"What do you smell in Amortentia?"

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

Like usual, Harry woke up when sunlight started trickling into Ginny's room. But just like the past couple days, he found that he couldn't bring himself to get out of bed just yet. How could he when he was holding someone who loved him? He thought he'd been happy on their anniversary last week, but that had nothing on the pure joy that filled him at the thought of Ginny loving him. After everything he'd been through, all the difficulties and loss, she loved him. As hard as the last year on the run had been, he was sure he'd endure it all again knowing that she would say she loved him at the end of it.

It was like a missing piece to the puzzle of Harry's life had just been put in place. He wasn't ever one to express much affection, but after she'd said that she loved him, he felt like he finally understood a little bit about what love really was. He'd told Molly, Arthur, Ron, and Hermione that he loved them last night, and it was true. His love for all of them was different, and none of it was like his love for Ginny, but he felt as strongly for all of them. They were his family, the best part of every day for him, and he'd do anything for them.

Granted, he'd already known for a long time that he'd do anything for Ginny. She was perfect, although probably a little barmy to be interested in him. That was the only fault he could find with her. He smiled as he carefully stroked her hair, trying to memorise every freckle on her sleeping face. Finally, once the room was much brighter than it was when he woke up, he kissed her– a few times– and left her to her peaceful slumber.

After he'd woken Hermione, he went outside, and once again, Bill had beaten him to the porch swing. Bill smiled at him when he walked onto the porch. "We'll make it one sickle today. I know you had quite the day yesterday."

Harry chuckled as he sat next to Bill. "That seems like a bit of an understatement."

"Didn't go exactly according to plan, did it?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. I was so worried when she ran away that she'd never want to talk to me again."

"Everything turned out okay though, obviously."

"Yeah, after a few minutes of her yelling at me. She almost slapped me too."

Bill laughed. "I told you she can look out for herself."

Harry smiled. "She definitely can. But in the middle of her yelling at me, she– she told me she loved me."

Bill looked at Harry, grinning. He punched Harry on the shoulder. "I told you!" he exclaimed, clearly very pleased with himself and his sister.

Harry rubbed his shoulder but was easily laughing with Bill. "Believe me, I'm glad you were right. I told her I loved her, and she let me explain everything. By the end of it, she at least wasn't wanting to yell at me or hit me anymore."

Bill was still smiling. "You did good yesterday. I know it wasn't easy, and it wasn't the way you wanted, but it clearly all worked out for the best."

"Yeah it did. You were right."

Bill chuckled. "Just call me Professor Trelawney because I can clearly see the future."

Harry was laughing once again. "That was an awful joke," he finally managed to get out. Bill just grinned proudly.

"Hey, where did you two end up going last night?" Bill asked after a moment.

Harry shook his head, still in a little bit of disbelief at it. "The one place we both like to go to when things get hard, Ginny especially. She apparated to the gates of Hogwarts and ran to our favourite tree on the grounds by the lake."

Bill shook his head with Harry. "Bloody hell. She's not even licensed and she apparated all the way to Hogwarts? She's impressive when she's pissed off."

Harry smiled. "She's impressive all the time." Bill snorted but didn't make any comment.

When Charlie came outside, he didn't even try to make any jokes with them. He was actually surprisingly quiet, and Harry thought he knew why. It was his turn to take the piss for once before Charlie returned to his usual, teasing state. "You know, Charlie, just because I'm a– how did you say it– a bloody fucking hero doesn't mean you can't talk to me. I still enjoy talking to mere mortals every once in a while."

Charlie gaped at Harry who grinned even though his face was turning red at his own boldness. Bill was howling with laughter next to them, wiping away tears from his eyes.

"I didn't think you had it in you, Potter," Charlie finally said. Then he gave Harry a one-fingered salute. "Fuck you," Charlie laughed as things became more normal between them once again. Charlie was an interesting bloke, Harry was finding. He clearly was very gruff and burly on the exterior, but he'd shown glimpses of a more sensitive side, especially last night. It was definitely curious, Harry thought, but he didn't dwell on it for long before they started making breakfast.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Ginny woke up feeling like she was floating. Yesterday had been a hard day for everyone, but the lasting memory she would always have was that Harry said he loved her. She'd wanted him to say it first, to move things forward on his time, but she'd been so upset and angry yesterday that it had just slipped out. It definitely wasn't how she imagined telling him that for the first time. But Harry had responded so quickly and enthusiastically that she was sure that he didn't feel pressured to say it back to her. He genuinely loved her, and his actions and the story he told last night only proved that further.

She sat up in bed, and as if on cue, Harry walked in, beaming at her as soon as he saw her. He quickly crossed the room and sat down next to her, kissing her gently. "Good morning, Blaze."

Ginny blushed. "Good morning, love."

He smiled slightly. "Oh, is that my new nickname?"

She grinned. "I think it might be. Don't worry though, I'll still make sure to give both Harry and Potter plenty of love too."

He kissed her again. "I like it… a lot." He proceeded to show her, for several minutes, just how much he liked it before he finally tore away, breathing heavily. "Breakfast– downstairs–" he gasped.

Ginny giggled. "Alright, just let me change." She got up and quickly changed shirts, pulling on a red shirt with a gold lion on it that Luna had given her for Christmas a year or two ago. She pulled her jeans on and turned to go find Harry on the landing, but she was pleasantly surprised to find him still sitting on her bed, smiling brightly at her.

"Why, Mister Potter… I guess I didn't ask you to leave, did I?" she asked scandalously as she walked back towards Harry.

He just shook his head, still smiling at her. "I'll have to remember that next time," she said with a wink.

He stood up and pulled her close to him. "I don't know… I've heard being in love can make you very forgetful."

She couldn't keep a straight face and finally laughed. He laughed with her, not the least bit ashamed to have seen the back of her while she was undressed. She kissed him on the cheek and, still laughing slightly, they went down the stairs together.

After breakfast, Bill pulled her aside. "I just wanted to tell you that he needs you."

She nodded, smiling a little. "I know, Bill."

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean you both make each other happy, and he told me that you said you love him, but–"

"When did he tell you that?" she asked curiously.

"This morning. He was very happy about it, to be honest."

She grinned. "And you're okay with it?"

Now it was his turn to smile and nod. "The two of you are perfect together. I think it's great. But what I was saying is that he needs you if he starts having another panic attack. When I wake him up, I hold his shoulders as still as I can, and I just talk to him, encouraging him to calm down and breathe slower. He responds pretty well to that, and he might respond even better to you. Just– I know you saw it at Shell Cottage, and I don't want you to freak out if it happens and you have to help him. But since Fleur and I are going back home today, I needed you to know."

Ginny nodded, understanding what he meant. "I'll take care of him, Bill. I promise."

He smiled. "I know you will. He'll do the same for you too."

Before they left, Ginny saw Harry talking to Bill, so she brought Ron and Hermione to her room. "Bill told me to look out for Harry while he's gone. I'm around Harry most of the time, but I wanted the two of you to know too. He said if Harry starts having a panic attack, he puts his hands on Harry's shoulders and coaches him to breathe slower and calm down. If you see him having one and I'm nearby, get me. Bill thinks he'll respond well to me trying to pull him out of one, but if I'm not around, that's how you should try and wake him up."

Hermione nodded like she already knew this, and Ginny guessed that she'd been reading what she could find about panic attacks since Harry had told them about it. Ron looked a little nervous though. "Is he still having those?"

Ginny nodded. "I don't think he's had one in a couple days, but they're probably going to stick around for a bit. He's supposed to see his Healer again sometime this week for them. There's not anything she can do magically, but she's just wanting him to talk about everything so he can hopefully get better at catching them before they get bad."

Ron nodded seriously. "Okay. I'll make sure to keep an eye on him then." Ginny smiled gratefully at the two of them and they all returned back downstairs just as Bill and Fleur were leaving.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Bill pulled Harry aside before he left with Fleur. "I know I'm not going to be here every day now, but I'll still be around, and if you need to talk to me, you're welcome any time at Shell Cottage."

Harry nodded, thankful for the offer, and Bill continued. "I told Ginny how I wake you up from your panic attacks, just in case you have one and I'm not around. She'll probably be really good at pulling you out of them, honestly."

"Should probably tell Ron and Hermione too, just in case."

"I think Ginny's doing that right now," Bill said, and Harry looked around the living room, not seeing the three of them anywhere. "She's going to take good care of you, Harry."

He smiled. "She already does."

Bill chuckled. "I know. I did mean what I said yesterday morning to the two of you by the way. If you ever want to get away from here for a few days, just come visit. We'll be glad to have you two around."

Harry looked up at the slightly taller man who had become so much like a brother to him in the past two weeks that it was strange to imagine not having someone like that in his life now. "Thanks, Bill. I really appreciate– well, everything you've done for me," he confessed quietly.

Bill just smiled and pulled Harry into a brief hug. "That's what family does."

Fleur kissed Harry on both cheeks. "Au revoir, 'Arry. Please take care of yourself… and Ginny too." Harry blushed a little and nodded, and the couple left just as Ginny, Ron, and Hermione came down the stairs.

"Where have the three of you been?" he asked, already suspecting he knew the answer.

"I was just telling them what Bill told me about how to wake you up from your panic attacks," Ginny answered honestly.

Harry nodded. "I'm glad you did. He told me he'd told you, and my first thought was Ron and Hermione should know too."

She grinned at him. "Great minds think alike."

Ron rolled his eyes, but Hermione was smiling at them both. Harry held a hand out to Ginny. "Walk in the orchard, Blaze?" he asked.

"I'd love to," she responded happily, at the same time that Ron asked, "What'd you call her?"

"Er– Blaze," Harry answered, unsure why he felt a little uncomfortable at the idea of Ron hearing his nickname for Ginny for the first time.

"Like that Slytherin prat?" Ron asked, not masking his look of revulsion.

Ginny wrinkled her nose in her own expression of disdain. "Gross. No, not like him. He's a creep."

"What's the difference? It sounds the same," Ron countered.

"Spelled differently," Hermione offered.

Ron barely kept his eyes from rolling. "You can't see how something's spelled when people are talking."

"You can use context clues to infer–" Hermione started, but she was cut off by Ginny, who, very succinctly, said, "It's not the same."

Harry cleared his throat a little awkwardly. "I honestly didn't even think about it. I mean… it's not like we ever knew him, and it's been… what, two years since the last time I saw him?" He realised that his justifications might not matter if Ginny didn't like the nickname now that its similarity to the Slytherin had been pointed out. "But I don't have to keep using it if–"

Once again, Ginny interrupted. "Don't you even think about stopping because of that. I didn't ever notice it, and I really don't care anyways. Blaze is better than Blaise to me."

Hermione laughed as Ron shook his head. "That's your call. Still… feels a little weird to me. Imagine if I started calling Hermione Pansy. That'd be…"

Harry and Ginny doubled over laughing as Ron caught sight of the disgusted and possibly annoyed look on Hermione's face.

"You know what I meant!" Ron quickly blurted out defensively.

Hermione shrugged dismissively. "Whatever you say, Crabbe. Enjoy your walk, you two."

They were still laughing when Ron, ears flaming red, followed Hermione up the stairs at a run. Somehow, they managed to make their way out the door and laced their fingers together as the pounding of Ron's footsteps faded.

"I'll keep calling you Blaze then," Harry said once he'd finally stopped chuckling. "But you know Gin is still my favourite nickname for you, right?"

She grinned and squeezed his hand. "And that is exactly why I love you."

Harry matched her smile with his own, and he wasn't sure it would ever go away, knowing she loved him.

They'd been walking for a little while, still holding hands, when Ginny asked him. "When did you know?"

Harry blinked and looked down at her. "Know what?"

"Well… I meant when did you know you loved me, but I just remembered you told me at Hogwarts that you'd tell me one day when you knew you had feelings for me."

Harry smiled, very clearly remembering both of the moments she was wanting to hear about. "I guess I can tell you, but you'll have to do the same," he offered. Ginny beamed and nodded in agreement. They stopped walking and faced each other as Harry began talking again.

"I don't know for sure when my feelings for you began other than that they started two summers ago. We were spending all that time together as real friends after the Department of Mysteries, playing Quidditch and having all sorts of conversations every day. It became like you were the person I was always wanting to be around, and I think I finally realised that when we boarded the Hogwarts Express for the start of term. Ron and Hermione had to do prefect stuff, and I was hoping that you'd find a compartment with me. But you–"

"I went to find a compartment with Dean, instead," Ginny finished, visibly annoyed with herself.

Harry nodded. "That was the first time I really noticed it, but I tried to convince myself that I was just wanting to be your friend. If I'd been smart, I would've known when I smelled Amortentia in Slughorn's class, but instead, I didn't know for sure until Ron and I ran into you and Dean… kissing after that Quidditch practice. I was really jealous, and I couldn't deny it anymore. But I still think that first day on the Hogwarts Express was when I really knew though."

Ginny was blushing slightly, but then she looked at Harry curiously. "What do you smell in Amortentia?"

Harry smiled. "I smell treacle tart, a broomstick, and… your hair."

Her mouth opened a little in surprise. "My hair?"

He nodded. "Yeah… it smells like flowers. I recognized it from the Burrow, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It took me all of my sixth year to figure it out, but I finally did after we got together."

Ginny smiled. "Guess you just needed to get closer to me."

"I always need to be closer to you." He leaned in and kissed her before taking some of her hair in his hand and smelling it exaggeratedly. Ginny giggled, and he said, "Best smell in the world."

Then he looked down at her with a searching gleam in his eyes. "What do you smell in Amortentia?"

Ginny's cheeks tinged red, but she smiled. "I smell chocolate, the leather of a Quaffle, and a broomstick." Harry was unable to keep his smile from faltering slightly. He was really expecting her to say something about him.

She giggled and lightly swatted his shoulder. "You're jealous!" she accused, and he smiled a little guiltily. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. I guess I should clarify that the broomstick scent is really ebony wood. That's the wood your Firebolt is made out of, and you always smell like that."

Now Harry blushed as she smiled sweetly at him. "Did you know the first time you smelled it?" he asked.

Ginny rolled her eyes but continued smiling. "Harry, I spent years with a massive crush on you, and you stayed with us every summer. I knew the second I smelled it that it smelled like you."

He shook his head. "I wish I'd been smarter back then."

She kissed him quickly. "It all worked out like it was supposed to."

Harry smiled and nodded. "Anyways… thinking about when I knew I loved you is a little difficult. Just because I wasn't sure what the feeling was, but now that I think I understand it, I know exactly when I first felt it. It's probably going to sound stupid, but it was when you told me that Quidditch captains turn you on. I was so embarrassed and thought I might've just mucked everything up, and then you made a great joke that made me feel so comfortable and at home with you."

Ginny chuckled at that memory. "I can't believe that's the moment you knew. We'd just kissed for the first time!"

Harry smiled. "When you know, you know I guess. I mean, my feelings have only grown since then. If there was any doubt, I knew it for sure after Dumbledore's funeral. Breaking up with you made me more sad than all the times I'd left Hogwarts to go back to Privet Drive combined. I know for sure that I loved you then, but I think I've loved you ever since our relationship started."

She smiled up at him. "I've gotta admit, those were some good answers." She kissed him quickly for emphasis.

He grinned down at her. "Your turn," he said excitedly.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Every day, they'd play Quidditch for hours. Harry and Hermione never stood a chance against Ginny and Ron, but Harry always seemed hungry for more. They'd come in sweating, tired, and laughing– except Hermione, who was usually very annoyed by the time they came in.

Harry had been looking at her differently. She had to admit that to herself. Hermione had nudged her a few times suggestively throughout the summer, as if Harry was slowly developing the feelings Ginny waited so long for him to find. She didn't believe it, but it was something she was keeping an eye on. To be honest though, she was always keeping an eye on Harry.

After one particularly fun game of Quidditch that left Hermione angry at all of them, Ron decided to chase after her for some stupid reason. Ginny and Harry were left outside, alone, but neither of them gave any indication that they wanted to go back inside. Instead, they walked together down to the stream. Ginny jumped in without hesitation. When she resurfaced, she saw that Harry was staring at her. She pulled the wet hair out of her face before splashing him repeatedly. He shook his head in surprise before he started laughing, quickly following her into the water, where they played like little kids together.

It was weird seeing Harry let loose like this. She knew it had been a hard summer for him. He'd brooded a lot, clearly missing Sirius. But in this moment, he was having fun with her, and she was determined to make it last. They must have been goofing off for an hour before they finally calmed down and sat on the grass next to the stream, drying in the warm sun.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

His smile faded slightly, and she was a tad surprised when he answered openly. "Not great, to be honest. It's been hard. I get sad and angry a lot. But stuff like Quidditch, like this–" he gestured to the two of them and the stream "– helps me forget about it all."

"You know you're not alone, right?"

He grimaced a little. "When I've got so many… things going on, it's just hard sometimes. To let people in."

"You should try to let people in more. You're a pretty fun guy when you're not moping around the house." Where had that come from? Did she just push it too far?

He snorted and started laughing, and relieved, Ginny laughed with him. "Thanks, Ginny. I think you're pretty great too."

They lay like that, talking about random things– Quidditch, school, when Ron and Hermione would finally get together– before Ron finally came out and joined them. The whole time, Ginny was wondering when did Harry start thinking she was great? And why did it make her feel like she'd just drank six shots of firewhisky?

Ginny smiled at Harry's insistence on hearing her answers. "It's a little complicated for me too, trying to explain when I first had feelings for you. See, before I ever met you, I had a crush on the idea of you from the stories Mum and Dad would tell me. But the first time I saw you at King's Cross, I had no idea who you were. I was just… speechless when I saw you. You were the cutest boy I'd ever seen, and I knew immediately that I'd never forget your eyes. After I found out who you were, it just combined both of those feelings, I guess."

Harry looked at her curiously. "The first time you saw me?"

Ginny nodded, feeling her cheeks heating up a little. "Yep. And when I set my mind to something, I clearly never let it go."

He chuckled. "I'm very thankful for that."

She smiled. "After my first year, I realised my feelings for you were deeper than a normal crush, but you were much too preoccupied with other things to really pay attention to me."

Harry frowned. "I wasn't quite as smart back then as I am now."

She squeezed his hand. "You grew up, and I was waiting for you. That summer you spent here two years ago– that's when I realised that even though I'd tried to move on, I wouldn't ever be able to. And then I smelled the Amortentia, and that was an annoying confirmation since I was still dating Dean, and I wasn't sure that you were interested in me. It took longer than it should've for me to break up with him, but like I said–"

He finished her sentence: "It all worked out like it was supposed to."

"Exactly. But I knew I loved you– like really loved you– that day underneath our tree when you made the carving and told me that the only thing you knew you wanted in your future was me. We'd barely been dating for a couple weeks, but I know without a doubt that I was in love with you then."

He smiled and kissed her. "Just think, we could've told each other back then."

She smiled back at him. "We could've, but the nice thing is we still have forever to keep telling each other it."

"I love you," Harry whispered.

She grinned. "I love you, forever."

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

The rest of the day provided a nice preview for what their summer would look like. Walks in the orchard, a sunset broom flight, and relaxing time with Ginny and the rest of the family.

When Harry joined Ginny in bed that night, she was already half asleep, barely mumbling "Love you," before falling completely asleep. His heart still leaped for joy at that, and he very gladly pulled her closer in response, smelling her hair as he joined her in their slumber.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

He couldn't move, couldn't feel anything after watching Snape's memories. He had to die. There wasn't another way. But he was too scared. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Instead of walking to the Forbidden Forest, he put on his cloak and hid in the Great Hall.

Within moments, Riddle and the Death Eaters stormed the hall. A hundred people died quickly, but he could only watch in horror as Bellatrix brought the Weasleys and Hermione to Riddle, unarmed and defenceless. Flashes of green light filled his vision as one by one, Percy, Charlie, George, Fleur, Bill, Arthur, and Molly all fell to the ground, motionless.

He tried to scream, tried to do something, but no words came out of his mouth. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

He watched as Riddle mercilessly tortured Hermione and Ron before killing them. Then Riddle stepped in front of Ginny, raising his wand as a cruel smile twisted across his face.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Harry jolted awake, almost jumping when he saw Ginny sitting on top of him, holding his shoulders. "Harry, you're okay. I've got you, Harry, just breathe. Shhh. It's going to be okay, just breathe. I love you, Harry, you're going to be okay."

Harry's breath somehow slowed almost immediately, and as he wiped the sweat from his face, he squinted and saw that Ginny seemed to be on the verge of tears. He sat up and hugged her closely. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

She kissed his neck and his cheek desperately as they both trembled in each other's arms. "I– I'm just glad I was here to help you. You kept saying my name before you screamed and woke up. What happened?"

"I– I saw Riddle killing you all. I'd been too scared to go into the forest, so he came into the Great Hall and killed you all in front of me," he said, and he felt a tear slipping down his cheek.

Ginny closed her eyes and a tear fell from her eye as well. "Oh, Harry. It's okay. I'm still here. We're all still here." She hugged him once again, and he pulled her tightly to him. He started when he saw, in the first light of dawn that was in her room, Arthur and Molly standing in the doorway.

Ginny felt him move and turned around to see her parents looking at them. "Are you okay, Harry?" Arthur asked, finally breaking the silence.

Harry nodded. "Nightmare that… apparently turned into a panic attack," he admitted.

"When are you meeting with Amelia again?" Molly asked. Harry frowned, realising he'd forgotten to schedule another meeting.

Ginny got off him and stood up, apparently realising the same thing. "You're going to send her an owl right now."

Harry nodded before remembering that he didn't have an owl to use. Ginny's gaze softened. "Oh… we can borrow Pig from Ron. He won't mind." Harry nodded, and he followed Ginny downstairs to write a letter to Amelia, asking her to meet as soon as possible.

Arthur and Molly followed them, and after he sent the letter, they all four sat down at the kitchen table. Molly cleared her throat. "Have you two been sharing a bed since we got back?"

Harry felt his face turn red and he looked at the table, a little ashamed that they'd been dishonest, even though they'd never outright lied. Ginny answered the question. "Mum– it's not… it's not like that. Harry and I wouldn't ever do anything… inappropriate here. We just– we wanted to be together after so long apart. It was helping with the nightmares too… at least, until tonight."

"I'm glad to know that you wouldn't do anything inappropriate here, though it does concern me that you left open the possibility of behaving inappropriately away from home," Molly responded sarcastically.

Harry was surprised to find that his face could get even hotter as he steadfastly avoided looking at either of Ginny's parents. "Molly–" Arthur started to say, but she cut him off.

"Arthur, this is your daughter, your baby girl! How are you not bothered by this?"

"I don't necessarily like to see it with my own eyes, but I trust both of them. We raised Ginny to do the right thing, and Harry– I'd trust Harry with my own life, or the lives of any of my children."

Molly turned a little red. "It's not just about trust, Arthur. Of course I trust them both, but Ginny's not even an adult yet!"

"And we were doing more than they were when we were younger than them," Arthur offered reasonably.

Harry felt a little nauseous at this admission from Arthur, and judging from Ginny's vice-like grip on his hand, she agreed.

"Arthur!" Molly scolded.

"Molly, after everything they've been through, I think they're grown up enough to decide what bed they want to sleep in, regardless of their ages."

Harry was proud of the way Arthur was defending them and treating them like adults. He finally looked up and saw Molly looking at them both tearfully. "They shouldn't be grown up yet," she said with a trembling voice.

Arthur lovingly took her hands in his. "I know. Believe me, I know. But we can't keep them from growing up, and if they're going to be sharing the same bed, even if they're really just sleeping and nothing else, I'd prefer we know about it rather than make them feel like they have to hide things from us."

She nodded and then spoke to Harry and Ginny. "I'm– I'm sorry. He's right, it's just– it's so hard to believe that the two of you are grown up. With everything that's happened… it's just so, so hard to believe. But… I do trust you, and I don't want the two of you to have to sneak around."

Harry was surprised. "Thanks, Mum," Ginny said, and Harry nodded his agreement.

"That really means a lot," he said quietly, very appreciative of the trust they were placing in him. Molly just smiled briefly at them both before her and Arthur went back upstairs. Harry and Ginny stayed at the kitchen table.

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Merlin, that was terrifying," he whispered, and Ginny laughed.

"You defeated Riddle and you're scared of my parents?"

He nodded. "Terrified."

Ginny grinned at him. "Good thing you're super brave and had your heroic girlfriend to protect you." Harry laughed with her, and they began their day earlier than usual, relieved that they had approval from Molly and Arthur that they definitely weren't expecting.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Ginny had seen one of his panic attacks before, and she'd been scared then. She was even more terrified when Harry's shakes and moans woke her up. She quickly turned to look at Harry, terrified when she saw his shaking, sweating body. He was gasping for air and moaning out something that might have been words. She tried to remember exactly what Bill told her, and she straddled Harry to get a firm grip on his shoulders.

"Harry, it's going to be okay. Hey, babe, calm down. I've got you," she said in what she hoped was a soothing enough voice.

"Gin– Gin– not Ginny– please– NOOOOO!"

Harry jerked awake, but his eyes were moving wildly, like he was trying to remember where he was. Ginny held on tightly, using sheer willpower to keep her tears from falling, seeing Harry in this state. "Harry, you're okay. I've got you, Harry, just breathe. Shhh. It's going to be okay, just breathe. I love you, Harry, you're going to be okay."

His breathing slowed, and he was okay. Ginny was so relieved that she wasn't even that bothered when her parents caught them in bed together. She was outraged at her mother treating them like they were children, but Ginny was still focused on holding onto Harry. Besides, her dad did a good job defending them, and he somehow– she still wasn't quite sure how– managed to convince her mum that it was okay for them to share a bed together.

The rest of the day passed without incident, and Amelia responded to their owl to let them know that she could come over tomorrow afternoon. Ginny was very pleased that night when Harry came straight into her room rather than swapping with Hermione after everyone went to bed. He did still seem a little wary of being caught by Charlie though. It was lucky for them that he'd decided to stay upstairs with Percy and George rather than move into the newly vacated room across the landing from Ginny's room.

He crawled into bed with her and asked, "Are you okay? After what happened this morning?"

She rolled over to look at him. "Honestly? It scared me, but I was just scared that I wasn't going to be able to wake you up."

He nodded, looking a little sad. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted me to stay upstairs and make Ron deal with me."

She shook her head. "Not a chance, Potter. You're my problem, and I'm very happy to deal with you."

He smiled at her. "You're the best. I actually calmed down faster with you than I have been with Bill."

She smiled back, pleased with herself. "Bill thought that might happen. It must have something to do with your undying love for me," she said, dramatically exaggerating that last part with a grin.

Harry pulled her close. "It must." Ginny fell asleep easily in Harry's arms, and they slept soundly through the night.

The next morning, Harry woke Ginny up gently, bringing her downstairs for a breakfast he and Charlie made after a lengthy wake-up snog. They passed the day lazily until Amelia came in the early afternoon. Harry had asked Ginny to stay there for the appointment, so the three of them sat outside on the bench. Ginny liked the informality of it all– it felt much more likely that Harry would open up about things in a place he was comfortable with.

"How are you doing, Harry?" Amelia asked.

He shrugged. "It's complicated. I'm doing really well mostly, but the panic attacks are still a problem."

Amelia nodded, pulling out her pad of paper and pen that she'd told Ginny about last time they saw her. "How many panic attacks have you had since the last time you saw me?"

"Three," he said, and Ginny frowned, only knowing about two of them. Amelia nodded. "Can you tell me when they were and generally what they were about?"

"I had one last Monday, which was… nine days ago. I'd been to a funeral, and the father of the girl who died told me it was my fault that she was dead. I went into one almost immediately where everyone that died during the battle was blaming me for their deaths. Then on Friday, I had one in the morning before we went to a funeral. I was remembering something… really traumatic that happened that involved that person." Ginny frowned, knowing that they'd gone to Snape's funeral on that day. Harry's panic attack must've involved his death or what he'd seen in Snape's memories.

He continued, "Then the night before last, I had a nightmare that turned into a panic attack. I dreamed that Vold– Riddle killed everyone that I loved in front of me, and I couldn't move or do anything to stop it."

Amelia was writing everything down, but Ginny saw that she'd paled listening to the horrors that were haunting Harry. It was hard enough for Ginny to listen to it all, and she actually understood exactly what Harry was talking about. She couldn't imagine how difficult it must've been to process from an outside perspective.

"And I don't think you ever told me the circumstances surrounding your first two, just what you saw."

"The first one I had was the first morning we spent here after we left Hogwarts, and the second one was late at night after a really difficult funeral," Harry answered.

Amelia tapped her chin with the end of the pen a few times, trying to think about how to proceed. "So I think there's some good news and some bad news in this. The good news is that you're on your longest stretch without a panic attack while you've been awake since the battle. It sounds to me like all of the panic attacks you've had while you were awake were somehow tied to some sort of event happening. Your waking attacks have been associated with changes in your environment– like having a panic attack your first morning away from everything– and funerals. Over the next few weeks and months, those sorts of triggers should become less common, but it is still possible that there will be random things that take you back there, and you'll have to be prepared for that possibility.

"The thing that concerns me more are your nightmares. Have you ever had nightmares like that before?"

Harry squeezed Ginny's hand as he grimaced. "Erm– sort of. It happened a lot the summer after my fourth year when I saw– well, Riddle killed Cedric Diggory in front of me, and I had nightmares about it for most of the summer. My cousin told me that I cried in my sleep, begging Riddle to spare Cedric. But I don't know that I've ever had any nightmares that were quite as– real, I guess, as a panic attack."

Harry hadn't ever told Ginny about those nightmares he'd had about Cedric before. She supposed there was still a lot that she didn't know about his past– they'd always been friendly but weren't really good friends until the year after Cedric had died. She also suspected that his cousin hadn't been as gentle about telling him about his nightmares as Harry made it sound, which pissed her off quite a bit.

Amelia had frowned and written down something else in her pad. "I remember hearing about that. Of course, at the time, it was denied that he had anything to do with it, but the word still got around. I'm so sorry you had to see that." Harry just nodded, clearly not having anything to say to that.

Amelia continued, "Has anything significant changed in your life between when you had your last waking attack and the nightmare? The nightmares weren't an issue before, and I'm wondering if a change in circumstances has changed the way your brain is trying to process things."

Ginny watched as Harry smiled and looked at her. She smiled back at him, knowing what he was going to say. "Well, I told my girlfriend I loved her for the first time."

Ginny quickly added, "I said I loved him too." As if that wasn't already obvious.

Amelia smiled briefly at them both. "Well congratulations to the two of you, that's fantastic. However… there is a good chance that has something to do with the nightmares."

Seeing the alarmed look on Ginny's face, she quickly raised her hand. "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it; in fact, I think it'll be very good for the way Harry processes things, long term. But his mind has also started creating scenarios in his dreams where he is unable to protect you while you die. It's very encouraging that his waking panic attacks seem to be slowing, but I am slightly concerned that his nightmares are going to take their place, and it may take longer to identify the triggers associated with them."

"So is there anything we can do to try and keep them from happening right now?" Harry asked, with concern evident in his voice.

Amelia bobbed her head a little as she thought about how to answer that. "Yes and no. Continue being open with your thoughts and feelings. If something is troubling you about the trauma you've experienced, tell somebody, whether it's me, Ginny, a close friend. Doing that has already allowed part of this to run its course. If the waking ones are truly just tied to events that take you back to the battle, it's much easier to protect against those. With the nightmares, my hope is that they're few and far between and we'll be able to find some distinctive triggers. Until that happens, I'd advise sleeping with somebody who can wake you up close by. But it's difficult for us to do much more until we really know what we're trying to fight against."

Ginny and Harry both nodded. Ginny wished there was more they could do to help Harry right now with his nightmares, but it was encouraging that Amelia felt like his waking panic attacks would be more infrequent now. Plus, with his nightmares, they basically had a Healer's encouragement to continue sharing the same bed, which was nice to have in her back pocket in case her mother changed her mind about their sleeping arrangements again.

"Thanks, Amelia," Harry said. "Are you sure I can't pay you?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Believe me, Harry, it makes me feel good knowing I'm helping, even if I'm not doing much right now. I'm still trying to learn about all this myself, but I'm very encouraged by your progress so far. Just send me another owl in the next week or two if the waking or sleeping attacks continue, and we'll go from there."

She told them goodbye, stopping inside briefly to speak to Ginny's mum before leaving. Ginny rubbed Harry's arm. "What are you thinking?" she asked, seeing that he looked lost in thought.

"Just that I hope she's right about the waking ones slowing down. I wish there was more I could do for the nightmares though."

Ginny squeezed his arm. "You've still got me to help with those."

Harry smiled. "I don't know how I ever got so lucky."

"Ditto," Ginny quickly responded.

A moment later, she asked the question she'd remembered. "You didn't tell me you had a panic attack before Snape's funeral."

Harry frowned. "It actually wasn't that bad, at least compared to some of the other ones. I was just back in his memories, hearing his and Dumbledore's conversation about how I had to die. Believe it or not, Snape thought it was wrong."

"He did?" Ginny asked. Snape had always hated Harry, and while she didn't think he'd ever actually want Harry dead, she would've guessed he'd want that over protesting against Harry's seemingly inevitable death.

"Yeah. He accused Dumbledore of– he said Dumbledore was raising me like– like a pig for slaughter, kept alive until I could die at the right moment."

Ginny winced. "What did Dumbledore say?"

Harry just shook his head. "He didn't really say anything. He already believed that I'd have a chance at survival if I willingly sacrificed myself, but he couldn't let anybody know. I couldn't have any possible hope that I'd live."

Ginny hugged Harry tightly. They sat like that for a long time, not needing to say anything, both knowing that each other's presence was enough.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Honestly, the meeting with Amelia went better than Harry had expected. She'd told him not to expect some magical cure to the issue right away, so he had pretty low expectations coming into it. He definitely was surprised that she thought the waking attacks would continue slowing down, and even though the nightmares were awful, it was nice that at least part of the problem was potentially being resolved. He still wished there was something more he could do, just so Ginny wouldn't have to be so scared if he had another panic attack in his sleep, but she'd seemed more than willing to help him however she could.

Thankfully though, for the next two nights, Harry didn't have any nightmares. The days were passing much easier than they had for the previous couple of weeks. He was enjoying all the time he was getting to spend with Ron, Hermione, and especially Ginny. George had his good days and his bad days. Some days he would stay in the public areas and might even make a dry joke or two. Other days, like today, George stayed in his room. He'd let Ginny in from time to time, but he still preferred to be alone most of the time. Arthur, Percy, and Charlie had all been going into the Ministry for the past few days. Harry was surprised when they returned for dinner on Friday evening because they brought a visitor– Kingsley Shacklebolt.

Kingsley looked exhausted, not that Harry was surprised. He didn't think being Minister for Magic would be an easy job at any time, especially when dealing with the fallout of the battle. Kingsley still greeted everyone warmly though when they sat down for dinner.

"How are things at the Ministry, Kingsley?" Molly asked after the food had been served.

He sighed. "Ups and downs, Molly. It seems like everybody is trying to use the chaos to further their own agendas, and I'm doing my best to keep things as orderly as possible while the new Ministry is built up."

"Any progress on catching the missing Death Eaters?" Harry wondered aloud.

Kingsley shook his head. "They've all done well getting underground. Our contacts that might've had information on them are either all dead or have no news, so our Aurors are starting from scratch. But we don't think it's likely they'll be trying anything anytime soon, and the longer they wait, the better chance we have of catching them."

Harry frowned but nodded, wishing there had been a more positive update. "Is it possible they've left the country?" Hermione asked.

Kingsley nodded. "It's definitely possible, but I'd consider it unlikely. The problem is if they did go abroad, none of the Ministries for Magic on the continent are really too inclined to help us search for them."

"Why not?" Ginny asked quickly.

"The previous administration was a shadow government for Riddle. The one before that wasn't in power long enough to do anything, and Fudge's administration was laughably weak and ineffectual, while also being incredibly prideful and isolationist. Basically, Fudge alienated a lot of Ministries, and the ones that were still on good terms with us have been soured by the Thicknesse administration."

"But they have to know this is better than when Riddle was running things," Ron argued.

"I agree. We're doing our best to re-establish connections with several different Ministries on the continent, but we're spread thin. A lot of people are still reluctant to leave their houses, not fully convinced that the danger has passed. There are also Muggle-borns hiding around the country that we're trying to find to let them know that it's safe for them to return to society."

Harry was a little confused. "But Riddle's dead. There were loads of witnesses."

Kingsley nodded sadly. "The problem is rumours have corrupted a lot of the story, and even though the Daily Prophet has reported a fairly accurate summary of everything being over, not very many people trust it after it's changed its stance on you and Riddle so many times over the last few years. Not to mention this isn't the first time Riddle's disappeared."

"Is there something the Ministry can do to make people aware that the danger is really gone?" Ginny asked.

Kingsley smiled a little. "Actually, now that you mention it, there is. We've been planning to have a memorial on the second of June at Hogwarts to honour all those who gave their lives at the battle. It's so soon after the battle that we're sure it'll be incredibly impactful and a moving tribute to all the heroes."

"But how does that let the public know that things are okay?" Harry inquired.

Kingsley looked at him. "Well, we were hoping–"

Hermione cut in: "You want Harry to make some sort of public appearance?"

Harry widened his eyes a little and looked at Kingsley who looked like he'd been caught. "Ah… yes, sort of. I was hoping that Harry would be willing to speak at the memorial. I read the speech he gave at Colin Creevey's funeral. It was very powerful, and I think it would be moving to have a similarly stirring speech at the memorial."

Harry had to admit that he was surprised. He didn't think Kingsley would've tried to put him in this position. Ginny rubbed his leg, and Harry exhaled, doing his best to stay calm. "That speech was on the front page of the Prophet. People already saw it. I don't think there's any need for me to give another speech."

Kingsley shook his head. "Like I said, nobody believes the Prophet right now. If you do deliver a speech, I plan on broadcasting it across the Wizarding Wireless Network so that everyone can hear the speech, directly from you."

Harry pressed his lips together. This was uncomfortably familiar to a conversation he'd had with a previous Minister. "You know, Rufus Scrimgeour once tried to get me to be a puppet for the Ministry too. I didn't like the idea very much then, and I haven't changed my stance on it since." Next to Kingsley, Percy visibly blanched at the way Harry was speaking, and he noticed Charlie looking at him with narrow eyes.

Kingsley held up his hand. "I'm sorry I gave you that impression, Harry. It's your decision if you choose to accept, and I don't want myself or the Ministry to have any input on your speech if you do decide to deliver one. I just know how important it is for people to hear something like this from you. For years, you've been the symbol of the resistance to Riddle, and the one thing everybody's heard, whether they believe it or not, is that you defeated him in a duel at Hogwarts. Hearing from you that the war is over would go a long way towards easing people's doubts and fears. I'm not asking you to make a decision right now. Take all the time you need to decide. I just wanted you to know that the platform is there for you to say your piece, publicly, about everything at the memorial."

Harry nodded and Ginny squeezed his leg comfortingly. "I'll think about it." Kingsley smiled thinly and nodded, seemingly knowing Harry wasn't going to give him anything more positive after the reaction he'd had. The rest of the dinner passed without any more conversation about politics or the Ministry, and when Kingsley left, Harry wandered out to the porch. Within moments, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron had joined him outside.

"So are you gonna do it?" Ron asked, straight to the point.

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure yet."

"Kingsley's not trying to treat you like Scrimgeour did, Harry," Hermione said.

"I know he says he's not, Hermione, but it just bothers me that I feel like he's still wanting to use me as a puppet for the Ministry," Harry responded, shaking his head.

"But at least you know he's on your side, right? He's not like Fudge or Scrimgeour. He wouldn't turn on you and make you out to be the bad guy if you disagreed with him," Ron reasoned.

"I think Kingsley's on the Ministry's side now," Harry responded cynically.

Hermione shook her head. "You can't keep thinking of the Ministry as your enemy, Harry. I know there's been some awful things that have come out of there, but you know Kingsley. He's a good man and cares about doing the right thing."

"For crying out loud, I know, Hermione! The Ministry made damn sure I'll never forget what came out of there," he exclaimed, showing her the back of his hand and the permanent scars left there by Dolores Umbridge.

"Harry–" Hermione started to say, clearly hurt.

"What does it matter what the Ministry wants?" Ginny interrupted her to ask. Harry frowned at her, not understanding. She continued, "Kingsley said he didn't want to have any input on your speech. He just wants people to be able to hear from you. You're the one who gets to decide what you say. Who cares if it's at a Ministry event? All people are going to hear are your words."

"But the Ministry–" Harry began but Ginny cut him off too.

"No, Harry. The Ministry may try to make you their puppet again at some point and put words in your mouth, but that's not what's happening this time. They're letting you say whatever you want, and I think you should take advantage of that. If you say what you believe, the Ministry's going to have a hard time going against that. I don't think you understand just how important you are right now. You're easily the most influential wizard in Britain, and the Ministry is freely giving you a chance to say whatever you want and let people know what you think is right. This opportunity won't come around often."

Harry frowned and ran his hand through his hair. It made sense, he had to admit. He still didn't like that the Ministry was affiliated with it, but thinking more on just what Kingsley had said, it did seem like an opportunity without any obvious catch.

"She's right," Hermione added, in case Harry wanted her second opinion.

Harry nodded. "She usually is." Ginny smiled at him, and he sent a letter to Kingsley that night accepting the offer to give a speech at the memorial.

That night in bed, Harry kissed Ginny softly as she drifted off to sleep. Her eyes fluttered back open. "What was that for?" she asked, smiling dreamily.

He smiled back at her. "Add it to the list– you help me see reason when my emotions get the best of me."

She snorted. "I thought you did that with me."

"I guess we do it for each other," he whispered, kissing her once more.

"I love you," Ginny whispered back to him, and he responded easily.

"I love you more."

They fell asleep, as usual, holding each other, and Harry thought his dreams couldn't be any better than his reality. Nothing was better than being able to finally live in love.

/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*

A/N: I promised more fluff and happiness in this chapter, and I think (?) I delivered. It was really important to me to have a chapter with significantly less stress right after the last one, and I also wanted to take some time to show Harry and Ginny sort of revelling in their newly declared love. Obviously, everything I'm writing is centred on their love and romance, but I knew it would be especially important to see them immediately after saying they loved each other for the first time.

It was a bit of an interesting exercise for me to identify the points where Harry and Ginny realised that they had feelings for each other and loved each other. Harry sort of explains exactly my thought process for him realising his feelings for Ginny. I felt like the easy answer would've been him and Ron running into her and Dean kissing after practice, but I think he would've been introspective after that moment and realised that it had started earlier. There was also another important reason for making that decision, but I can't say much more about it right now… sorry, authors have to keep some secrets! I wanted his realisation of when he loved her to be right after their first kiss because I really do think he was head over heels for her already, and I had the perfect moment already written in Ginny's memory in Chapter 6. It's so ridiculous, but it also feels totally in character. For Ginny, I thought it was really adorable to imagine that, for just a moment, she had a crush on Harry even before she found out who he was. And as far as when she realised she loved him, I felt like she might've been slightly less committal on it just because she had significantly more dating experience than Harry, and she probably did love him from the moment they got together, but the memory of Harry and her promising to be together forever in Chapter 4 really stuck with me as the moment that made perfect sense for her to know for sure that she loved him.

I made up Ginny's Amortentia smell, but it wasn't really that hard, considering it follows a formula like Harry's. My headcanon (I say this because I'm not 100% sure if this is actual canon or not and don't really feel like combing through every book to verify right now) is that Ginny loves chocolate… like *loves* chocolate. She'd definitely smell a Quaffle, which I imagine smells quite a bit like an American football if that helps anyone, and then I just needed a scent for Harry. HP wiki says the Firebolt is made of ebony wood, and that has a very nice scent I could easily associate with Harry, so that's what I went with. As a tiny teaser, literally every moment mentioned in that scene– on the Hogwarts Express, Ron and Harry catching Ginny with Dean, Ginny smelling Amortentia for the first time, Harry breaking up with her at Dumbledore's funeral, and seeing Harry for the first time– all have memories written for them that will appear at some point in this book or the next one. For anyone interested, I've written almost 70 memories, or about 63k words, spanning every year from when Ginny was 5 to the very end of the Battle of Hogwarts, and I've still got a long list of memory ideas to write at some point. Long, long term, I plan on compiling them all chronologically and releasing them as some sort of anthology for anyone who just wants to read Ginny's life story before SoR started.

I'll be honest– the tiny scene of Ron asking about the similarity between Blaze and Blaise is something I wrote about a week ago because someone pointed out that similarity in a comment. I don't modify the story based on comments, to be clear; the only reason I added it was because I remembered back when I was deciding on the Blaze nickname, I had thought about the similarity to Blaise and had decided to have a small scene like this basically showing that Ginny likes it regardless, and then I completely forgot about it until I saw people mentioning it. I was just glad I had a very easy place to slide it in, and I hope that my writing style hasn't changed so much that it's noticeable that it was a late addition.

Harry's development of nightmares in relation to changes in his emotional state was something very intentionally planned by me when I first decided to explore him working through panic attacks. As I've said before, I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV; I do research in order to try and represent things like this as accurately as possible. Harry isn't out of the woods with it all yet, but it's incredibly important that he's getting the help he needs, even if it's at the insistence of Ginny and Molly.

That does it for Living in Love! I really hope you all enjoyed this mostly happy chapter! I'm very excited for you all to read the next chapter for several reasons (none bad), so don't freak out when you see the chapter title…

Coming Tuesday: Panicking and Healing- "I know Riddle's gone for good, but that– that doesn't stop him from returning in my dreams."