Ginny was sitting in a chair before the mirror in the bathroom that she and Hermione shared while Lavender Brown, of all people, tamed the thicket of curls that had resulted from the magically curling hair tonic that Hermione had used on her an hour earlier. Today was Halloween and they were getting ready for the ball they'd planned. Originally they'd wanted a costume ball but McGonagall said no; claiming that sort of party was much more likely to get out of control.
"How much of the tonic did you use Hermione?" Lavender asked as she skillfully smoothed and pinned sections of Ginny's hair into submission.
"Well…" Hermione began.
"Clearly you used more than the directions on the bottle say to," Lavender said, "I've never seen anyone's hair curl like this."
"Well, since Ginny has a lot of hair, I thought maybe it'd take more tonic to get the desired effects," Hermione said as she wrung her hands, "I didn't destroy her hair, did I?"
"No," Lavender said, "It just has more curl that necessary and the effects will last a bit longer than usual."
"Like how much longer?" Ginny asked as she watched Lavender apprehensively in the mirror.
"It will gradually wear off," Lavender explained, "But I wouldn't be surprised if you still have slightly wavy hair two weeks from now."
"I'm sorry Ginny," Hermione moaned, "I should've read the directions more carefully. I just didn't think this would happen."
"It's not the end of the world, Hermione," Ginny said, "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad that Lavender is so good at fixing hair disasters."
"Me too," Hermione said, "Do you want me to work on your make-up while she works on your hair?"
"Uh, no," Ginny said quickly, not being willing to end up with permanently blue eyelids because Hermione still wasn't used to the difference between magical and muggle beauty products, "I'll worry about that myself."
"I could help you with that too," Lavender offered, "I've always wanted to give you a makeover, Ginny Weasley."
Ginny thought for a moment; while she had never shared Lavender's love of all things fashion; the girl never looked less than perfect. She had seen the outcome of several of Lavender's makeovers and the results were always positive. This could be just what she needed to catch Harry's eye the way she wanted to. Carefully she nodded her assent to Lavender before adding, "Please don't make me look like a fool or a tart."
"No worries, Ginny," Lavender said, "You're classically beautiful; you could just use a little tweaking."
"That sounds painful," Hermione muttered behind them as she coaxed wrinkles out of her eggplant hued dress with her wand.
Ginny closed her eyes and let Lavender's capable hands and wand work magic on her hair while she thought. It wasn't that Harry's feeling toward her had changed. They were still in love and counting down the days until their wedding, but it had been weeks since Harry had looked at her with any kind of lust or longing. He was just so busy with all his commitments, it seemed like he barely had a moment to spare on her anymore. She hoped that the ball tonight would give them an excuse for some much needed time together and maybe some romance. The last time they'd even snuck away to the astronomy tower was more than a month ago.
"What color is your dress?" Lavender asked, interrupting Ginny's thoughts.
"Its sage green with a violet sash" Ginny said, "It's in my room, you can go look if you want to."
"That's all right, just tell me what style it is," Lavender requested.
"It is strapless with a fitted bodice and then it flairs out from the waist. It is tea length," Ginny explained.
"Perfect," Lavender whispered to herself, "I can work with that."
Ginny didn't want to know what that meant; instead she closed her eyes again and thought back over the circumstances that had brought her to this current dry spell. Classes had gotten harder in preparation for their NEWTs at the end of the school year. They had a lot more homework and a lot less time to do it in. Harry's teaching responsibilities had increased as well. While McGonagall was favorably impressed with Harry's teaching abilities and the content of his lessons she wanted him to start assigning homework so that he could be sure that every student was grasping the theory behind everything that he was teaching them in class. So now, in addition to his homework he was reading and grading weekly essays from each of the seventh years. Ginny was reasonably certain that Harry's auror training was going well but she didn't get enough time with him these days to hear much about it. Quiddtich was the one thing that she knew was making them both happy. So far they were undefeated and she heard that there had been scouts from the professional teams in the stands during their last game. Together they were still taking the latest patrol but now instead of talking and catching up on their days; Ginny was doing all the talking and trying to keep Harry from falling asleep on his feet. She never actually saw him do it, but she was reasonably sure that Harry was using his time turner to accomplish everything. It was starting to concern her; he was squeezing extra hours into his already long days and not getting any extra sleep to compensate. She understood completely why there wasn't any time left in his overly full days for her but it didn't mean that she was willing to just continue forgoing his affections. She intended to have an amazing evening with Harry.
"You seem really stressed," Lavender commented as she continued to smooth out Ginny's hair, "Is everything okay?"
Ginny sighed and said, "Harry and I just haven't really had any alone time in over a month. I really need tonight to go well or I might just lose my mind."
"I have noticed that you two seem a little off lately," Hermione mused, "I can't remember the last time I caught the two of you…"
"Don't even think about finishing that sentence," Ginny practically yelled.
"Oh don't worry about me," Lavender said, "I could have guessed that you two were sleeping together."
"But we're not," Ginny said, "Hermione, go ahead and finish your sentence so that Lavender doesn't believe that we're sleeping together."
"I was going to say that I couldn't remember the last time I caught the two of you sleeping together in one of your bedrooms," Hermione said.
Lavender smirked before saying, "I knew it."
Hermione chuckled and said, "No not sleeping together like having sex, like actually sleeping; they used to sneak into each other's room almost every night at bedtime."
"Wait a minute, I have it on very good authority that girls can't get into boys' rooms and vice versa," Lavender said before blushing spectacularly.
"Whose dorm room were you trying to sneak into?" Hermione asked interestedly.
"Or, who was trying to sneak into yours?" Ginny added with a grin,
"It doesn't matter," Lavender said, clearly flustered, "How can you and Harry get into each other's rooms?"
"I'll tell you if you tell me who you've been sneaking around with," Ginny bargained.
"Deal," Lavender said.
"Before I tell you, you need to understand that it is a secret and you have to promise that you won't tell anyone else," Ginny said. When Lavender nodded her agreement she continued, "Professor McGonagall built a loophole into the charm she put on our doors since we are engaged and so close to our wedding. When the charm could sense that we weren't planning to use our rooms to shag in we would be permitted into each others' rooms."
"So you guys are like waiting until your wedding night?" Lavender asked, "That's so romantic."
Ginny nodded before asking, "So, who is he?"
"Dean, actually," Lavender said happily.
"Really," Hermione said happily, "That is great."
"Really great," Ginny added, "He's a really good guy."
"Thanks," Lavender said, "I think so too."
"How long has this been going on?" Hermione asked.
"About a month," Lavender replied.
"Why haven't we heard anything about it then?" Ginny asked.
"We started out as friends and we're taking it slow," Lavender explained, "Not to mention that you two don't live in the dorms anymore, you're over here. You don't hear all the gossip like you used to."
"What else have we missed?" Ginny asked.
"Well Luna and Hannah both seem to be have their sights set on Neville; but he hasn't made a move for either of them," Lavender said, "Also, Seamus is interested in Pansy Parkinson but seems unsure what to do. I think if she wasn't a Slytherin he'd've made a move by now."
"I've noticed that they seem to get on well together in class," Hermione said.
"Sounds like everyone is pairing up," Ginny added.
"Well everyone wants what our four Head students have, don't they?" Lavender said smugly, "Anyone who sees you can see that you're in love and it looks lovely."
"Thank you Lavender," Hermione said, "Are you and Dean going to the ball together then?"
"Yes," Lavender said happily as she stood back to admire Ginny's hair before readjusting a few curls.
Harry was sitting on the couch in front of the fire in the dorm that he and Ron shared. He had papers spread out across the long low table. There was a stack of essays to read and grade from his Defense Against the Dark Arts students, as well as homework assignments from four of his classes to complete; not to mention the auror handbooks he needed to study for his next lesson with Noah. Harry sighed and leaned back into the plush couch cushions. What he wouldn't give just to ignore all of this and go nap until it was time to get ready for the ball. Or better yet, find Ginny and drag her off to his room to be alone, and forget the ball all together. He knew that Ginny was starting to feel extremely neglected but she was being a good sport about it. She had seen how hard he'd been working to keep up with everything and was doing her best to help him out where she could. He was glad that they had tonight to look forward to; maybe he could make up for some of the time he couldn't spend with her just now.
He looked at his watch and determined that he had two hours until he needed to get dressed for the ball. He picked up the stack of essays he had to grade and brought them into his bedroom and left them on his desk. This way after he'd spent two hours working on his homework he could go into his room and use the time turner to go back two hours and grade essays until it was time to get ready for the ball.
Two hours later, which was really four thanks to the time turner, Harry put down his quill and rose, stretching, from his desk. He pulled his black dress robes out of his closet and laid them on the bed before heading into the bathroom for a shower and a shave. He was really looking forward to putting aside his work for an evening and spending time with Ginny. He intended to show her just how much he had missed her the past month.
"Hermione, can you zip me up?" Ginny asked as she appeared in Hermione's room clutching her dress around her chest.
"Sure," Hermione agreed. Ginny spun so her back was to Hermione.
When the zipper was securely fastened Ginny turned back and said, "Well, how did Lavender do?"
Hermione's eyes swept over the elegant pin curls that Lavender had sculpted out of the mess Hermione had created with the hair tonic; there were even jeweled hair pins scattered through out the arrangement that caught the light perfectly. Lavender had also helped Ginny with her make-up. Typically Ginny wore very little or no make-up; Lavender had done a wonderful job of keeping the make-up very natural looking, just highlighting her features. The biggest difference was the subtle, smoky eye make-up that illuminated Ginny's brown eyes. "She did an amazing job, you look beautiful. I think maybe you should hire her to do your hair and make-up for the wedding."
Ginny looked into Hermione's mirror at herself and nodded her agreement, "Now I just need to decide which pieces of the jewelry Harry has given me would look best with this dress."
"Actually, I have the perfect solution to that," Harry said as he appeared in Hermione's doorway.
"Harry," Ginny cried happily as she ran to embrace him, "You look great."
"I look like rubbish next to you," Harry said as he spun her around, "You look gorgeous."
"Thanks to Lavender," Ginny said, "She gave me a makeover this afternoon after Hermione made a mess out of my hair."
"What did Hermione do to your hair?" Harry asked as he peered at it suspiciously.
"She put too much curling tonic in it. I will probably have slightly curly hair for weeks to come. But it will be fine," Ginny said, "Lavender saved the day. Now, what were you saying about jewelry?"
From his pocket Harry pulled a small velvet box and said, "This is for you. As soon as you told me that your dress had violet in it I remembered that this was in my vault. I sent a letter to Gringotts and asked them to send it to me."
"You spoil me Harry," Ginny said as she accepted the box, "Thank you."
"It used to be my mother's; it's nice to know that her jewelry is getting some use again," Harry said proudly. Ginny opened the box to reveal a pear shaped amethyst pendant and matching earrings. The pendant was in a yellow gold setting with a trio of diamonds.
"Harry," Ginny breathed, "It is beautiful, thank you."
Harry took the box from her and said, "Let me help you put them on."
Hermione watched from her doorway as Harry carefully fastened the pendant around Ginny's neck and handed her the earrings to put in her ears before he pulled her into his arms and kissing her. When the kiss ended he looked into her eyes and said, "I've missed you."
"Me too," Ginny said, "Let's have a great time tonight."
When Ron arrived in the girls' dorm a few minutes later the four of them set off to the Great Hall together. Harry couldn't help but remember the other ball he had attended at Hogwarts as they walked. The ball during his fourth year was in celebration of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He knew already that tonight's ball would be immensely more enjoyable. Attending a ball with someone you loved was much different than attending with someone who agreed to go simply so they would have a date with which to attend. He watched Ron and Hermione walking down the corridor ahead of them holding hands; this ball was going to be different for them too. Four years ago they had not gone together; their relationship had not begun yet, but their feelings were already starting to simmer beneath the surface. Together they made a lovely couple and it made Harry glad to see his best friends so happy together.
When they arrived in the Great Hall, it looked amazing. All the plans that Hermione and Ginny worked on had come to fruition and the Hall was transformed. The walls and floor were a shiny black with a delicate silver design etched onto them. The pumpkins and candles that usually decorated the Great Hall for Halloween were still present; just in a more elegant form. The were thousands of black candles in silver candelabras floating near the enchanted ceiling casting a spooky, yet romantic glow over the Hall. Scattered through out the hall were large pumpkins that instead of being carved with evil or scary faces were carved to match the silver design on the walls and floor. It was elegant and romantic while still being very clear that these were Halloween decorations.
They were the first to arrive, but as the planners Hermione and Ginny had to meet the band when they arrived. While they waited Harry pulled Ginny onto the large silver dance floor in the middle of the room saying, "Maybe we should test out the dance floor." He spun her before pulling her into his arms and dancing to a tune that Ginny began to hum.
After a bit she said, "I never thought you liked dancing much."
"I don't," Harry said, "But it is different with you and trying out the dance floor gives me a change to touch you and have you in my arms, something I have been missing for weeks and weeks."
"Me too," Ginny agreed.
Shortly after the band arrived students began making their way into the hall. Somewhat reluctantly Harry and Ginny abandoned the dance floor; dinner was to be before the dancing. They found their way to their table near the front of the hall where they were seated with Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Lavender, Dean, Seamus and Pansy. Harry wondered if Pansy would feel odd sitting at a table comprised of mostly Gryffindors but she seemed to simply be enjoying Seamus' company.
Just as their food orders were arriving from the kitchens below Hagrid approached the table and asked Harry for a word. Harry gave Ginny a quick peck on the cheek as he rose and said, "I'll be right back."
Hagrid escorted Harry into the entrance hall before saying, "Your services as an auror are being requested by the Head Mistress."
"What's going on?" Harry whispered as they hurried not to McGonagall's office but out the oak front doors and toward the gates.
"Malfoy's trial concluded today. He wasn't chucked into Azkaban with his idiot of a father but put on probation," Hagrid explained, "His probation allows him to return to Hogwarts to finish his education and so he has arrived. The Head Mistress needs you to search his belongings and escort him into the school. You will accompany him to the Head Mistress' office for a review of the rules that he is to abide by while here."
Harry sighed and asked, "I'm the only one who can do this? Tonight is the ball and it is really important to Ginny that I am there with her. We've barely had two minutes together in the last month."
"Sorry Harry," Hagrid said, "Reed couldn't spare anyone tonight to deal with Malfoy but as a condition of his being back here, an auror needs to be in close supervision of his return tonight. He said we were welcome to put you on this assignment."
Harry grumbled under his breath, "The one assignment I'd be happy to let someone else take."
"Do you have your auror badge with you?" Hagrid asked.
"Shoot, I left it in my room," Harry said, "I'll just accio it."
As Harry pulled his wand from an inside pocket of his robes Hagrid said, "Accio your time turner as well so that you won't have to miss too much of the ball."
"Brilliant Hagrid," Harry said, "I can't believe I didn't think of that."
After his badge and time turner had flown into his hand they continued on toward the front gates, outside of which Malfoy was waiting to be admitted entrance. When they were just a few yards away, Harry heard Malfoy's familiar drawl, "What is taking so bloody long?"
"You'll hold your tongue if you know what's good for you boy," Hagrid gruffed, "You are lucky to back here at all and you'll show some respect to those in positions of power regarding your future back here. If you can't manage that, we'll send you right back home."
Malfoy sighed before saying, "You're right, I'm sorry." Harry was surprised to hear the grudgingly genuine tone in his voice. Hagrid opened the gate allowing Malfoy to enter, dragging his trunk behind him. When he stopped before them, Malfoy said as he eyed Harry, "I thought there was supposed to be an auror here to supervise my return."
Proudly Hagrid nodded toward Harry and said, "There is. Auror Potter was kind enough to take the time to come down and ensure that things go smoothly."
Malfoy gaped and Harry could see how hard he was struggling not to vocalize all the nasty barbs that were springing to mind. Finally he said, "Very well, let's get on with this then."
Harry meticulously emptied and studied every item in Malfoy's trunk. He used some spells Noah had taught him during training that would reveal if any items were concealed inside other items. Harry realized as he finished his work that he'd be surprised if Malfoy would jeopardize his chance to get back to normal life. From what Harry knew Draco had been an unwilling participant to the Death Eater activities his family had dragged him into. Nevertheless, his commitment to being an auror required that he complete this task thoroughly no matter what his personal opinions were.
"The items in your trunk are clean," Harry said, "Can you turn out your pockets?"
Draco pulled from his pockets his wand, a bag of gold, a pocket watch and a letter. Harry nodded and Draco returned the items to his pockets. Harry levitated the trunk in front of him and the three of them began to walk toward the castle in silence. In the entry hall, Hagrid took the trunk and left Harry and Draco to continue onto McGonagall's office. The walk to her office seemed much longer than usual in the awkward silence that hung between them. When they finally reached the gargoyle Harry said, "Snape," and it sprang aside. Harry gestured for Draco to precede him up the spiral stairs.
"Come in," Head Mistress McGonagall called when Harry knocked on the door. Draco entered the office ahead of Harry and took one of the seats that she gestured to in front of her desk. "Harry, I apologize for ruining this evening for you; I know you and Ginny have been looking forward to it."
"Its fine," Harry said as he took his seat beside Draco, "I'm needed here and I can make up the time."
Understanding his meaning she gave him an amused smile before saying, "Very well, let's get on with things. Mr. Malfoy, let me start off by saying that if the decision was solely mine to make you would not have been allowed to return here this year. I realize that you were released on probation but it is not your guilt or innocence in the atrocities that Lord Voldemort inflicted that concerns me. In the seven previous years that you have spent at this school, I have seen few redeeming qualities in you. You need to keep in mind this year that if you do not follow the rules and regulations set before you, I will use that against you to remove you from this school for good. Do you understand?"
Draco's face remained neutral as he firmly said, "Yes, I understand."
She handed each of them a piece of parchment that listed the expectations set forth by the Ministry. As they followed along she read, "One, you are expected to follow all the rules outlined for any student of Hogwarts. Two, there will be no tolerance for bullying. Three, all your mail in or out of the castle will be searched. Four, for you alone, any areas of the castle or grounds that are not your dorm room, class rooms or common areas are out of bounds. Five, Quidditch matches and Hogsmeade weekends are off limits for you. And finally, six, you will have regular meeting with Auror Potter and myself throughout the year to track your progress."
"We reserve the right to add to this list at any time as we see fit," Harry added.
"I understand," Draco said, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to return here this year and move forward with my life. I will not disappoint you."
"I should hope not," Head Mistress McGonagall said, "Draco, you may return to your common room. Harry, you may return to the ball, have a lovely evening."
Harry descended the spiral stairs just behind Draco and was surprised to see him waiting for him at the bottom. Harry sucked in a breath, preparing for the insults to start flying.
"Potter," Draco said, "I never thanked you for saving my life, so, thank you." Draco extended a hand and tentatively Harry shook it. "I know we have had our differences in the past but I'm back here to make a new start, I hope you can give me a second chance."
"Don't give me any reasons to question your motives and we won't have any problems," Harry said sternly.
"I won't," Draco said, "Thank you. Have a good night."
Harry headed back toward the Great Hall and tucked into a hidden alcove where he put the time turner around his neck and turned it once, taking him back an hour, which was approximately the amount of time he'd been gone. He kept a close eye on the entry hall and when he saw himself and Hagrid pass by he waited a few minutes more before returning to the table beside Ginny.
"That was quick," Ginny said.
"Actually it was about an hour," Harry whispered, "I used the time turner."
"What's going on?" Ginny asked quietly.
"Malfoy's back," Harry whispered, "As an auror they needed me to supervise his return under the terms of his probation."
"Wow," Ginny said, "How did he seem?"
"He seems sorry and like he wants to make a fresh start," Harry said, "Not that he has a lot of choice. If he puts one toe out of line, McGonagall will have him out of here so fast it'll make his head spin."
"Is your responsibility in his return over?" Ginny asked.
"No, as the on-site auror I have to keep an eye out and have meetings with him and McGonagall to check in on his progress," Harry said, "But let's be done talking about him and eat our dinner."
As Harry ate his dinner he looked around the hall at the Slytherin students. He wondered how Malfoy being back would change things. So far this year the Slytherins seemed to be fitting in and making a real effort to connect with students from other houses. While Malfoy was unable to cause trouble and bully, there was no real way to stop the other Slytherins from rallying around Malfoy and returning to their old ways. Harry sincerely hoped that everyone was looking to continue moving forward.
"You're awfully quiet," Ginny said as Harry picked at the remains of his dessert.
"Just thinking about how things might change with him back," Harry said.
"Who's back?" Pansy asked from a few seats down drawing the attention of the entire table.
"You'll all find out soon enough but keep it to yourselves tonight," Harry warned, "Malfoy is back."
Pansy paled noticeably but said nothing. Seamus turned to Pansy and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Pansy said, smiling, "Want to dance?"
Taking their lead all the couples at the table moved onto the dance floor. After dancing to several songs Ginny asked, "Can we talk about wedding stuff?"
"Sure," Harry replied.
"Mum says that we need an even number of ushers. You either need to ask one of my brothers to step down or find some else to ask too," Ginny said.
"How about Noah?" Harry asked tentatively. Harry knew that Ginny hadn't been Noah's biggest supporter in the beginning.
"You two do seem to have become pretty good friends," Ginny said, "I'd be fine with that."
"I know he and I didn't start out on the right foot and you took offense with him over that, but we are friends now and it sounds like when I graduate from auror training, he and I will be partners," Harry said.
"Really?" Ginny said.
"Yeah, I mean, it makes sense. He's training me; at the end of this year he and I will know each other's style and quirks better than anyone else. Its that sort of knowledge that leads to the best partnerships," Harry said.
"I can understand that," Ginny said softly, "I think you and I know each other better than anyone else on a personal level and we will shortly be entering a kind of partnership of our own."
Harry smiled down at her and said, "Yeah. Any other wedding stuff to talk about?"
"Mum wants to know if you want to invite the Dursleys," Ginny said hesitantly.
Harry was quiet for a moment before saying, "I don't know. Let me think about that one for a day or two."
"Fair enough," Ginny said, "How's that surprise you are working on for me coming along?"
"Right on schedule," Harry said with a grin.
"Any hints?" Ginny asked hopefully.
"Nope," Harry said as he bent to kiss her.
"Damn," Ginny said, "How about our honeymoon, is that all planned?"
"Just about," Harry said, "And don't even think about asking where I'm going to take you, I'm not telling."
Hours later as the clock was nearing midnight the four of them, as well as many of the professors were shooing students out of the Great Hall and toward their waiting beds. When the Great Hall was empty of students, a few well placed spells quickly returned the Hall to its usual configuration.
Headmistress McGonagall hurried over to them as they were preparing to head up to bed and said, "You four did a wonderful job on the ball. It was by far the best organized I've ever seen."
"That'll be Hermione's doing," Ron said.
"Thank you," Hermione said happily.
"Harry, might I have a word?" McGonagall asked.
"Certainly," Harry replied as he followed her further back into the Great Hall.
"I have been in contact with Reed and Kingsley about Malfoy's return to Hogwarts this evening. They wanted me to remind you that you should write up a report about your experience of tonight's events regarding Malfoy and submit it to them no later than Monday morning," She said.
"Okay," Harry agreed, "No problem."
"He didn't give you any trouble did he?" She asked.
"None," Harry said, "In my opinion, he seems remorseful and just hoping for a second chance to move forward with his life. He has done a lot of things that I do not agree with but I think his family had a lot to do with that. I'm not sure he chose his path of his own accord. He and I will never be friends but I do believe that there is still some hope for him to become a decent person."
"Thank you Harry," McGonagall said, "I appreciate your opinion."
"However," Harry added, "I agree with how you are handling his return; he needs to prove himself and behave as a model student if he wishes to remain. Anything less and he poses too big a risk."
"I'm glad you agree," She said, "You may go."
Harry joined Ginny by the stairs and together they made their way up to their dorm rooms. Together they went into Harry and Ron's dorm and closed themselves into Harry's bedroom. Ginny had been hoping to take a trip up to the astronomy tower but she could see how tired Harry was. "How many hours have you been awake today, thanks to the time turner?" Ginny asked him.
"Going on twenty, I think," Harry said with a yawn.
"You should go to bed," Ginny whispered as she begun unbuttoning his dress robes.
"Only if you come with me," Harry said, "Its been too long since you snuck into my bed to sleep."
"I know, I missed it too," Ginny said, "Of course I will."
When Ginny had stripped him down to just his undershirt and boxers he pulled Ginny toward him and settled her on the end of the bed. Standing before her he pushed her head gently down and began to carefully slide the bobby pins out of her hair one by one.
"There must be hundreds of them," Harry mused as he dropped them into a pile on the bed beside her, "I'm surprised you can even hold up your head."
Ginny laughed and wiped a single tear off her cheek as her hair slowly unwound from her head. She couldn't believe how sweet he could be sometimes and with a pang she realized just how much she had missed him in the last month. While she sat beside him in classes and at meals and she captained alongside him on the Quidditch pith and she patrolled beside him the corridors, there was nothing quite like these small moments they shared together. She promised herself that no matter how difficult the rest of the school year was she would make sure they had opportunity to share times like these. Their future partnership in marriage depended on making the most of what they had and not wasting even a second of it.
"Thank you," Ginny whispered when her still curly hair was free and he'd massaged her scalp a bit. Grabbing a tee-shirt out of his dresser she said, "I'll be right back."
In the bathroom she removed her dress and bra before pulling on his tee-shirt over her panties. She combed her hair and washed her face before returning to his room. He was already fast asleep in his bed with the covers drawn back, waiting for her. She climbed in and pulled the covers over them. He woke long enough to mumble, "Love you," and kiss her on the lips. She snuggled into his arms and whispered back, "I love you too."
Author's Note: A big huge thank you to Terraferme who not only did the editing/betaing on this chapter but has been going back through the previous chapters of this story to find my past mistakes. I am so thankful for your help!! You are amazing.
I want to thank everyone who has been reading this story and taking the time to review. I enjoy hearing from everyone so, so much. It means a lot to me that you would take time to send me even a tiny message letting me know that you are enjoying the story and that you want to hear more. Many of your names have become familiar and I love hearing back from you. So – thank you, thank you, thank you! It inspires me to write the next chapter that much faster, every time.
I think there is going to be one more chapter before we start getting into the chapters of the story dedicated to the wedding. Let me know if there is something you want to see before we get there. I love hearing suggestions from people reading this. Sometimes I'm too close and I can't see a really obvious direction that this could and sometimes should be taking.
If you want to see the jewelry Harry gave her there will be a link on my profile.
Anyway– thanks again! Best, Tinkerbell