm not thick enough to believe you are.'"

Ginny sighed. When she spoke, her voice was suprisingly level.

"I really need to stop saying smart things like that." Harry laughed. This made Ginny grin, but it faded eventually. "I miss him. That's all there is to it. I can't see him and it hurts."

"I know what you mean," said Harry slowly.

Ginny gave him the tiniest of smiles.

"But we'll both be okay."

"Yeah, we will."

There was a long silence where Harry just looked at her. Ginny broke it.

"Harry... what I said after the funerals... I just..." She looked up at him.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what made me say it I was upset and hurt and it just reminded me of how I felt after Dumbledore's funeral and then you broke up with me and I hated that feeling and-"

And what, Harry did not find out, for he leaned forward and kissed her.

"Breaking up with you was probably the stupidest things I've done... but for good reasons. I still stand by what I said. If Voldemort had found out, which he would have, you might not be sitting here with me, and that... I don't even know what I'd do without you..."

Ginny considered him for a moment.

"You use such cheesy lines Harry."

"Cheesy... but true."

She smiled and kissed him.

Oooh! Potty lurves Ginny!

Potty luuuuuurves Ginny!

Harry knew immediately who had just floated into the room.

"Hello Peeves."

XxxxX

A/N: Hermione's POV.

"So basically this is what you want to do: Get to Australia, find your parents, restore their memories, and bring them back? Even though there are still Death Eaters around. Death Eaters that know you helped Harry kill You-Know-Who?" asked Ron through gritted teeth.

"You really need to stop calling him 'You-Know-Who'. He's dead isn't he?" said Hermione airily as she flipped the page of Memories: Everything You Need To Know About Altering and Restoring Memories. She and Ron were in the common room. She had just told Ron her plans and he was not happy.

"Don't avoid the question!"

"Yes, Ron. That is exactly what I plan to do. As for the Death Eaters: We've avoided them before havn't we? At the Minis-"

"At the ministry you got hit with such a horrible hex you had to take ten different types of potions for a long time!" interrupted Ron.

"True, true..." she said. She stared hard at a page in the book.

"And you're not concerned about that?" demanded Ron.

"I'll be fine, Ron," she said, still not looking up from her book.

"What's going on?" asked Harry as he walked into the common room with Ginny at his side. Hermione looked up from her book.

"Now she looks up..." murmured Ron, obviously annoyed.

Harry sat down on the couch at Ron's right and Ginny sat next to him.

"Hermione has the idea she's going to Australia and find her parents to restore their memories. With Death Eaters still on the loose!" He added the last part as though hoping that Harry and Ginny would back him up. Harry simply stared at him.

"Well..." he said slowly. "If that's really what she wants to do..."

"Are you mental?" cried Ron. "You're okay with that? You're-" He stopped and looked at Ginny. "Why're you grinning?" he demanded her. She continued to grin.

"Nothing, nothing... it's just, er- you seem to care a whole hell of a lot what she does... is all."

Harry had apparently caught on and grinned too. Hermione had already understood and she could feel herself growing red. Ron apparently was still trying to grasp the remark, for he kept stuttering.

"Look nothing anyone does is going to stop me. I'm going no matter what anyone says," said Hermione firmly, ignoring Ginny and Harry's grins.

Ron stared at her hardly for a long moment.

"Then I'm going with you," he said suddenly.

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Okay so first off: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. I thought spring break would mean more time to write, but I've been so busy. Second off: Sorry it's kind of short. And third: I promise a new and very long chapter will be up soon. Well please review it's always appreciated.