"Wake up! Harry, wake up!" Harry didn't budge. Ginny got up ten minutes ago and she needed to help Harry clean out his house. She shook her head. It was eleven o'clock and the day was wasting. She made her way to Harry's refrigerator and took a bottle of water. She quickly ran the cold water over to the living room. Ginny looked around to make sure no reporters were out side the windows. Then she finally poured the water on her boyfriends face.
"AH! What the hell, Gin!" Harry said wiping his face with his shirt.
"Oh, you're up!" Harry looked up at his girlfriend.
"Yeah, because you splashed water in my face!"
"What? I did no such thing!" Ginny put her hand to her chest like she was surprised.
"Your holding a bottle, that's meant for water, in your hand." Harry said pointing accusingly at the empty bottle in her hand.
"Because I was thirsty." Ginny spoke while smiling. Harry got up and stopped next to her. He got close to her ear.
"We'll just say you were thirsty, but don't worry, I'll get you back." Harry's whisper made Ginny get goose bumps on her arms. Harry left the living room and went into the kitchen. Ginny followed close behind.
"Well, Harry, what do you think we should start the day of with?"
"I don't care. How about some food? I have cereal if you want some too."
"Harry, you must have cereal every morning. How about I cook up something actually good?"
"How do you know I have cereal every morning?"
"Because you have six boxes of the same cereal and also I know how you're lazy you are in the morning. I don't think you'd take the time to actually cook up a good breakfast."
"Fine, what can you cook up quickly?"
"Why quickly?"
"Because Gin, not everyone gets an entire week off. I have auror training."
"Harry, its Sunday."
"What? I thought it was Thursday."
"Now you see why you need to stop drinking?"
"What do you mean? How did a mere mix up of the days tell you that my drinking is out of control?"
"Harry, you're a grown man. You should be able to tell if it's Sunday or Thursday. And the days aren't even that close together. It would make sense if it was Saturday and you thought it was Sunday or visa-versa. But when the days aren't even close, that should tell you something."
"I guess your right."
"I know I am. Anyways, what do you want for breakfast?"
"How about some eggs?"
"Poached, sunny side up, scrambled?"
"Scrambled, I guess."
"Alright I'll make some eggs while you go get dressed for the day." Harry turned and walked up a few steps before he turned back to see Ginny once more. Her back was toward him and she was starting the stove. Harry wanted it to be like that all the time. He wanted to wake up every morning and come downstairs to find the girl of his dreams cooking him breakfast in the kitchen. Harry chuckled at the thought and turned back to the next set of stairs.
"Alright, now that the trash can is full of liquor. We should talk about your smoking." Ginny said plopping down on the recliner in the living room. Harry gave her a mug of butter beer and sat down across from her on the sofa.
"Ginny, don't you think we should take a break from working. It's only three o'clock. And you will have six days to waste."
"I suppose your right. Then what should we do for the rest of the day. And no my mum isn't suppose to know I'm here. Like you said my entire family will jump to conclusions. And I don't want you getting in trouble with my brothers."
"You mean, 'you don't want me to get in trouble with your entire family'?"
"No, Ron knows I'm here, so that leaves six people on your arse. Then my parents trust you like you're their own. They don't think you'll do anything to hurt me. So that leaves four brothers on your arse if they figure out."
"Why the emphasis on if they figure out?" Harry said smiling.
"Oh that's because Fred will be on your arse twenty-four seven."
"Oh thanks for the reminder…" Harry's words were quiet. Ginny forgot that Harry was still feeling a bit sensitive to the casualties of the war.
"Harry, Fred doesn't even blame you. You weren't the one that blew up the wall. Percy was the one to distract him and we didn't even come close to blaming him. You were just a witness. You shouldn't feel bad about yourself."
"I know that. It's just that…it's hard not to think of what if's or if onlys. I just can't stop feeling guilty." Harry took a sip of butter beer to keep his voice from cracking. Ginny understood what Harry meant by it. It's hard to be the war hero but soon he would recover fully. Though doubts couldn't stop entering her mind. It had only been a month since she started Hogwarts and she already had to make a special trip back to help Harry out. How could she go back if she didn't know if he was going to fall back into his own ways? Ron would probably tell her if Harry was going downhill, but Hogsmeade weekend is three weeks apart. Three weeks. It only takes one day for something terribly wrong to happen. Like Harry getting injured, or Harry drinking until he drops, or Harry leaving town… But no, Ginny couldn't think like that when he was sitting right in front of her. She has time to spend with him now, mind as well use it as much as possible.
"Let's get our mind off of it. I've never seen a single muggle movie and Hermione keeps talking about them. I would really like to see one."
"Okay which one does Hermione always talk about?"
"Its one with a girl who has two evil step sisters and an evil step mom. Then she goes to a ball and meets her prince charming."
"Just out of curiosity, why was Hermione talking about that movie?"
"She said something about her prince charming. I think it was something about Ron and how she wished it was more like one of those stories."
"Well okay I can go and buy it at a muggle store right now if you want."
"Do you even know what it's called?"
"Yeah Dudley used to watch that movie all the time when we were growing up. Even though it was a girl movie, I still remember him crying at one point."
"Well I want to come with you!"
"Okay but if the press sees you and print an article about you, then it's going to be you who tells your mum why you weren't at school."
"Harry, I've never been to too much of the muggle world, what's life without a little risk?" Harry shook his at her enthusiasm.
"Alright well get your shoes on. Grab a hat and some sunglasses."
"Why would I do that?"
"Have you noticed that I haven't had many articles about me in the Daily Prophet lately?" Ginny thought for a moment then realized that there had been no articles about the Chosen One's activities.
"You found a way to hide from the press without polyjuice potion?"
"Yes, just sunglasses a hat and walking with your head down. They won't recognize you!"
"Okay, but they know that were together and that I have red hair so I'm going to try and put it up somehow so they don't see a suspicious red and black haired couple walking down the street and get any ideas." Harry shook his head. His girlfriend was definitely something. Not that that was a bad thing. It gave him another reason to love her.
There they were in a muggle movie store looking for a child movie called Cinderella. Harry was surprised that no one was giving him dirty looks for being in the children section. Ginny finally pointed out the movie that she wanted. The cover showed a girl in a blue dress with little mice watching her at the bottom. Yeah, that was definitely Cinderella. The couple walked over to the checkout counter.
"Oh, hello, is this all that you will be buying today?" The cashier, who was wearing a nauseating smile, asked in a bubbly tone. Harry nodded as he got out his muggle money. "Alright, well is this for your guys' daughter?" Harry paled. He didn't look that old and neither did Ginny. But they both had hats and sunglasses on. She probably couldn't tell that they were only seventeen and eighteen. Harry shook his head and looked over at Ginny. "Oh I see, you guys want a romantic movie night. Disney movies are perfect for that." The cashier lost Ginny at Disney. What is Disney? The girl name is Cinderella. This cashier obviously doesn't know her movies. Ginny was pulled back from her thoughts when Harry grabbed her hand to leave the shop.
"Harry."
"Yeah, Gin?"
"What was that lady's problem?"
"What do you mean? She was perfectly nice."
"No, the title of the movie was clearly printed on the front cover. But she called it Disney."
"No, Gin, Disney is the company that made Cinderella a movie." Harry's explanation didn't help Ginny's confusion, "Well…er…don't worry about it." Ginny nodded she knew that no matter how many times Harry explained it, he wasn't going to make her confusion go away.
"Probably for the best." The couple walked hand in hand down the streets of muggle London. They kept their heads down and made small talk until they got off the streets where no reporters could find them. Harry couldn't help but feel watched, like he had felt watched way back when he first visited his pub. The night he bought his first pack of cigarettes, the night where he made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
"Ginny, did you feel like someone was watching you, too?" Ginny paused for a moment then looked around.
"To be honest, yes, I did,"
"We need to get back home. Cross our fingers that no one took a picture of us." They sped walked to the alleyway where they apparated home.
"Harry, you don't think any reporters saw us. Maybe I should go home and tell mum why I'm out of school. She may want me to stay there but she won't go after you."
"Well, let's just wait to see if an article comes out. I mean you don't think that they would actually put out a rushed copy about us walking down the street together really?"
"You tell me, I have had only three articles about me. You've had millions since you were a baby." Harry shuddered at that. He didn't like thinking about his fame. He absolutely despised being famous ever since the middle of his first year at Hogwarts. The first half was him believing it was all a dream and not knowing how to cope with it.
"How about we just watch the movie you made me buy and then we'll start worrying." Harry put the disc into the movie player he bought a while back. Ginny didn't know how they worked but she trusted that Harry did. He was always the smart one in the relationship even if he wouldn't admit it. The movie started with some advertisements. Ginny didn't care about upcoming muggle movies that were supposively new.
"Harry, you don't have to tell me but, I was just wondering why you haven't contacted the Dursleys since the battle?"
"Well, I don't know if they're still in hiding or not. They were supposed to be living with Dedalus Diggle in hiding until it was safe. Now it's safe, so Diggle should have brought them back to their house."
"But wouldn't they want to see you and make sure you're okay?"
"No. They never cared about me. After I turned seventeen, I was on my way and I don't care what happens to them."
"Okay then."
"Has Hermione gone and found her parents yet?"
"She did way back when you were moping after the war." Ginny said ruffling his hair.
"She never told me that. Actually no one told me that…How did they take it?"
"Unfortunately they didn't like the fact that she went behind their back and changed their memories. They said that they need to finish the year off in Australia and then they were going to move back to Britain."
"Oh, she was afraid that they weren't going to accept her as a daughter anymore."
"They told her that they would never turn away from her. She thinks that they would really yell at her when they move back. Only time will tell. But for the time being, everything is going fine in Hermione's life." Finally the movie started. Ginny laughed at all the right moments, gasped at the surprising moments. Harry found it funny to watch Ginny during her first muggle film. Even though it was for children she seemed to enjoy it. Until a patronus came into the house. It was from Molly Weasley and Ginny had no idea what to expect. It looked toward Ginny and started to speak.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley. Why aren't you at school? A new Daily Prophet came out of you and Harry Potter. You shouldn't be out of Hogwarts Grounds. Report home immediately or I will find you. Bring Harry as well; in the photo he looked a bit peaky.
Ginny paled and turned to Harry. Harry seemed to feel the exact same way since he was also pale. That means the Daily Prophet reporters saw them walking together. But what could they whip up now?
"Harry, check your doorstep. I think the Daily Prophet made a rush copy of us." Harry hurried to the door of his flat. There on his welcome doormat lied a copy of the Daily Prophet rushed edition.
Princess Ginevra Left School for Prince Harry?
Did our Princess Ginevra Weasley leave Hogwarts for her prince charming Harry Potter? We were checking muggle streets for any news to report and we found the famous couple walking, holding hands, down the streets of London. They were both wearing hats that were covering most of their hair, and both were wearing sunglasses. They were walking with head down and very fast to not be seen. Little did they know that we were watching them the entire time. The couple entered a muggle video store. "They came to the counter and checked out a Disney movie called Cinderella. They didn't talk much. They seemed very reserved like they had no desire to talk to anyone else but each other. I sold them the movie and they left/" The cashier was a very helpful source. They obviously aren't a happy couple if they can't even talk to anyone in front of each other. Why would Harry Potter buy his girlfriend a muggle movie? All this reporter can say is for the public to expect a break up. More reports soon.
"I swear it's like they're trying to sabotage our relationship." Ginny said outraged.
"Ginny lets get you to the Burrow before your mum makes sure there's no relationship to be sabotaged." Harry said grabbing her elbow.
"Mum wouldn't do that; she'll just make sure that you get better while I go back to school."
"Well let's get you there now like your mum's patronus said." Ginny flooed to the Burrow followed by Harry.
"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! SO IT'S TRUE! YOU ARE OUT OF SCHOOL! WHY DID YOU DITCH YOUR SCHOOL TIME TO HANG OUT WITH YOU'RE BOYFRIEND. HAVE YOU EVEN GONE TO SCHOOL?"
"Mum, please, you don't have the whole story."
"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT SCHOOL! NOT BACK AT HOME! WHY DID YOU LEAVE HOGWARTS?"
Just then, Ron came out from his bedroom to see why his mum was yelling. He was greeted downstairs by his mum screaming at his sister and his best mate cowering behind her.
"What happened now?" Ron said before his sister answered his mum's question.
"WHAT RONALD? CAN YOU REALLY NOT SEE WHATS WRONG HERE?"
"Not really." Ron said shrugging.
"Your sister left school to spend time with her boyfriend." Molly redirected her attention to Harry, "Don't worry Harry; it's not your fault. You can't control what she does."
"Mrs. Weasley, it's my fault." Harry said in a small voice.
"No its not. Don't stick up for her." Molly said shaking her head. Her voice was still loving like how she always talks to Harry.
"No. I may have made a couple more wrong choices. And Ronald told her. She was only taking a break from school to get me back to normal and then she was going to go back to school." Molly nodded then looked to Ginny.
"Is this true?" Ginny nodded and stood next to Harry. "Well, when are you going back?"
"I have about six more days. McGonagall wanted me to stay until Harry has fully recovered."
"What happened with Harry?" Ginny turned to Ron, since he was the one who told her. Harry would be too much of a prat to tell her. He hates talking about his mistakes and he hates talking about his victories even more. He has always been a selfless person.
"Well, Mum, you know how Harry always has a lot of homework?" Molly nodded, "Well, Harry doesn't. He went back to the way he was way back in May. So I informed his girlfriend and she went to her headmistress. She is the only one who can take Harry out of any depression. That's why she's here."
"Well you could have told me you were here and not wait for an article to come out about you. You're lucky that Arthur didn't see it. He believes your education is important and you need to get back. Now that I know why Harry has been 'busy' I will make sure that he won't be pulling the same bull."
"Can I tell you that those excuses were all Ron? I simply said I couldn't come, he came up with those bloody excuses."
"Ronald! You knew about this and didn't tell me. I could have helped him but you kept it a secret for three weeks. Not smart Ronald, not smart." Mrs. Weasley wasn't yelling but definitely talking sternly. "Well, Harry, in that picture you looked a bit peaky. So how about you sit down and I'll find you a snack." Harry nodded as he took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Hey, mate." Ron said sitting across from Harry.
"Hey." Harry seemed to be short with Ron. What did Ron do now? Ginny kept thinking aloud. Ron glared at Ginny for a moment.
"Hey, Harry, I'm sorry for what happened the last time we spoke." Harry looked up at his best friend.
"It's alright, mate. It was my entire bloody fault right?"
"Well, sort of. I should have let Ginny know sooner. It was obvious I had no idea how to talk to someone going through what ever you were."
"Oh well, you can't undo the past. So…are we alright?"
"We are if you want to be." Harry shook his hand and his tension seemed to ease almost instantly.
"I'm sorry. What happened between the two of you?" Ginny asked completely confused.
"Ginny, I told you at Hogsmeade. I cornered Harry after training one day. I sort of lost my temper and told him off. Well not tell him off more like rudely beg him to lay off the booze."
"You got that part right. And don't think I didn't know you were following me." Ron's ears turned red. He actually didn't think Harry knew about that part. "Exactly."
"Sorry, mate."
"So, how's Hermione doing? I haven't seen her in three weeks."
"Well, she keeps bugging me to study with her. I don't know how you guys did it for six years. I'm already going mad and it's only been a month."
"It's quite simple really. I don't do it anymore but growing up with her I've learned to either change the subject or tune her out."
"Yeah Gin. I used to do it all the time." Harry said smirking.
"Not to me right?"
"Of course not." Harry's smirk turned into a smile and Ginny didn't know how to take that.
"Anyway, after you left," Ron said pointing to Ginny, "Hermione wouldn't stop worrying about you two. And then I can only guess how she's looking at the article about you two."
"Don't even remind me." Harry said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I mean, come on. How do you get 'future break up' by us not talking to the overly excessive and so-happy-I-could-be-sick cashier?" Harry laughed at Ginny's description.
"Ginny do you think you're exaggerating some details about her?" Ron asked then looked at Harry for back up.
"No she's spot on. I went in there to buy her the movie she wanted and not to go in and make conversation with a random cashier." Harry chipped in. Back up for Ron was never given.
"Why? I do that all the time!" Ron commented sarcastically. Ginny snorted for a second. Only Ron.
"I don't want to know the details. Anyway, hopefully Hermione is taking some worthy notes for me right now."
"Oh she is. After you left, that's all she was talking about. She kept saying, 'if she doesn't coming back soon, I'll take notes so she can catch up.' To me it was annoying that our topic was about you."
"Why? We're a hot topic. Just ask the Daily Prophet." Ginny said putting her arm around Harry. Harry snorted for a moment. He didn't want to be the hot topic.
"Yeah, but if I can only see my girlfriend every three weeks. I'd rather talk about something reasonable." Ron said wrinkling his nose.
"Wow, Ron. Big vocabulary. Maybe you dating Hermione is a blessing for many different reasons."
"Shut up, Ginny." Ginny shrugged, she thought what she said was true. Molly came back with a snack and a glass of pumpkin juice.
A/N: Now I'm sure that this story will be written in parts. I think this is going to end in a few chapters and then I'll post a new story that is linked to this one. It's just I don't want a story wtih sixty something chapters. Thanks :)
