By the time Harry had freshened up and put on some new clothes, Ginny was sitting down at the dining table, talking animatedly with Sirius. Harry pulled a chair and sat down beside Ginny. He had barely taken his seat when Kreacher appeared by his side and started piling his dish with food.

As Harry dug into his food, he turned his attention toward what Sirius and Ginny were talking about. Sirius was saying, "You have that map? I must hear about how you have put it to use."

"Map?" Harry piped in, "What map?"

Sirius turned towards him. "Well, there was this map that James, Remus, and I created," Harry noticed the clear omission of Wormtail, "for Hogwarts. Helped us in keeping track of teachers when we were out of bounds or doing something nefarious," There was a bright smile on Sirius' face that made him look much younger than he was. "We left it behind with Filch for future troublemakers."

"Fred and George, the twins, found the map in their second year. At least that's what they told me. They gave me the map when they graduated from Hogwarts." Ginny added. "Sirius was referring to Remus as Moony. That triggered the conversation." She explained.

"Sounds neat. Must have been a nightmare to work out the magic." Harry responded.

"It was," replied Sirius, "But between the three of us, we managed to make it work."

"Managed to make what work?" It was Remus who had entered the kitchen, here to eat lunch.

"The Marauder's map," Sirius was quite excited to talk about the old school days.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Filch confiscate that map?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "I and James deliberately left it behind with him."

Remus's lips quirked into a small smile, "You are prone to exaggerations Padfoot."

Sirius harrumphed, "Anyways, apparently our guest here has had the map for quite some time now."

"Really?" Remus turned towards Ginny, "You managed to get it away from Filch?"

Afterwards, Ginny told them the highly embellished version (as told by Fred and George themselves) of how the twins had gotten their hands on the map, how they managed to figure out the password for the map, and how it came into Ginny's hand. From there, the conversation was all about how the Marauders had used the map in their time.

Silence only fell over the table once they had eaten and Kreacher was cleaning the table. Ginny tried to pick up her plate and take it to the sink but Kreacher slapped her hand away, murmuring that he should be left to his job. Looking abashed, Ginny sat down once more and turned towards Harry.

"How do you spend your time?" she asked, "There is so much you can do inside this house."

"Have you seen it already?"

Ginny gave a small grin, "Not all of it. But I couldn't help looking inside a few of the rooms that were open."

Harry heard Sirius grunt with pain.

"Sorry if I wasn't supposed to look." She did not sound sorry at all. If anything, she seemed inquisitive. There was a part of Harry that understood why she went out of her way to snoop around. She didn't come here out of her free will. She probably needed some reassurance that she wasn't sitting among Death eaters, even though she had said that she trusted them. One can never get rid of such suspicions this easy. In fact, it was weirder that she was this trusting towards them. Maybe the family visit had put her mind to some ease.

"It's alright. We aren't exactly trying to hide something here." What Harry said was technically the truth. The thing that they wanted to hide inside Number 12 Grimmauld Place was his existence. Everything else was of secondary concern. "One can hardly expect others to respect their privacy if they leave their rooms open invitingly."

"Is that so?" There was a faint pinkness that adorned Ginny's cheeks now. It appeared she thought that Harry's sarcastic remark was aimed at her when the intended recipient was Sirius, "Not even the Horcruxes?"

The silence around the kitchen was deafening. Remus dropped his spoon on the table. It clattered with a loud bang but no one turned to look at the source of the noise. All three pairs of eyes that belonged to the residents of Grimmauld place were fixed on Ginny.

"Sirius?" Harry growled.

"No," Sirius replied in an indignant voice. "I don't keep those notes out under any circumstances."

Before Sirius could continue, Ginny had interrupted him, "There wasn't anything about Horcruxes. But I thought you might be hunting Horcruxes. Everything in there pointed to that. You are looking into Voldemort's past, aren't you?" When Harry nodded, "Well the only reason for that would be that you are trying to find his Horcruxes."

"How do you know about Horcruxes?" Harry asked. Ginny turned away from him and in a faint whisper that could be heard clearly in the silent room, "I'd rather not talk about that." Remus was about to say something but Harry shook his head. "That's fine Ginny. Can you tell us how much you know about them?"

It was a moment before Ginny answered. The dessert laid on the table going unattended. Not one of them moved to eat anything off their plates. "I don't know which item is a Horcrux if that's what you are asking. Except for the diary. I know that was a Horcrux."

A thought flashed through Harry's mind. "Is it because of the diary that you know about Horcruxes?"

Ginny slowly nodded her head. She continued, "I know that Voldemort was obsessed with the founding fathers of Hogwarts. He wanted to find as many things of theirs as he possibly could. Especially of Salazar Slytherin. He thought he descended from him. He found two artefacts of Salazar Slytherin that I know about. One was a ring and another a locket."

Harry nodded towards Sirius who stood up and went upstairs. For a while, they listened to Sirius's footsteps as they receded upwards. When they had faded, Ginny looked at Harry questioningly, who simply waved his hand. "Just a minute, Ginny." They sat in silence for a while, listening to the clattering that came from upwards. Quietness reigned supreme in the room. They could hear each other as they took a breath. Kreacher stood still near the kitchen sink completely as if afraid that any movement would break the silence and that it would be terribly wrong to do so.

Sirius' steps sounded unusually louder as he climbed down the stairs in this complete silence. When he reached the table, he dumped the content of his arm on the table. Ginny's eyes widened when she saw what Sirius had dropped. Right on top was the tattered blackened diary in which once Ginny wrote so passionately. Trembling, Ginny reached out to it, but Harry was quicker. He quickly pushed it slightly out of her reach. In doing so, he also revealed the things hidden beneath the diary. There was a part of Ginny's mind that felt relieved at not having to touch the diary again. There was another part that was annoyed at Harry for pushing the diary out of her reach without asking her first. She chose to ignore the reasonable part of her mind that rationalized that maybe he wanted to show what was hidden underneath the diary.

What was hidden beneath the diary were two objects, both round, one small and one large. Ginny immediately recognized the two artefacts that one Morfin Gaunt wore when Voldemort visited him to murder his family.

"So, you are after the Horcruxes?" Ginny said. She felt a malevolence from the two objects that she had only felt from the diary once, "But, you haven't destroyed them yet?"

"It's more like we are unable to," It was Remus who answered, "There aren't many reliable ways to destroy a Horcrux. Sadly, we have access to none of them. Till we can find one, we are keeping them safe under lock and key."

"We do have a plan to get one," Sirius added, "Soon!"

"That's enough Sirius," Harry interjected, "Better take those foul things back. I am getting a headache from just looking at them."

"Harry is right," Remus added, "Now, I must say I have lost my appetite. Kreacher if you will." Remus had stood up from the table. Kreacher snapped his fingers and Remus' plate levitated in the air and zoomed towards the sinks.

"I am done too Kreacher," Sirius called out while picking up the Horcruxes, "I will be in my room if you need me."

Remus picked up his coat, "I am going to the Tonks. I will be late. You two eat up!"

"Of course, you'll be," Harry smirked.

As Remus walked out of the door his voice could be heard saying, "Don't dish out what you can't take."

….

Ginny stayed in the Grimmauld place for another three days. On the eve of that fateful lunch her youngest brother, Ron Weasley had arrived with his girlfriend Hermione Granger in tow. He couldn't come earlier because he needed to report to his office. Ron would stay with Harry, Sirius and Remus as long as Ginny was there. Though, it was Hermione who stayed there all day since Ron had to go to the Auror office. He was there in the evenings and Harry was grateful for that. Hermione had a unique talent for pestering him. He did not mind answering her questions but she had a knack for getting information that he would rather keep a secret. At least she would get uncomfortably strong. He was glad that she didn't know Legillimency. He had lied more times during those three days than he had in all of his life combined.

Still, Hermione's presence was quite bearable. She mostly left Harry alone. The library was her usual refuge when she wasn't with Ginny. That meant that during the day, Harry could spend time with Ginny without worrying that someone would interrupt their secretive conversation. For the most part, Harry had told Ginny about his life so far.

"Sirius picked me from the wreckage of my home after Voldemort's attack," Harry and Ginny found themselves alone in the afternoon after lunch. Sirius had retreated to a London flat since he was still infamous in Wizarding World. They couldn't take the chance if one of the Weasleys or Hermione recognized him. They were sitting in the kitchen around the dining table, lazily eating the delicious mango and vanilla ice cream that Kreacher had whipped for them. Besides them, Kreacher was standing at the sink, humming while washing the dishes. Hermione had excused herself after eating her lunch. Apparently, she had found an interesting book that detailed the history of house elves in wizarding households. Once Hermione had retreated to the library, the conversation turned toward Harry's life.

Harry continued, "He had a flying motorcycle if you could believe. He picked me up and went to Remus. Thankfully, the news of the attack had not reached Remus in London. Otherwise, it would have been quite difficult for Sirius to explain himself." Harry gave a wry smile. "Sirius explained to Remus about the switch." He shook his head, "Remus was livid that they didn't tell him the secret."

"I bet," Ginny interjected.

"Yeah. They decided to find Wormtail. I think Sirius wanted to kill him, but Remus wanted to capture the little rat. He knew that the blame would fall on Sirius, and Pettigrew admitting his role was the only way they could prove Sirius' innocence. They left me with Ted and Andromeda. The news still hadn't spread, so they didn't ask many questions. They managed to track him down. He got away, and killed a bunch of muggles in the process."

Harry fell silent. For a while, they listened to Kreacher humming the tune of some song they couldn't place. The humming was accentuated by the rhythmic clattering of dishes as Kreacher washed, dried and placed them on the rack.

"After that, Sirius and Remus decided that it was best to leave Britain for a while. We went to Albania. Ted knew some people there. Stayed there for about five years. That was when I first encountered Voldemort," Harry took a deep shuddering breath. Ginny stood up from where she sat opposite Harry and took a seat near him. She placed a hand on Harry's arm in a reassuring manner. Harry nodded gratefully and continued.

"He was just a wraith back then, living in the thick dense forest that I got lost in. He tried to attack me but couldn't touch me. Sirius and Remus later found out that it was due to the protection that my mother gave me when she sacrificed herself for me. Some ancient magic. That's when we knew that Voldemort was alive through some infernal means."

Feeling a bit parched, Harry waved his hand, the one that didn't have Ginny's hand on it, and glass flew from the cabinet. With another, a jug full of water came speeding towards the table and stopped with a screech. Ginny marvelled at the fact that not a single drop of water fell on the table. Harry took the jug and filled the glass to the brim. He took a sip. During all this, unbeknownst to both of them, Ginny's hand had slipped from Harry's forearm to his hand, where he was now holding it lightly.

"After that, we returned to Britain. Enough time had passed that people stopped actively looking for Sirius. Besides, there were more people here who could help us here. Remus and Sirius needed to find out how Voldemort was alive. After that, we remained here for the most part. There were times when we travelled abroad to find clues. It wasn't until the chamber fiasco that we had our first concrete evidence of what Voldemort had done to become immortal."

'The Diary?" Ginny whispered.

"Dark arts are a terrible dive." Harry said with a shudder, "I have been studying them since I was ten and they still unsettle me. But even in the dark arts, there aren't many ways which would allow one to survive a killing curse. But, information on Horcruxes is hard to find. This place is one of the few where you could find how to make one."

"I know, by murder in cold blood." Ginny looked absolutely revolted by the idea.

"That's the gist of it." Harry replied, "You see why we had to return to Britain. It was only here that we could access information like that with ease. Sirius and Remus suspected that Voldemort made Horcruxes. The diary was the proof that there were more than one."

Before Harry could continue his story, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He gave an apologetic smile to Ginny. She nodded in understanding.

It didn't take long for Hermione's bushy head to appear at the end of the stair. She was carrying a thick tome that she clutched to her chest.

"Oh, hello!" Hermione's voice was bright and chipper, "I thought I heard you two. I have something to ask you, Harry, if you don't mind?"

Harry gave Ginny a look. She grinned at him as if to say what else do you expect from Hermione.

Without waiting for an answer, Hermione walked towards the seat opposite where Harry and Ginny sat. As she approached the table, her eyes glanced downwards. She stopped for a second, her cheeks going pink, "Sorry for interrupting."

Harry frowned at Hermione as she sat down opposite him. His eyes followed where Hermione was looking a moment before. As he looked at the intertwined hands of his and Ginny, he became aware of a comforting warmth that was resting in his palm. He could now feel the softness of her hand and the slight circling motion that her thumb was making on the back of his hand. Her hand looked tiny compared to his own. It was light and smooth. There was a tingling sensation where their fingers were interlocked. All these feelings passed through him in a matter of seconds. The next moment, he wondered how long were they holding hands, and why did it feel so natural.

Ginny followed Harry's gaze. She was as shocked to see them holding hands. She meant to comfort him by touching his arm. When did she slip her hand into his, she had no idea. Though she had to admit, it felt pleasant. Yet, her first instinct was to draw her hand. She gave a tiny jerk as if to pull her hand out. But, at that moment, Harry tightened his hold imperceptibly. That was enough for her. There was a slight blush on her face, but she kept her hand interlocked with Harry's, fully aware of the warmth and comfort that she felt from their hand. Her heart was beating fast as if her mother had caught her doing something wrong. There was a growing lump in her throat and she was acutely aware of how sweaty her other palm had become. She had not felt this nervous since her first date with a boy.

Hermione, oblivious to the struggles of the two people sitting in front of her, was sitting in her chair. She had opened the large tome and was talking. Something that did not register on either Harry or Ginny. She finished her question and looked at them sitting there with a glazed look in their eyes.

"Harry? Ginny?"

Harry snapped out of his reverie and looked at Hermione, "I am sorry? Did you say something?"

Hermione looked at Harry and then at Ginny. She noticed the faint pink cheeks of Ginny and shook her head.

"You know what? It's not important." She gave Ginny a knowing look, "Sorry for disturbing you."

Hermione gathered the book in her arm once more, and before Harry could say something, walked out of the kitchen.

They stayed like that till the evening when Ron's arrival finally forced them to break apart.

Of course, Ron had his own issues with Harry. He had found that his alone time with Ginny would drastically decrease whenever Ron was around. Ron was not subtle about it. Harry suspected that Ron couldn't be subtle about a lot of things. He was also overly enthusiastic about Quidditch. In fact, Quidditch was his favourite topic whenever he would come to interrupt Harry and Ginny. Generally, he did not mind Quidditch talk, but during those three days, Quidditch had become his least favourite topic.

Harry suspected that Ron did not like him much. He had an inkling that it might have something to do with how much time he and Ginny spent together. He could understand where Ron was coming from. He was a stranger and from an outsider's perspective, he and Ginny must look uncomfortably close. He was just trying to look out for his sister. That did not mean that Harry did not dislike him back. He was not partial to people who interrupted his time with Ginny. It was a good thing that the Weasley family at least informed Remus before they would drop in for a visit.

These visits were occasional. It was likelier that multiple members of the Weasley family would have their visits overlap. They were all quite busy. Even Ginny's second oldest brother, Charlie came from Romania to check on her. He stayed with them for a night before going back to Romania. Harry found that he was the most pleasant of Weasley's brothers. Bill was always busy handling his family, so Harry didn't have much interaction with her. Ron and he shared a mutual hostility for inane reasons. Percy mostly would keep to himself, while Fred and George were jovial people that Harry would get along with, but he found their personality to be quite exhausting.

Maybe, it was because he had an actual chance to sit down and talk with Charlie. Mostly, they talked about Harry's travels abroad and Charlie's job handling dragons. He found that Charlie avoided mentioning the Burrow or his parents. Only once did he mention his parents, and harry could see the pain etched on Charlie's face as he realized what he had done. Even Ginny found it difficult to mention her parents. It had been a year since Arthur and Molly Weasley died, but it was clear that for the Weasley children, the pain of losing their parents was a fresh pulsing wound that they wanted desperately to ignore.

Yet, Harry had observed that the Weasleys were some of the happiest people that he had encountered. When they were together, those were some of the chaotic times during the decade that Harry had spent in the Black ancestral home. The house would be filled with chattering voices and laughter. The twins would be popping in and out of rooms trying pranks one after another. They called these pranks their experiments for a joke shop. Bill generally let them do as they pleased as long as they stayed within a limit. Fleur would be disapproving, but as an outsider, she did not have much influence over the twins. Though there were times when even she would be laughing at the twin's antic. Policing the twins generally fell to Percy. Percy also happened to be the butt of most of the twin's jokes. Yet, Harry had never seen him truly mad at the twins. Percy would huff and puff. He would scowl at the twins and tell them to cease their idiocy, but it would never escalate to a full row. Ron and Hermione would generally stick together. Ron's attention would be divided between his girlfriends and the antics of his brothers.

Then there was Ginny. She would laugh and smile with her brothers. Take part in pranks with Fred and George, especially if it meant pranking Ron, but there was a wall between them that Harry couldn't figure out. It was as if she purposefully kept them at arm's length. It was a mystery that puzzled Harry. He did not have much experience with families, but even he could tell that the Weasleys loved each other to death.

Generally, for a matter like these, he would turn to Sirius. But during those three days, Sirius was not present in his home. He had moved out to a London flat during those three days. He might have been forgotten in the muggle world but the British Wizarding World was too small for Sirius to show his face openly.

"Doesn't it become frustrating for Sirius, all cooped up like this?" Ginny had asked him during one of the few moments of respite that they had alone. Ron was in his office and Hermione had gone back to the Burrow to pick up a few things. It surprised Harry how much the Weasleys trusted them to leave their daughter alone there. Then again, it would be hard to keep track of anyone for long in a family as large as the Weasleys.

"Sometimes," Harry had answered, "Usually when he doesn't have a girlfriend."

"Muggles?"

"Well, those are his only options these days," Harry smiled. "Though he loves it. Says muggle girls love an escaped convict. More so if they are innocent."

"Really?"

"Well, he is never long without a girlfriend. So, I guess it is working."

Ginny gave a light chuckle.

"That's where he is these days." Harry added, "With his new girlfriend. And you know what's shocking, she's married."

"What?" Ginny's eyes had gone wide as saucers.

"Apparently, her husband is away on business. So, she and Sirius decided to make a holiday out of it."

"That's crazy."

"I know," Harry nodded, "I think she has a few screws loose. Has to be if she is dating an escaped convict accused of murder."

Ginny giggled. Harry would have liked to hear more of that sound. But their alone time came to an end with the arrival of Ron.

That was one of the few times that Ginny and Harry found themselves alone during her visit. By the end, Andromeda had deemed Ginny fit to travel through magical means. She had not experienced any relapse during her stay. In fact, she had been perfectly healthy ever since she woke up. Something that surprised both Remus and Andromeda. They kept their surprise to themselves though. If ever they discussed Ginny's miraculous recovery from the deadly spell, they did so out of Harry and Ginny's earshot.

The last night that Ginny spent in Number 12 Grimmauld place, found Harry and Ginny in the same position that they first had a talk with each other. Ginny was sitting in her bed, a blanket drawn across her knees and her cheek resting on her raised legs. Harry was sitting in a cushy chair that he had pulled close to the bed. The chair was turned slightly to the side as if to allow him to be even closer to Ginny. There was a soft light in the room coming from the bed lamp. It was nearly midnight. Both Ron and Hermione had gone to sleep. The only ones awake at that moment were Harry and Ginny.

"So, tomorrow's the big day," Harry broke the silence that pervaded the room ever since his entrance five minutes ago, "Finally going back home."

Ginny gave a slight smile. It marvelled Harry, how well he could see in the dim light when he was looking at Ginny. She spoke, "Do I have to? My brothers can get a bit annoying."

Harry chuckled, "I have noticed. Dealing with them is exhausting. I can't imagine how it must be, being stuck around that the whole summer."

"I would go mad without Hermione."

He gave a playful grimace, "Is the payoff worth it?"

"Hey," Ginny kicked him playfully, "Hermione can be fun when she wants to be."

"I don't doubt it," Harry replied, "I doubt that she wants to be fun most of the time."

Ginny laughed, "Her idea of fun is a bit different from a normal person's, but she is a good girl." She turned serious, "She is a bit more driven than most of us."

"I know."

"The last few years have been hard on her, what with the Voldemort returning and all this hate towards muggle-borns. She obliviated her own parents and send them to Australia to keep them safe."

"Merlin!" Harry was quite shocked to hear that.

"That's why she's been staying with us."

There was silence in the room for a bit before Harry broke it.

"Still, it must be a relief to return to Hogwarts."

Ginny groaned, "I don't know how much of a relief it would be, it's the NEWT year. The professors will drive us barmy."

"What subjects are you taking?"

"Transfiguration, Charms, Potion, Defense Against the Dar Arts, and Care of Magical Creatures. Why?"

"Only five subjects?"

Ginny laughed, "Five are a lot. Most students take four. I am taking an extra one because I like the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Hagrid. He is a real nice professor."

"Blimey. NEWTS must be really hard."

Ginny sighed, "You have no idea how lucky you are that you don't have to give OWLs or NEWTS. I wish I didn't have to. I want to be a quidditch player so I don't even need them."

Harry wanted to ask her then why did she worry about her NEWTs so much, but something told him to avoid the subject.

"I gather, you won't have much free time to hang around then?"

Ginny cocked her head and stared at Harry. Her gaze was penetrating as if she was trying to look deep into his soul.

"Why? Do you want to hang around Mr Potter?" she spoke as if she was playful, but there was an undercurrent of tenseness as if she was bracing herself for something unpleasant.

Harry tried to swallow the lump that had been forming in his throat. This was the dreaded moment that would set their relationship for the foreseeable future. They had hit off spectacularly well, but maybe all of it was in his brain. Maybe she was only being polite to him as a guest. Maybe she was just a friendly person. Oh well, in for a knut, in for a galleon.

"Yes, I would like that very much."

Ginny finally let out the breath that she didn't even know she was holding in. All her tension evaporated, replaced by a euphoria that she had never experienced before. Suddenly, she was giddy. She had this incredible urge to laugh. Suddenly, everything felt more cheerful. She wondered why. They had not even kissed yet. Even then, she felt happier than ever knowing that this would not be the end for them.

She gave a smile that spread from ear to ear, "I think I can make some time for you in my busy schedule, Mr Potter."

The morning after was a hectic one. The whole of the Weasley family came to take Ginny back. The whole of the morning was spent trying to track down Ginny's things from all over the house. She had barely spent five days in the house and only three conscious, but her things were everywhere. Harry suspected that if they had fewer people then they would have had an easier time putting all of her things together.

Remus, who had been spending much of the last three days with Tonks and Sirius also came back to see off Ginny and to meet the Weasleys. Harry and Kreacher were the only ones who had played host to the Weasley family in the last three days for some reason. Though, Harry intended to find it out as soon as the Weasleys were gone.

It took till noon for Ginny to be done with everything. After that, Harry and Remus managed to convince the Weasleys to stay for lunch. Kreacher was all too happy to serve a larger than usual meal for the Weasley. As he would put it, his skills were being wasted cooking for only three people. Harry expected sandwiches for such a hastily put-together meal. To his surprise, the lunch consisted of a three-course meal with appetizers and dessert. They generally did not eat such a hearty lunch, but it was hard to say no to Kreacher's efforts.

The lunch, as expected of a Weasley gathering, was a raucous affair. Once, they were done, the Weasleys slowly made their way to the fireplace to return to the Burrow.

"Thanks for everything, Remus. You don't know how grateful I am, for taking such good care of Ginny." Harry could hear Bill saying as he made his way towards the gaggle of Weasleys standing around. As he approached, Bill's attention turned towards him.

"You too, Harry. I appreciate your effort for making the visit as hospitable for Ginny as possible." He clapped Harry's shoulder.

Fleur gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you for taking care of Ginny. Bill was so worried about her." Harry nodded his head.

The rest of the Weasleys followed Bill and Fleur in a murmur of thank you and handshakes, till only Ron and Hermione were left beside Ginny.

Ron gave him a stiff nod, but before he could floo out, Harry stuck out his hand, "I hope you enjoyed your stay. It was a pleasure having you."

Ron stared at him as if he had grown a second head. Nonetheless, he took his hand and shook it muttering, "Same here." Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see that Ginny was beaming at him. Mission accomplished.

His words were more sincere towards the bushy-haired girl. She was a more pleasant guest and had been bearable despite her annoying habit of finding the truth. He genuinely felt like they could be friends if he could bear to spend some time with her.

Hermione shook his hand, "Thank you Harry, and um, Sorry about when we first met. I was quite rude to you."

Harry smiled at her, "It's alright. Ginny explained everything to me."

She blushed faintly. "That doesn't excuse my behaviour. I shouldn't be so shortsighted when meeting people. I have been trying to fight bigotry in the wizarding world, and that was quite shallow of me."

Harry could feel a long-winded tirade coming, so he decided to stave it off before it would begin. "As I said, it's okay. Goodbye."

At least, Hermione could take a hint, unlike Ron. Finally, it was time to say goodbye to Ginny. Everyone else had left. Remus had also disappeared somewhere, though neither Harry nor Ginny cared at that moment as they stood in front of each other.

"Do you think I can come back?"

The words were out of Ginny's mouth before she could stop herself. Harry's heart had swelled to the point where it was ready to burst. He answered quickly, "You are welcome here anytime you want."

"It's not just that," Ginny looked quite serious, "I want to help. I want to help in destroying the Horcruxes."

Harry bit his lower lip. He wanted to share a lot with Ginny but fighting Voldemort was not one of those things, "I don't know Ginny. That's a difficult thing to ask."

"I realize that," Ginny looked towards the fireplace, "I have to go now. But we must discuss this when I return. I promise I can pull my weight."

Harry gave a wide smile, his anxiety forgotten in favour of the promise of a quick return from Ginny, "Sure."

Ginny couldn't help but smile back at Harry when she saw his wide smile. She threw a pinch of floo powder in the fireplace and spoke loudly, "The Burrow."

As Ginny came out of the fireplace, a shock awaited her in the Kitchen. Amidst the gaggle of redheads stood a brown-haired boy being hugged by Hermione and Ron. As she stepped out of the fireplace, the boy turned towards her and extricated himself from Hermione's tight hug.

"Hello, Ginny!"

"Neville!" Before the words were out of Ginny's mouth, she found herself in a familiar hug that she once found comforting.