Author's Note: I own nothing. All belongs to J.K. Rowling, of course! I know the ending of this chapter seems like a good place to end the story, but I have a lot more I want to write! Thanks for sticking with it and leaving all the wonderful reviews!
Chapter Ten
Harry awoke the next morning alone. He rolled over, expecting to find Ginny's hair tickling his face, but surprisingly found the bed quite cold and empty. He frowned. The night had been one of the best of his life. He'd fallen asleep truly smiling for the first time in a while, and it upset him that Ginny wasn't there now.
He reached for his glasses and gazed around his dormitory. Nope, no sign of Ginny. He was slightly worried, until he noticed a note.
Couldn't wake you, you looked so peaceful. I'm just so excited to get to work today I couldn't stay in bed any longer. See you on the Quidditch pitch. –G
P.S. last night was amazing. I slept better than I have in months. I love you.
He smiled, glad that the feeling was mutual. Hurrying to dress and get ready, he was on the pitch with her in less than half an hour. She was wearing track pants and a sports tank top, looking quite athletic, her long red hair swinging in a high ponytail.
"Harry! I'm glad you're finally up!" she smiled at him and grabbed his hand, swinging it between them. "There's so much left to do, but I think we can finish it today." Over the course of the next two hours, they performed some complicated magic to improve the condition of the stands and field. Just as they were putting the finishing touches on the goalposts at one end of the pitch, Professor McGonagall strode down the grass towards them.
"This is amazing work, Weasley, Potter! I saw you out here at nearly dawn, it's incredible how dedicated you are to this cause. I'm very proud." Professor McGonagall smiled warmly and put her arm around Ginny's shoulders. "The pair of you must be hungry, it's ten in the morning!"
Harry hadn't even been paying attention to his stomach. At her words, however, he realized that Professor McGonagall was right—he was ravished. "Yeah, I am." He glanced at Ginny, who nodded.
"Well, come in to the castle and get something to eat, I'd like to discuss something with you anyways."
Harry and Ginny followed her up to the castle, hand in hand. When they arrived, they noticed that the Great Hall had been brightened up significantly over the course of the morning. The pair sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table with Professor McGonagall and tentatively took platefuls of assorted breakfast items. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and addressed Harry. "Mr. Potter, what are your plans for next term?"
Harry coughed. He hadn't been expecting that. "Well…to be honest, Professor, I hadn't really thought about it." He looked at Ginny. "I hadn't really considered anything past this week, because honestly, I didn't think I'd be alive for next term." He glanced at Ginny, but her face had a blank expression. He wished they'd had a chance to talk about it privately before it came up with someone else.
"I'm asking, Potter, not because I don't think you're capable of achieving success outside of Hogwarts. I'm asking because I've been appointed permanent Headmistress at Hogwarts."
"Congratulations! You totally deserve it!" Ginny smiled.
"Yes, well, thank you, but the matter at hand is that I'm now in charge of appointing a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Harry stopped, spoon in midair, mouth agape. Was she insinuating what he thought she was insinuating?
"I have a proposal for you, Mr. Potter. If you will agree to return to Hogwarts for an extended seventh year, I will employ you as our Defense teacher for the term. You would be set up in your own private apartment in order to keep away from adoring fans and foes alike. You would go through intensive sessions with other instructors in order to achieve excellence on your NEWT examinations in the spring, and would teach regular classes with combined sections of other students. As I understand it, you have quite a bit of practice in Defense instruction already, do you not?" Harry looked at Ginny, who smiled and nodded at Professor McGonagall. "Good. Is it still your desire to become an Auror?"
"I really haven't thought about it. But yeah, I guess it is. I don't know what else I would want to be."
"Well then, we would have to prepare you for your NEWTs in Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, and Charms. I'm sure Professors Sprout, Flitwick, Slughorn and myself will be happy to assist you with that, if you're willing."
"I really appreciate it, Professor. I'll need to think about things with Ginny and Ron and Hermione, obviously, and take some time to think about it, but I'll try and let you know as soon as possible."
"Of course, I understand completely. While we're on the subject, what are your plans for next year, Ms. Weasley?"
Ginny swallowed. "Well, to be honest, Professor, I hadn't decided yet. A lot of it was going to be based on what Harry decided to do." Harry looked at her sharply. How could she base her future plans on his indecision? That was totally irresponsible! "But if he's coming back here, I guess I will too. I really could use some more time playing Quidditch, because I think I'm going to try and play professionally."
"Really?" Professor McGonagall seemed pleasantly surprised. "Well, I would certainly encourage you to continue your studies, and Gryffindor House would certainly benefit from a Quidditch Captain like you." She stood. "I'll leave you two to it then, but please consider my offer, Mr. Potter." He nodded, and she strode away, leaving them alone in the now empty Great Hall.
"Wow." Ginny said, placing her hand on Harry's knee and turning to face him.
"Yeah." He looked at her curiously, trying to gauge her reaction. He sensed a bit of enthusiasm in her eyes, but could tell she was trying to hide it. "So what do you think?"
"What do YOU think, Harry? This decision is totally yours."
"Well…I need to talk to Ron and Hermione about it, I suppose. It would be strange, being here without them, but I expect Hermione will want to come back. I guess I could do the teaching part, I mean it would just be like big DA lessons, right?" Ginny nodded. "And obviously, it would give us plenty of time together…and I don't know what I would do otherwise…and I guess I do still want to be an Auror, so yeah, I think I want to do it."
Her smile was brilliant, and she flung her arms around his neck. "I'm so happy, Harry! I really wanted to come back next year, but not without you, and I didn't think you would ever have a reason to come back to Hogwarts. I really do need another year of Quidditch, as we didn't play last year…and Captain! She said she'd make me Quidditch Captain!"
Harry laughed and hugged Ginny back. "I want to be with you, no matter where that is. But Hogwarts is perfectly fine, to start off. It's the only real home I've ever truly known." They pulled apart and gazed into each others' eyes for a moment. "Okay, what do you say we go finish that Quidditch pitch so the new captain will have a brilliant place to play next term?" Harry stood and offered his hand, which Ginny enthusiastically accepted. They strolled back outside, relishing the fact that they would get to take this walk together, hand in hand, every day for the next year. It was the perfect beginning to a new life together.