Chapter 4

"That memory wasn't as long as the last one," Ginny said as she sat down. Noticing a hot cup of tea sitting next to her seat, she reached out and took a sip.

"You're correct," Harry replied taking a sip from his own cup of tea, "More than anything I just wanted to show you how proud I was of you that day,"

"It was nice, are there any more like that one?"

"No, not like that one exactly..." Harry said slowly.

"What do you mean, 'not like that one exactly?'" Ginny asked.

Harry set down his cup of tea and responded, "The other two, the last two, are not as long as the first ones were either,"

"Oh, okay..." Ginny said slowly.

"What is it?" Harry asked, suspicious.

"Well, you do have tomorrow off right?"

"Yes..."

"And we don't have any plans for tomorrow..."

"None that I know of," Harry wondering even more what was on Ginny's mind.

"Well, do you think that maybe I could show you some memories of mine," Ginny said hopefully.

"You want to what?" Harry was surprised.

"You're not the only one with memories that you cherish. I think I want to share some of my favorite memories that I have."

"Like what?"

"Like you'll have to wait and see,"

Harry thought about this for a minute, then nodded his head; "Okay sure, I'd love to see some of your memories."

Despite himself and his worries, Harry was decidedly curious about what memories Ginny had that she was so anxious to share. He was excited to find out.

Ginny set her half full cup of tea to one side and sat forward in her seat. "You'll have to show me how it's done,"

"Sure, do you have a memory in mind to start with?"

"Yes, only..."

"Only what?"

"What happens to the memories once we've seen them?" Ginny asked timidly.

Harry smiled at her reassuringly, "Nothing at all," he explained, "They're still there in your head. It's kind of like you're copying them so that you can change your perspective. Instead of reliving it in your head from the point of view of being there, you're watching everything as an observer. And, as you've seen now, you can have others look at the memories with you,"

"So I won't lose them?"

"No, you won't lose them," he said confidently.

"Then I'm ready. What do I do?"

Taking a moment to explain the process of removing a memory, Harry showed her how it was done. He helped her to remove the first memory she wanted to share from her head and together they placed it directly into the Pensieve. Ginny stirred it around in the clear potion in the bottom of the basin and then smiled at her husband.

"Let's go!"

This time Ginny eagerly plunged her face into the bowl of the Pensieve and Harry was right behind her. When the fog of memory cleared, Harry recognized immediately where they were at. It was the Chamber of Secrets. Rather it was the Chamber of Secrets as it was in Harry's second year when he was twelve years old. It looked completely different than the last time he was there more then five years ago.

In this memory of Ginny's, Harry had just finished with his defeat of Tom Riddle, or rather the memory of him that had sucked at her life force to resurrect himself from his old school diary. He had nearly succeeded. Harry had only just barely stopped him from completing his resurrection and forestall Voldemort's return to power for a couple more years.

At the moment Harry was kneeling next to Ginny as he helped her to wake up. She opened her eyes and saw Harry. But it was his wife, now just a bit more than twice the age she was in the memory, whose voice he heard next.

"This was it. It was this very moment right here, right now; when I realized that I loved you. It wasn't the school girl crush that my mom thought it was. It was love," Ginny said as she laid her head on Harry's shoulder, "You had risked your life to come after me. You were nearly killed but still you survived and I knew then that my heart was yours and would be forever," Ginny said emotionally.

Harry looked down at her and saw tears in her eyes. What surprised him was the intensity of feeling that he could see in her face and, even more, hear in her voice.

"Ginny...I..."

Ginny put a finger over his lips, silencing him.

"Shh, I need to do this. You'll understand why soon enough, I promise."

Hoping that maybe Ginny was finally going to explain everything, Harry kept quiet. Turning back to the scene unfolding in front of them, they watched as Professor Dumbledore's Phoenix, Fawkes healed the Basilisk bite in Harry's arm with its tears. There were a few confused moments while they worked out what it was the fantastic bird had done. Then they were taken back to the Chamber entrance to meet Ron and then make their way back up to the castle.

It was a short memory. Soon enough they were back in the study. Harry looked at Ginny as she looked at him. The house was dark save for a few candles whose flames were dancing merrily in wall sconces that helped them to broadcast their light into the room.

Since Ginny had silenced him before, Harry wasn't sure if he should say anything now. He merely watched Ginny and noticed that she was anything but calm. She smiled at him a little fearfully and then touched the tip of her wand to her temple.

Her hand was shaking as she withdrew the next memory from within her mind. Harry came forward and gently placed his hand over hers to steady her as she deposited the next memory into the Pensieve.

"I know what you're thinking, Harry," Ginny began, "I'm sorry I have to do things this way. I promise you, you will understand everything soon enough."

Harry only nodded and then allowed Ginny to enter the Pensieve again. Becoming more and more curious with each passing moment, Harry was quick to follow her into the basin. He was surprised at what he found waiting there.

It was in the Gryffindor Common Room. There was a wild party going on. Harry recognized the silver cup that Ron was holding high above the crowd. It was Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts and Gryffindor had just won the House Cup. Harry was being pulled through the hole from the castle into the room.

Harry had just heard Ron announce the winning score of one hundred and fifty to one hundred and forty points. Then there was Ginny running towards Harry, eyes blazing and looking for all the world like she was going to hit him. Instead she wrapped her arms around Harry, and Harry kissed her. It was a long, deep, passionate kiss. And the common room went silent.

There was a cracking sound as the glass held by Dean Thomas shattered, but no one seemed to hear it. Indeed it barely registered with the older version of the kissing couple who were watching the scene unfold in front of them. Only this time instead of living it, they were reliving it through the eyes of spectators. It made for an entirely different, though no less meaningful, moment.

They watched as Hermione's face brightened into a beaming smile. Others around the room stared but with the exception of a precious few, the expressions on their faces were ones of joy and happiness. That Harry was kissing Ginny, and that she was fiercely kissing him back, only seemed to add another degree of rightness to the victory.

The pair broke the kiss and stared for a moment into each other's eyes. Then they joined hands to the tune of wolf-whistles and then nervous giggling. Harry watched as his younger self looked at Ron, saw Ron nod slightly, and then he and Ginny left the common room.

That same older pair who were only observers now of their younger selves, followed. Ginny spoke as they exited through the portrait hole and into the castle proper.

"I knew in that moment when you kissed me that we would be together. You were mine and all my doubts were gone. All my hopes and dreams were coming true," Ginny said quietly.

Harry looked down at his wife and she was smiling up at him, tears in her eyes. "You have no idea how happy you made me that day. I was happier than I had ever been. The next few weeks that we were able to spend together were like a dream come true. No one in that school was happier than I was..."

"Except maybe me," Harry said quietly and with a smile, "I was just as happy as you were I think. I may have been slower to come round with my feelings but doesn't mean they were any less intense when they did. Only when I finally realized that I liked you, you were dating someone else. Let me tell you; it was really hard to watch you date Dean Thomas when I wanted to be the one dating you. When Gryffindor won that match, I had some dreams of my own come true that day as well."

Ginny smiled up at her husband and then wrapped her arms around him holding him tightly. Harry returned the embrace. Then they kissed each other in that moment, just as their younger selves had stopped to kiss again in the corridors of the castle. Harry would have given anything to be able to extend the happy times he had with Ginny that year. It was one of the happiest times of his entire life up until then. Those few blessed weeks where he and Ginny first got to experience the joys of being a new couple together. The joys of learning about each other; each exquisite discovery the greatest find. The joy of that discovery only adding another degree to the depth of the love that was to develop and grow. How nice it would have been to be able to be together longer. Alas, at that time, it was not to be. Fate would intervene.

"Except," Ginny said interrupting Harry's thoughts, "that you had to leave. You had to go with Ron and Hermione and go and find those Horcruxes."

The couple exited the memory at this point back again into the study. The clock on the mantle was chiming at eleven o'clock.

Harry stared at Ginny as she went on, "I knew why you had to go. I knew it had to be you that went. A part of me really resented you for that. Even now it hurts to think about the dangers you all were in."

"We survived it though." Harry reminded her.

"Yes, we did. Most of us anyway..."

Harry too was reminded of Fred in that moment. He knew that Ginny missed him intensely. Growing up she had been closer to the twins than practically anyone else among her brothers.

"Maybe you might like to see my next memory then," Harry said quietly. "I think you'll understand why when you see it,"

Ginny looked at Harry with love in her eyes, "Sure, let's see this memory."

Taking the vial with the violet stopper out of its pouch, Harry poured the contents into the Pensieve and stirred it around with his wand. This procedure had been repeated so many times this evening that he was beginning to feel like he could perform it with his eyes closed.

Once again first Ginny, then Harry, plunged into the Pensieve. Once again there was the fog of memory until things cleared. This time the memory resolved into Harry in the Gryffindor boys dormitory. Ginny's eyes tightened and recognition dawned in them.

"Is this...?" Ginny asked quietly.

"Yes, right after the battle with Voldemort. I came up here because I needed to be alone. I ended up taking a nap for a little bit," Harry finished a little sheepishly.

"No one can say you didn't earn it,"

"Maybe not, but there's something I want you to know. You showed me those memories of yours, and this one here kind of ties in with what you showed me rather nicely."

At Ginny's inquisitive look, Harry said, "Just watch."

Eighteen year old Harry was lying in his bed, his eyes open. He had just awaked. He was laying there looking up at the ceiling but seeing nothing. Then Harry's expression changed and he suddenly got up and out of his bed. He paused for a moment, seeming to make a decision, and then he reached over and pulled his Invisibility Cloak off the bed where it was sitting and pulled it on over the top of him. Eighteen year old Harry disappeared.

"What were you doing?" Ginny said curiously.

"You'll see," Harry said. He couldn't help but feel a little smug about this; Ginny had been telling him essentially the same thing all night.

After a moment the two observers left the dormitory and went downstairs. They passed through the common room, the portrait hole, and then down several corridors and staircases. Some of the staircases seemed to be having a hard time moving from one landing to another.

After a minute or two, they came to a stop outside the Great Hall. Harry and Ginny walked inside and there they were. The Weasley's, Hermione, and off to one side Hagrid and several of the Hogwarts professors.

Mrs. Weasley was speaking at the moment, and what she was saying could easily be heard, "I don't know if you should go up and talk to Harry right now, dear. When he wants to talk to us, he will."

"Mom, I need to see Harry. He didn't seem to want to talk to me earlier, and I need to talk to him. I need to know he's alright. Even if he doesn't want to see me."

"Ginny, that's just silly! No, you need to just sit right here and wait. He'll be along soon enough," Mrs. Weasley said lovingly and sternly.

"But Mom, I want to talk to him!" Ginny had said.

"Ginny, dear, if Harry wants to be alone we should let him. He's earned that right."

"What makes you think he doesn't want to see you?" Mr. Weasley said.

At that moment Ginny turned to Harry and looked at him, "You saw all that?"

Harry looked a little sheepish as he nodded, "Yeah, I saw that."

"You put on your Invisibility Cloak to come spy on us? Why?"

"Well...because. I needed to know..."

"Know what?" Ginny pressed.

"Well, listen to Hermione here. She sums it up pretty well actually..."

Ginny turned to listen to Hermione's suppositions on the topic of Harry and the Weasley's; "...think that Harry loves you all very much. You're exactly what he never had. You've been more of a family to him than his aunt and uncle ever was."

"You're saying that you thought of us as family?" Ginny was confused.

"Not quite, keep listening please."

Hermione was going on, "...Harry likes Ginny,"

"He does?" Ginny said.

"Yes, I think so. I don't think he knows that I know this, and I really don't think he'd like it if I told you, but I saw him several times staring at that map of his for hours. Sometimes he would even say your name when he slept."

"Why doesn't he say anything then?" Ginny asked.

Harry watched as Ginny observed her younger self. He made an observation; "You're still confused, aren't you."

"Yes, I am," Ginny admitted, "What are you trying to show me? Or tell me?"

"Well, in sixth year I finally got my chance to go out with you. It was the greatest, most fantastic, most wonderful time of my life. But it could only last for a few short weeks. What I didn't know, what I didn't realize, was that during those few short weeks that we were together, I fell in love. Not a schoolboy crush, but real love. I would stare at the Marauder's Map for hours watching you, desperate to find some way to be able to know you were okay. It was the hardest thing in the world to come back and face Voldemort. It was even more difficult to know that you were risking your life to help fight that battle. As bad as that was, I'm glad things turned out the way they did," Harry explained.

"Okay, so why come down and spy on us the way you did here?" Ginny wanted to know.

"Because I wasn't sure that after everything that I'd put you through, after everything I'd done to upset you, and especially after Fred and everyone was killed, after all of that, I wasn't sure that you still would want to be with me."

Ginny shook her head at Harry, "How could you think that? Of course I still wanted to be with you. Then and now."

"I know that now, but I didn't then. I needed the reassurance."

Harry sighed deeply and went on, "I know that first night after everything was over, the one where we stayed up and talked at Aunt Muriel's I made the mistake of not telling you how I felt about you. I had meant to, but never did. I know I hurt you because of that."

Ginny took Harry's hands in hers and stared long and hard into his eyes. There were no hint of any kind of unhappiness or insecurity her eyes, Harry noticed.

"What it was that I wanted you to know, the part that I think ties in with the memories that you showed me, is that I wanted to be with you. You and only you. Things were over with Voldemort and we could finally be a couple."

"Well, I think that you made the right decision. It seems though that you took long enough to make that decision though." Ginny said. Harry knew she was kidding around with him a bit, but didn't entirely take it that way.

"I think I need to show you my last memory." Harry said quietly.

Ginny nodded in understanding. That was the moment when they left the Pensieve.