Harry

Harry went back to his flat over-looking Diagon Alley and stared out the window, just thinking. Thinking of the people he had lost and the love he had found. He decided that it was time to pay Hermione a visit.

He apparated to the front step of the house she and Ron share, and knocked on the door. Hermione appeared in the window and smiled when she saw him.

"Harry! So good to see you! What brings you by?", as she greets him with a tight squeeze. He welcomes the hug.

"Sorry to drop in unexpectedly, but I need someone to talk to. You were the first person that came to mind.", he said.

"Nonsense! Come in. Would you like a cup of tea?", she bustled into the kitchen and busied herself with the tea kettle as Harry settled himself at the breakfast nook. A few minutes later Hermione joined him with two mugs of tea on a tray along with cream and sugar.

"So, what do you need to talk about?",she asked. Harry didn't quite know how to say it so he just blurted out "I'm in love with Ginny.".

Hermione looked at him for a second and then laughed out loud. " Oh sweetie," she said, "we all already knew that. What took you so long to figure it out for yourself?".

"Well… I… erhm…", Harry struggled to find the words, more perplexed by how everyone but him had know that he was in love with Ginny. "Well first of all, how did you…" he began.

"It's the way you look at her, the way you watch her from a distance.", Hermione said softly, taking his hand in hers. "Ron looks at me the same way, or so I've been told.".

"How long have you known?", he questioned, still trying to sort this out.

"Oh Harry, we've known since our second year at Hogwarts when the two of you climbed out of the Chamber of Secrets.", Hermione said. "It was so obvious even then that you loved her."

"So what do I do about it? I still have so much to deal with and I don't want to burden her with all of my problems.", Harry said, distraughtly.

"I guess what I failed to mention before was the Ginny feels that same way that you do." , she told him. "She wants to help you heal and leave all of your demons in the past. She told me that herself last week."

Harry's heart skipped a beat. She loved him too? He couldn't contain the goofy grin from spreading across his face. He finished his tea with Hermione and thanked her for her words of wisdom. He apparated back to his apartment and paced the floor. What would he tell her? Would she really be so open to help him move on from his incredibly messed up childhood? He guessed that the only way to find out the answer to that last question was to talk to her.