Author's Note: I own nothing! All belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Two

Ginny awoke with a start. She looked around her—apparently she'd fallen asleep in the Great Hall. Percy was still chatting animatedly with her parents a few seats away. They were just far enough that she couldn't quite make out the conversation. George and Ron were sitting on the other side of Percy, not saying each other. Ron had his arm around George's shoulders. George looked like an empty shell.

Across the hall, Bill and Fleur were gathering up their things and speaking with Professor McGonagall. Ginny assumed they were heading back to Shell Cottage, but she didn't really have the strength to get up and say goodbye. She'd see them again soon enough. Charlie must have already left—he'd never been very good with emotional situations or large groups of people.

Neville and his grandmother were still sitting at the next table over, chatting with Professors Sprout, Slughorn, and Flitwick, as well as Seamus Finnigan, his mother, and Dean Thomas. Numerous other students and their families still remained, although the absence of the Malfoys caught Ginny's attention.

Ginny ran a hand through her long red hair, trying in vain to get some of the knots out. Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall creaked open, and a clean-shaven Harry stumbled in, closely followed by Hermione. Ginny stood up straight, suddenly conscious of her appearance. Harry looked phenomenal, especially considering the hell they'd all just been through. Sure, he still had dark circles under his eyes and had undoubtedly lost about 20 pounds since Bill and Fleur's wedding, but Ginny couldn't take her eyes off of him.

Although she desperately wanted to run to him, she found that she couldn't move. Unfortunately, Ron stood up and walked over to Harry and Hermione, temporarily blocking them from Ginny's view. She watched as Harry hugged Ron and awkwardly patted him on the back. The trio stood murmuring quietly to one another, and Ginny was surprised that Harry's entrance into the Great Hall hadn't really caused a disturbance. Either everyone else was so lost in their own conversations that they didn't notice him, or they figured he needed some normalcy for once.

Finally, after a few minutes, Ginny gathered her strength and courage and slowly walked over to her friends. Harry's eyes seemed to be on her from the moment she stood up, which made her heard flutter a bit. As soon as she reached the trio, he nearly knocked the breath out of her by engulfing her in a massive hug and lifting her off her feet. She giggled in spite of herself, and could feel Harry's answering grin against her hair. "Oi! What is this, a party?" Ron asked snidely, but Ginny and Harry paid him no mind. Once she was on her feet again, Harry pulled away from Ginny a few inches to get a good look at her.

"Are you all right?" She nodded and noticed Hermione tugging on Ron's hand out of the corner of her eye. They went and sat down with George while Harry and Ginny stood in the doorway gazing at each other. "Ginny…I have so much…I don't even know where to start…"

It was like she was twelve years old again, and unable to communicate in his presence. But this time, instead of running away in terror, Ginny threw her arms around his neck once more and silently pleaded for him to just hold her like that for a while. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she managed to whisper, "Let's get out of here."

Harry smiled the first genuine smile she'd seen in ages and gleefully took her hand, almost skipping as he led her out of the Great Hall and up the stairs toward the Gryffindor common room.

"I'm surprised you're not asking me a million questions." Harry said softly as he smoothed Ginny's hair. They were laying together on the sofa in front of the fireplace, and even in all of their perfect walks around grounds during his sixth year, they'd never been this intimate before. Harry was somewhat worried about her, because she was far less talkative than normal, but he didn't push the issue.

"We'll have time to talk about everything later." she whispered, nuzzling her head against his chest. Harry smiled. This was exactly what he needed. "I was so terrified, Harry. I know it's silly, but when you broke up with me, well, I…I just wanted to spend more time with you. And I knew that you didn't end it because you didn't like me anymore, but I was just afraid that…that…we'd never get another shot." Ginny sniffled, and Harry wondered if she was crying. He really had no response to that, so instead he just held her a little closer and stayed silent for a few moments.

"You know…" Harry muttered finally, "You were all I thought about. While we were gone, I thought about you all of the time. Sitting in your dormitory right here in Gryffindor Tower while I was in Scotland, Wales…and then, earlier, when I went to face him, you…well, you were the last thing to cross my mind." He hadn't intended to provide her with this information so quickly, but it just sort of spilled out.

Ginny sat up on one elbow and looked at him. Her chocolate eyes were glittering with tears, but so were his piercing green ones. An unspoken wave of love passed through them, and Harry knew in that moment that he would never, ever want to look at anyone else in his entire life. Ginny leaned down and kissed him softly, their first kiss since being reunited. She let her lips linger on his for a moment before pulling away and gazing at him once more. "Ginny?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I know this is really silly, and probably totally inappropriate given the circumstances, but I really, really want us to just sort of…pick up where we left off. And be together again. Like a real, normal, teenage relationship. I want you to be my girlfriend. And I know you're probably scared, but I promise that I'll never, ever break up with you again, and I'll always protect you, and—"

Harry's rant was cut off by another kiss from Ginny. This one was a little more forceful, and soon Harry found himself wrapped up in her, unable to think about anything else in the world. When they finally broke apart, Ginny reached up to tie her hair away from her face before settling back down in the crook of Harry's shoulder. "You can take that as a yes, Harry." She smiled, and as he gazed down at her face, his heart burst with a joy that he'd never imagined he'd be able to feel again.