Author's Note: Thank you everyone who is following along. Romione fans, you've been heard! Next chapter is Hermione's POV.

- Navygirl2395: thank you for the encouragement! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

- TheaMama: thanks for reading - from here on out every other chapter is Romione then Hinny

- DukeBrymin: I'm slowly going back and updating previous chapters on this story. Chapter 1 has been updated.

- duvakim: I love that you're enjoying the HBP moments, they've always been my favorite to dream up.

- Ksummerforever: that means so much! thanks. One of my favorite parts of this chapter has been exploring Ginny's character. There's so much to dive into.

- LadyKitai: Thanks for following along! Sorry for the time since the last update. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

HARRY

"I can't believe I did that," Harry said.

Ginny was grinning up at him. Even though it was darker in the corridor, her face seemed to glow bright and drive out all thought from his brain. He'd stopped and turned to her when the portrait door closed to make sure she was still happy, that she wouldn't push him away and run the other direction for kissing her in front of the whole common room.

"Took you long enough," she said, closing the gap between them and reaching for his arms. His mind stalled, his heart was pounding against his chest, so much so that he thought it might break free.

"I know, I'm sorry," he rushed out. "I ran up here as fast as I could."

Ginny threw her head back and laughed.

"Not that, Harry," she said and reached around his shoulders to pull him down into another kiss.

It was softer than before. More intentional, but not necessarily tentative, because the way her lips pressed against his felt very new and he'd do anything not to fuck this up. He felt clumsy. Before he could figure out whether he was allowed to or not, his hands found her waist, like something out of his dreams. But she didn't seem to mind because she was tilting her head back and pulling him closer and nothing had ever felt so good.

She smelled like the wind, the way she usually did after flying, mixed with those traces of floral scent that have been driving him mad for months.

"Oh," he said, connecting her words, and pulling back enough to take a breath. "You mean long enough to kiss you?"

A voice from above startled them apart. Harry only caught the last few words of the Fat Lady's stern request to split up and show some decency in "this public passageway."

"Erm - sorry - we'll just -," Harry started as Ginny's eyes narrowed at the Fat Lady with a strangely vindictive look on her face.

"It's only public if you're looking," Ginny said.

"And where else would I look?" The Fat Lady sniffed. "There's only so many dimensions to which I have access."

Ginny opened her mouth to reply, her face set in such a way he knew she wanted to argue back. He reached for her hand and pulled her down the corridor instead, taking the corner at a run, and he kept running.

"Why are we running?" Ginny laughed breathlessly.

"I don't know," he said, and he really didn't. He didn't know where he was leading them, or why he wanted to put as much space between them and the rest of the castle as he could. All he could think of was how Ron had nodded to him and that Ginny was still with him and he'd finally done something like confessing how he felt for her. "I just want to be alone with you."

"To what, swap Chocolate Frog cards?"

Harry laughed with her and took another random turn to avoid several students, following the daylight spilling into a hallway ahead. He pushed open an old heavy door leading exiting onto the quieter side of the castle grounds.

They stopped to allow their eyes to adjust to the sunlight and catch their breath. Harry put a steadying hand against the stone wall beside them, head briefly swimming from his two recent sprints through the castle on a lack of food.

He blinked rapidly and Ginny came back into focus.

She was clutching her side, back against the wall. "Can we stop running now?" She breathed, closing her eyes. "I stress ate about fifty sandwiches just now while waiting for you."

"You were waiting for me?" Harry said and grinned.

"Yes, you numpty," she said. "I was planning to take my chance to snog you today, but you beat me to it."

His pulse sped back up like he was running again. "I couldn't help it, you were running towards me and you had this look on your face and I - I have been wanting to kiss you for ages."

Ginny's cheeks flushed in that irresistible way he liked so much. He took a step closer, wondering how he might go about kissing her again or if it was too soon again for that.

"Here I thought you were so private," she said.

"Maybe I was inspired. By the win, and the Quidditch uniform," he said, looking down and immediately regretting it.

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "I hate to think what would've happened if Chang caught the Snitch."

"Wouldn't think of it. I don't even know the password to Ravenclaw tower."

She punched his shoulder. "I hope that leaves a bruise."

"Stop making me laugh," he said, trying to control his smile. "I want to kiss you properly."

"When you say properly…"

His attention slid across her face, taking in the freckles dappled across her skin, a tiny bead of sweat disappearing into her hair, the shine of the set of small golden earrings she wore, her long mane of red hair cascading down one shoulder.

He checked back in with her eyes, wide and warmed with a small flicker. Something like hope. She was here with him, and she looked almost as happy as he felt and that made him brave enough to bow forward and kiss her again.

The heat of the early afternoon sun was on his back and neck, but it was nothing compared to the feel of Ginny pressed up against him, their lips moving together, and her arms circling around his shoulders.

He marveled at how easy it was to finally be together, to still be able to joke and laugh with her, but now with this extra piece of being able to hold her and kiss her and it felt better than anything he'd imagined.

He became aware of his hands moving on her waist, down to her hips and pulling her closer. He broke away, feeling his face grow hot and uncomfortable.

"Sorry," he murmured, clearing his throat and giving her space. She smirked up at him, reflecting back that smug, mischievous little look she'd thrown him over the past two weeks, like she knew exactly what he was thinking. "It wasn't fair, you know. Flirting with me all those times like that."

She threw her head back, laughing and gripping onto the front of his jumper and pulling him back to her. "How else could I get you over my stupid brother?"

"Well, it worked."

"He knows, you know," she said.

"All of Gryffindor knows."

"Yes, but, he knew before."

"What? How do you know?"

"He told me," she said, grinning at his reaction.

"When? I thought he looked surprised just now."

"That's odd," Ginny said, wrinkling her eyebrows together. "You mean when you ambushed my face in front of a hundred people?"

"I guess… but he said he's fine with it?"

"What if he weren't?" she said in a whisper as she pulled herself closer until they were barely an inch apart.

He looked down at her lips, smiling and soft and pink and Merlin, she was even prettier this close up.

"Sod it," he said, and kissed her again and could feel her smiling against his lips. She guided his hands back to her waist and they stayed like that for several moments before Harry pulled away and asked, "But he's actually okay with it, yeah?"

"Yes, Harry," Ginny said, rolling her eyes and pulling his hand to lead him away from the castle.

The grass lining the path Harry and Ginny took up to the hiking trails was a new, almost neon shade of green. Clusters of golden finches were singing and chasing each other down the steep hillsides that surrounded the school.

Their feet crunched on the trail as they walked, falling into an easy cadence of conversation, reliving shared memories and revealing hints from the past several weeks that had led them here.

They ventured further from the castle with no particular plan, the surroundings growing wilder until they came to a branching off of three trails.

Ginny challenged him to the steepest path, racing him to the top while laughing, slipping on foot placements, and scrambling up the vertical grade. Just before the top, Ginny's foot caught on a stray root and sent her onto her hands and knees. Harry doubled back, reaching out a hand to help her, but she brushed by it, taking advantage of his stopping to finish the route.

He made it to the top, gasping for breath while she sat at the dusty ledge with a triumphant look on her face, letting her feet swing off the edge. He sat down heavy beside her while she dusted her hands off, finding minuscule cuts where the heels of her hands had broken her fall.

"Wonder what Trelawney would make of these," Ginny said, examining her palms and the scrapes on the heels of her hands. "She'll probably tell me I'm destined to escape some near death experience again."

"Here, let me see," Harry said, taking her hands in his and inspecting them. "Well, to me, and I'm sorry to tell you this …" he looked back up at her. "But it appears that you'll have strawberry ice cream for dessert this week."

"What a shame," Ginny sighed. "I prefer chocolate."

Harry waved his wand over her palms to clean and heal them. From up here, the rushing wind filled his ears like a Muffliato Charm, there was the lightest hint of a chill in the air but Ginny's thigh was warm against his.

The brightness of the clear blue sky made his eyes close slightly as the light reflected off the surface of the gently lapping lake. This view, this distance from the castle, sitting with Ginny - he realized that's what he was running towards. His heart felt so full, it almost ached with happiness, and he could only think of a handful of times he'd felt that before.

"I have a confession to make," she said.

"What?"

"I hate playing Seeker."

Harry snorted and said, "You're clearly rubbish at it too. Given you won the last two Cups for Gryffindor with little practice."

"It wasn't so difficult, really. I just had to outfly the competition," she said. He gave her a sideways look and saw a cheeky little grin. She tossed her hair out of her face and continued: "That, and I snuck down to the pitch yesterday morning to practice catching Snitches."

"The nerve of you," he said, watching her as she grinned again, looking rather proud of herself.

"Before you get too impressed, I got caught. I had to sell my soul to McGonagall for her to let me play. Unfortunately she was unclear about the terms and conditions. Oh, and you can have this back," Ginny said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the captain's badge. "I'll wait another year."

"What happened?" He asked, internally kicking himself for not asking about the match sooner. He worried again that it'd been too much to ask of her to give her both the captaincy and change of position last minute.

Ginny plucked a long stemmed purple flower from the ground and twirled it between her fingers, seeming to replay the match in her head. He watched her shoulders and chest rise, then fall while she took a deep breath. "Your plan was good, but we had to change it mid-match. Oh, and guess who commented…"

It felt like freedom, watching her talk without having to strategically look away. He could watch her quirky facial expressions and the way she moved her hands for hours. "I wish I could've seen it," he said after she finished telling him about catching the Snitch.

"Maybe Colin caught it on camera," she said, and tossed the rumbled stem and flower over the edge. She slid her hand under his arm and took his hand again.

"Are you feeling better since this morning?"

A grin split across his face. "Loads."

She smiled again and every stupid reason he'd had to not be with her now felt small and insignificant. She felt more real than all of it. Up here, away from everything, he could pretend that nothing else existed, not even time because he knew if he focused hard enough that he'd be able to remember and live in this moment forever, and time would be theirs.

The wind blew a strand of her hair across her face. He reached his hand up automatically, pausing for one fractional instant where he worried she might push it away. But when she didn't, he carefully brushed the long strand away, tucking it behind her ear like he'd seen her do a hundred times while she studied.

Now, after all these months he was alone with her, breathing in her fragrant hair, his arm wrapped around her small shoulders, his hunger pains forgotten, he could lean forward and kiss her again.

GINNY

The wind had started to pick up on their way back down the longer, flatter path leading back to the school. Strong gusts of wind met them at every break in the trees, cutting through the breathable athletic fabric of Ginny's Quidditch kit.

Ginny led the way down the narrow trail, asking him the types of questions that had bounced around her brain for weeks now.

"Was it since you stalked me to Myrtle's bathroom and told me you liked my hair?"

"Er - no."

"Since Christmas at the Burrow, then?"

"Before that."

"Okay," She took a large step over a fallen tree, her feet sliding in her Quidditch boots. "But we were together when you realized?"

"Yeah."

His tone could only mean one thing. She stopped abruptly and turned to face him. "Not the secret passageway."

He cringed and nodded.

She shut her eyes tight, trying to drive out the memories tumbling in of Harry and Ron's faces and the messy aftermath of them opening the door to find herself and Dean in a tangle of limbs and lips.

She groaned and turned around to resume shuffling down a steeper decline in the trail.

"But I reckon I'd started before that," Harry said, sending clumps of loose dirt bouncing past her ankles. "Maybe summer."

"Did you ever think about telling me?"

"Almost, but then you friend zoned me."

"What?! When?"

"Earlier this term, after you apologized for yelling at me about the Dumbledore lessons and stormed off on me at Quidditch practice? Then asked if we could be friends?"

"I was only trying to stop having feelings for you."

"That's nice to hear."

"It didn't work, though, did it?"

"Must've been my impressive skills with a broom."

"Actually, it was getting a crack in your skull that really sealed it."

"I'll be sure to send McLaggen a thank you note."

They walked in relative silence as they turned onto a wider trail flanked by a mossy stone wall that outlined the border between the school grounds and the edges of Hogsmeade village. The unspoken fact lingered between them that up until two weeks ago she'd had a boyfriend. One that Harry had witnessed her with, embraced in a passionate kiss after one of Dean's first Quidditch practices. Back when things were good between them.

How could she tell Harry that even at their best, nothing she shared with Dean could hold wand-light to these past few hours. It felt too early to reveal the long nights staring at her bedroom ceiling at the Burrow, sick with longing for him to finally see her this way.

She wondered what his visits to the Burrow would be like now. What it'd be like for him to stay the summer as more than her brother's best friend. Her heart quickened at the thought of inviting him into her room, showing him around her childhood memories, closing the door to shut out the world and be alone with him.

"It's not too soon for you? After - erm - after Dean?" Harry asked, interrupting her fantasy, perhaps misreading her quietness as regret.

"No, absolutely not," Ginny said, making eye contact and reaching for his hand to show him she meant it. They passed by a last clump of trees and Hogwarts rematerialized into view, along with a growing wall of wind. "I let it all drag on far too long, anyway."

She had let it carry on too long with Dean. Not because she'd hoped the relationship would work, but more to avoid what it'd mean if it didn't. Back to only imagining a day like this with Harry. She felt a rush of feeling, like the voice of her thirteen year old self desperately wishing he would notice her. Ginny slowed to a stop and waited for him to turn around. She'd never get tired of how he looked at her, his bright green eyes kind and wide and emseeing/em her.

She reached her arms around his torso and hugged him, pressing her face into his shoulder. His arms returned the pressure and she could feel the soft fabric of his jumper against her face, savoring how it smelled just like Harry because it was Harry.

And something inside Harry was rumbling.

"Do you have a monster in your chest?" She asked.

"No, that's my stomach."

"You're hungry?"

"It's fine, I'm used to it."

"Don't say that. You'll summon my mum."

"Are you cold?"

"No," she said, and broke into a violent shiver.

"Do you want my jumper?" Harry asked. "I feel fine."

"Sure, I guess. I might as well take it now. Stealing a jumper is kind of like a girlfriend tax, isn't it?" Ginny saw his eyes widen and she realized what she'd said. "Shit, I mean, only if - if that's what you want."

A goofy grin spread across his face. He immediately pulled the jumper over his head and handed it to her. As soon as she put it on she found herself in his arms again.

"Yes, that's what I want," he said, beaming down at her.

This time, he'd cupped her face with his hands, his fingers playing in the base of her hair and tilting her head up to kiss her again.

The way Harry kissed her today was like nothing she'd experienced before, with the other boys who'd at first been so careful and intentional with her, like they'd practiced beforehand. Harry made it up as he went along, nervous at first but following her lead and catching on as they went.

She didn't know how long they stood in that clearing with the wind howling around them, but wherever their skin touched she felt an energy - the way his hand drove further into her hair, and now the other one that reached around her waist again. And it was freeing because she'd spent years forcing herself not to care for him like this, but now it's real and invigorating, like the first breath of air after being underwater.

"Alright you two. Break it up."

Ginny and Harry jumped apart and turned toward the voice. Her lips still tingled from where this had been and her hair tie was looser than it'd been before.

With her back to the wind, Ginny had to frantically tuck the flying tendrils of her hair back enough to see Tonks grinning at them both, happier than she'd looked in nearly a year. Harry had drawn his wand beside her, but was slipping it back in his jeans pocket.

"Harry? Ginny? Wotcher!" Tonks said. Her eyebrows were raised high, her face brightened into a smile and Ginny swore the tips of her brown hair turned ever so slightly blonde. "I'm used to splitting up couples before the doors lock, but this is a pleasant surprise."

"Hey Tonks," Harry said, looking sheepish.

"No one tells me anything anymore, do they?"

"It's only just happened," Ginny said, stepping closer to hear her over the wind, Harry followed behind her.

"What, today?" She asked, her eyes gone wide and head tilted toward Ginny for more explanation. Ginny realized the last time the two of them spoke was just after she'd told Dean about the Chamber of Secrets.

Ginny bit down on her lip, trying to control her smile and nodded.

"So - er - Dumbledore still has you doing patrols?" Harry asked in a not-so-smooth way of changing the subject.

"Yeah, but I don't mind it. I like the walks," Tonks replied, her smile fading. "Not much else for me to do, really."

"Did you ever get in touch with him that day?" Harry pressed on. "When I last saw you, you were wanting to know about those werewolf attacks."

"Yes." Tonks did not elaborate. Her hair returned to its now-usual shade of dingy brown. "Well, sorry to interrupt you two. But you really should be getting back to the castle. Especially you, Harry. They close the gates earlier and earlier now, even on the weekends."

"Right," Harry said. His eyebrows furrowed like he was trying to figure where the conversation had gone wrong. Tonks, however, had already waved goodbye and was walking away with her shoulders slump again.

"One second," Ginny whispered to Harry and squeezed his hand before calling out to Tonks and jogging to catch up to her. "Sorry about that…" Ginny said, leaning over the waist-high stony wall so only Tonks could hear. Knowing how Lupin was keeping himself from Tonks made Ginny feel even more awkward that she and Harry had been caught going at it. One look at Tonks' uncharacteristically pale and tired face was enough to make her feel guilty. "Are - are you doing alright?"

"Thanks, yeah. Best that can be expected, I suppose," she said, rubbing the back of her forearm.

"Have you heard from him?"

"Yes. He's okay, but…" she trailed off. When she couldn't find the words, she simply shook her head to signal she didn't want to talk about it, or it hadn't gone well. "It's fine, don't worry about me," she said instead. Tonks tilted her chin towards Harry and grinned. "So things didn't work out with the nice guy, I see."

"Harry's nice," Ginny said. She tried to control her face, but she became aware again of his jumper hanging loosely around her again, dug her nose into the neckline. "Smells nice too."

Tonks laughed and shook her head. "The first time I saw Harry last term, he'd gotten his nose kicked in. The second, he had Mundungus against a wall by the throat. He'd found out about Dung ransacking Grimmauld Place," Tonks added in response to Ginny's questioning look to the new information. "But we wouldn't want our Chosen One too nice, now, would we?" Tonks winked at her.

Ginny looked back to where Harry was waiting for her, cleaning his classes with the edge of his t-shirt. He saw her looking and smiled at her. She had an idea. "Tonks, are you able to take a break next weekend and come up to the school?"

"Sure," she said, looking curious. "But you owe me the whole story. With all the details, eh?" Tonks said, wagging her eyebrows.

"You do realize I'm only fifteen, right?" Ginny said, taking steps backward to return to Harry.

—

"Everyone's looking at us," Ginny whispered across the table.

Harry looked over his shoulder, causing a ripple of jerking heads who pretended not to be staring at them.

When they'd entered the dining hall for dinner, they'd forgotten that most of Gryffindor would still be up in their common room for the match. So not only had they walked in holding hands, but also sat in plain view for all to see.

It was rare to actually witness gossip spreading through the school. One by one, then all at once heads were turning in their direction, eyes darting in their direction, the volume rising with excited gasps and murmurs.

Harry turned back to her, pulled his mouth into an unfortunate sort of smile and shrugged. He looked down at his plate, making that automatic movement to ruffle his fringe over his lightning shaped scar.

That trick never really did cover all of his scar. It still branched out from under his hair, cutting through a portion of his eyebrow. It was fainter at times more than others. She'd gotten so used to it now that she didn't notice it much anymore.

She found it annoying how the noise still hadn't settled in the hall since their arrival. But maybe this way was easier. Maybe getting it all out in the open about her and Harry now would make it die down faster. Then people could go back to minding their own business and leave them alone.

When dessert arrived, Ginny said, "Here, I have a better idea," and started filling a plate with various tarts and mini cakes.

Five minutes later they were running up a moving staircase, falling into each other, laughing, and trying not to drop any sweets off their plate.

She led him through a series of turns, only making one mistake and having to backtrack, that led to her favorite tiny courtyard that she'd found early in her first year at Hogwarts. If she stepped on the carved bench and pulled herself onto the wall's ledge, she got the perfect view of the lake and castle. The sun was starting to lose its warmth in the last hour before sunset and the castle walls were reflecting the light. Shining as if made of gold.

They straddled the ledge, facing each other, the plate of desserts between them with one leg each dangling over the shear wall and the other resting on the bench below.

"So, I have a question for you," Ginny said.

"Hm?"

"How often do you sneak out of the common room?"

His face slanted into a smile. "Per week? Or…?"

"That often? And the Fat Lady never tattles on you?"

"If you're invisible, she can't technically know who's sneaking, can she?"

"Unbelievable."

"Also, do you know that big wine and cheese portrait on the first floor? Sirius told me that he and my dad would sweet talk the French women in it to smuggle some to the Fat Lady every couple weeks. That's actually how she met her friend Violet, actually."

"I worry for security in this place."

"Speaking of security," Harry said. "Whatever happened with Tonks, anyway? The new Patronus and lack of Metamorphmagus…ing?"

Ginny simply shrugged her shoulders.

"You still won't tell me?" He said, one eyebrow raising with a smile playing at the edges of his mouth.

Ginny shook her head. "Not my secret to tell."

"Boyfriend tax for your secrets?" Harry said, fighting off her fork for the last piece of chocolate cake.

She snorted. "Nice try," she said and stabbed the piece and brought it up to her mouth. "Remind me what Dumbledore has you do for assignments?"

"Touché."

Ginny scanned across the grounds until her eyes landed on Hagrid's hut. She considered her theory of Dumbledore's lessons preparing Harry for his role as a revolutionary hero, organizing forces against You-Know-Who, starting with the beasts in the forest.

"You just looked at Hagrid's. You know something," Harry stated. His eyes were narrowed and searching her. He had tried to pass it off as playful or unconcerned, but Ginny caught the edge in the way he said it.

She took her time selecting her next bite of dessert, thinking how best to phrase the facts without hinting towards her hunches.

"I know that you were down at Hagrid's with Slughorn a few weeks ago. He told me after class one day," she said. His eyebrows shot up, but he gave nothing away.

"Did he say anything else?"

"He said you were there when Hagrid buried Aragog the Gargantuan Hairy Backstinger. And judging by Sluggie's hangover, you all got sloshed."

Harry remained quiet, green eyes fixed on her, waiting to see if she would reveal more. Extended seconds ticked by, but when Ginny stuck out the silence, a smile spread across his face as if amused and impressed despite himself.

"I wasn't drunk," was all he said.

Ginny studied him, eyes cast down now, pushing around the crumbs on their shared plate. She tapped her fork on the stone wall underneath her.

She hated that the feeling of being left out still mattered to her. She wished she could get over it by now. It'd been years of prodding the same wound that she thought had healed earlier this term.

What was she expecting, really? That she and Harry would make out and he'd magically change his mind and reveal all his protected information? The trio had secrets as thick as these walls and she knew she had to accept that… but, still…

His eyebrows were furrowed now, struggling to find something to say. Ginny imagined that he might be gearing up for an apology or some hand-tied explanation.

Then again, perhaps he couldn't bring himself to go there right now, because acknowledging any of it further would sour this perfect day that had been theirs.

"Too bad," Ginny said eventually, cutting through the silence. "I like drunk Harry, even if he is a bit of a gossip."

His eyes snapped up, looking relieved and grinning in a way that made her feel lighter.

"If you're talking about Ron and Hermione's Honesty Shots -"

"What was it you said? Having romantic feelings for a mountain troll?"

"No," he laughed. "It was -"

"Because in Hermione's case, that checks out."

"I'm telling Ron you said that."

"You can't. Girlfriend confidentiality privilege."

"How many of these laws are there, exactly?"

"Don't worry, there's benefits too," Ginny said and winked.

She leaned forward and kissed him, and was appreciating how this time he tasted sweet and how he was bold enough now to rub his hand on her arm like that, pulling her closer until the bell rang, signaling ten minutes until curfew.

Harry cursed the bell and waved his wand to vanish their plate before swinging his leg over and hopping down to the bench below.

Ginny took one last look out across the lake and the mountains that met to frame the sunset. Between leading her team to the Championship and spending the day alone with Harry, she wondered if she hadn't just lived her best day.

The glowing intensity of the sun and its radiating oranges and pinks across the scattered clouds seemed unreal. Too perfect to be believable. Almost like it was merely a portrait. Moving like a portrait. Imperceptibly slipping out of reach. It at once made her both profoundly sad and gave her a strange, aching appreciation that she was even here to experience it at all. She wished that her eyes were wide enough to truly take it in, appreciating it for how it was at that moment before it disappeared.

For now, that had to be enough.

They took their time getting back to the common room, and when they did they found the tired remnants of Gryffindor's victory party.

It wasn't until she had finally kissed Harry goodnight, returned to her dormitory, and changed for bed that she realized she still had the Golden Snitch in her robes pocket. She placed it carefully in the edge of her nightstand's topmost drawer and mentally reminded herself to give it to Harry the next day; instead, she forgot it there for several weeks.