He barely knew what it was like to feel like Harry.

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

"It's getting dark," Ginny commented without making any effort to remove herself from Harry's warm embrace.

"Yep," he agreed, kissing the top of her head but otherwise remaining motionless.

She smiled to herself and continued playing with his fingers in her hand. "Can you believe how much has changed since this morning?"

She could sense him smiling too. "Nope. It still doesn't feel real."

"I know. I'm just so happy we won the Cup!" Ginny exclaimed as she grinned at Harry's mockingly indignant reaction.

"Glad to know that was the most important thing to happen today," he replied sarcastically.

She laughed and moved to look at him. "Believe me, winning the Cup doesn't hold a candle to how good this makes me feel."

Now he grinned so brightly and happily that she almost could've forgotten her own name. "Me too. Like… this has been one of the–"

Ginny raised an eyebrow when he cut himself off. "One of the…"

He was blushing, but he answered. "I was gonna say this has been one of the best days of my life."

Ginny had already lost track of how many kisses they'd shared as a couple, but it was time to add another to the count as she caught his lips in a very soft, tender kiss. "We could've lost today, and it still would've been one of the best days of my life," she admitted.

Harry nodded and stared deeply at her for a moment. Then, in a firm, confident, and caring voice, he promised, "I am never going to forget today."

He hadn't had a choice in the matter, but he had broken that promise. She didn't even want to forgive him for it– it made her furious. But she had to watch as he learned every terrible detail about how difficult his life had been, and he just seemed so devastated and done with it all. She almost couldn't blame him for letting his emotions win out and saying he was glad he didn't remember. She'd been fighting to keep her emotions in check in front of him all day.

When he said that though, she just couldn't stand to control them any longer. So she didn't. She completely ignored the Aurors guarding Harry's door as she stumbled outside and let the tears flow for the first time today. She wasn't grieving his inability to wake up any longer. Now, she was grieving the terrible truth that he didn't remember anything, and the even worse possibility that he might not want to.

As difficult as it was, Ginny opened the locket Harry had given her for Christmas. The picture changed periodically, and right now, she was staring at a picture of the two of them kissing on Harry's birthday. They'd been so happy. The picture changed to one taken just a week ago. They were holding Teddy at his first birthday party. How had everything changed so quickly? How had her life gone from perfection to despair in the blink of an eye?

"He didn't mean it," Hermione said, interrupting her grief. Ginny wanted to punch a wall.

"I– that version of him meant it. If– if he had his memories, he wouldn't say that. He'd know why his life wasn't all bad. But I– I don't even blame him for saying it," Ginny managed before a few more tears fell.

"I'm sure you're tired of me saying–"

"Don't you dare. If you're gonna say I should tell him about us, just keep it to yourself," Ginny practically growled.

"I'm just saying–"

"Save it," Ginny snapped. "It would only make things worse."

Silence. And then, "For him or for you?"

Ginny balled her fists. "Both of us. It would be worse for both of us, knowing we loved each other and now he can't do anything about it. I could spend hours telling him every detail of our relationship, and it wouldn't make him love me. I don't want to make him love me. I want him to remember and go back to loving me."

"But if that doesn't happen…"

Ginny took a very deep breath. "Then he deserves to not have that knowledge weighing him down."

Hermione wrapped her in a hug suddenly. Ginny blinked as another tear spilled out, and then she hugged her best friend back.

"I miss him," she whispered and felt Hermione nod against her shoulder.

"I know. I miss him too. But… he does fancy you."

Ginny blinked before she snorted at what Hermione said. "He does not."

"He hasn't been able to take his eyes off you. He gets a really big smile every time you compliment him. It's not the same, but… at least this Harry still fancies you."

Ginny shook her head and wiped her eyes. "It's ridiculous that we're talking about my boyfriend like this."

Hermione smiled and hugged her once more. "Only for a little bit. He'll remember soon."

Ginny wished she shared Hermione's optimism, but she was still willing to try to believe. She nodded, tucked her locket back into her shirt, and followed Hermione back to the room, where Ron was beating Harry soundly in a chess match. Neither of them said anything about how Ginny had left the room, but she did still see Harry watching her carefully.

"I feel like he's taking advantage of me, knowing I have brain injuries," Harry commented.

"I already told you that you've always been bad at chess. I was hoping that your brain getting messed up might've actually helped you," Ron joked, and Ginny smiled a little.

"He's right," she said. "I beat you every time we play too."

Harry threw his hands up in exasperation but smiled too.

It was rather late at night when the other Healer, Andrew, came by to check in on them and told them to let Harry get some rest. Harry seemed to be very opposed to that idea, but then he was yawning uncontrollably. It was like watching a toddler fight against bedtime before falling asleep suddenly, and a pang in Ginny's heart reminded her that that would be Teddy in a couple years.

It wasn't easy, but she did finally fall asleep on the cot that she'd transfigured her chair into. The sleep wasn't sound either. She woke up repeatedly– every time Harry moved, really. But she didn't mind. It was still much better than his motionless slumber of the previous four days.

Morning took its time arriving, and Ginny could tell immediately that she wasn't the only one who'd had trouble sleeping. Hermione's eyes were red like Ginny guessed hers were, and Ron yawned every twenty seconds. Surprisingly though, Harry seemed very well rested. Ginny wondered how much rest he'd actually had when he was in the coma, for him to not have a problem sleeping through the night despite all the turmoil in his life now.

Amelia came in shortly with mushed fruit and yoghurt, courtesy of his no-solids diet, that Harry ate greedily, which reminded Ginny of her own hunger. She'd have to leave and get something to eat soon, even if she hated being apart from Harry, no matter for how short a time.

"Well, Harry, I have to say that since you've woken, your body has begun healing very quickly," Amelia said. "I'm afraid the scars might be permanent, but they should continue closing, and the bruises will fade with a few more days' rest. However, I do think that it's a good idea for you to begin practising walking. It won't be easy, and you'll likely tire quickly, but it's important to begin building the strength up in your leg."

Harry perked up, invigorated by the rest, food, and good news. "That's brilliant! Can I just start walking now then?"

Amelia smiled. "I'd start with having someone help you move around the room. If that goes well, then in a day or two, you might be ready to start walking in larger spaces like the corridor outside."

Ginny almost smiled at how disappointed Harry was. It didn't make her happy to see, but every time he did something that reminded her of how he used to be, she felt like smiling.

"And how long do you think it'll be before I'm back to normal? With walking, I mean."

"That's up to you. Unfortunately, I suspect you'll carry a limp for a while, but you could regain full mobility in a couple weeks with regular practice and exercise."

Harry had a rebellious look on his face when he stated, "Less than a week. That's how long it'll take me."

Amelia smiled like she didn't believe him but admired his courage all the same. "Like I said, it's up to you. I've also brought a new dressing robe in since I imagine you'll want to get out of the old one. I'll be back in a bit to check on you."

Ginny smiled thinly and nodded as Amelia left. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed whenever Amelia came in and didn't have any update on the research for a cure for Harry's amnesia.

"Here, I'll help you," Ron offered, taking Harry's arm as he stood, a little wobbly. "You wanna change out of your robe before walking around?"

"Yeah. I can do that by myself though. Just– don't let me fall."

Ron handed Harry his robe, and Ginny watched as Harry started to open his robe before jerking his head up at her with a redness exploding across the parts of his face and neck that weren't bruised. Ginny suddenly realised that Hermione had averted her eyes courteously. Very belatedly, she looked down, blushing a little at Harry's reaction before getting pissed off that his amnesia had caused him to be embarrassed undressing around her. If he had any idea just how often she'd seen every inch of skin that robe covered… well, that would've defeated the whole point of keeping their relationship a secret from him.

Ron informed them once Harry was done, and Ginny noted with annoyance that Harry kept awkwardly glancing at her without making eye contact. Merlin, this was worse than before they'd gotten together and Harry was awkward around her.

Ron helped Harry make a couple laps around the room. Ginny noticed everything about his movements, including just how shaky his injured leg was. In just ten minutes, Harry was winded and needed to sit back down. It broke her heart to see him so physically impaired, knowing how full of vibrant, physical life he'd been just a week ago. He was still the same person, minus the memories and plus the injuries, but she still felt pain, seeing him struggling with something as similar as walking. This must've been some shadow of how Emily's family had felt when they'd learned that she wouldn't ever walk again.

Ron's stomach suddenly growled loudly, and Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. Ron raised his hands defensively. "What? I can't control that!"

"Mhmm," Hermione replied like she wasn't convinced.

"I can't! The only way to make it stop is for me to eat!"

Hermione sighed like there wasn't an affectionate smile on her face. "Then I guess we'd better go downstairs and feed the monster in your stomach before it tries to eat you."

Harry chuckled at that. "Go ahead, you're fine. I got to eat my breakfast, only fair you get to eat yours too."

"Thanks, mate," Ron said gratefully, dragging Hermione out without another word.

Ginny stood slowly. "D'you want me to leave too?"

Harry finally made eye contact with her, and she almost could've blushed from the intensity of it. Maybe he wasn't as embarrassed as she'd thought.

"No," Harry replied. Then, a second or two later, he added, "I don't want any of you to leave, but it's not fair to keep you all cooped up in here without any food."

"You're in here."

He smiled, like he usually would have at her teasing and flirting. She wasn't even trying to flirt, but everything she said felt flirtatious after it was out of her mouth.

"True. No point in more of us suffering. Besides, you'll be back to deal with me more soon, right?"

Ginny thought she heard a note of hopefulness in his voice, and that made her feel like smiling too. "Definitely."

Then, before she could help herself, she took his hand and squeezed it quickly before leaving the room. Her fingers felt like they were tingling, and she couldn't help but wonder, like a schoolgirl with a crush, if Harry felt the same.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

Harry couldn't decide how he felt. About anything, really. Everything in his life was one gigantic enigma. And at the centre of it, for some strange and annoying reason, was Ginny Weasley. He'd known her for exactly one day. They were best friends. But when she looked at him, he felt a strange swooping sensation in his stomach, and the two times she'd held his hand, it had felt like he'd been struck by lightning, and apparently he knew exactly what that felt like.

The problem was her family. And it wasn't even a problem. He loved the feeling of having people caring about him, like Molly, Bill, and Bill's wife, Fleur, who were with him right now. They all clearly saw him as family. And he was forced to conclude that since Ginny's parents viewed him as a son, and Ginny's brothers viewed him as a brother, she must also view him as a brother. For some reason he hadn't figured out yet, that bothered him.

Fleur was telling him all about the Triwizard Tournament that they'd supposedly competed against each other in. Even though he'd heard plenty of stories about himself already, it still seemed very hard to believe that he'd actually stolen an egg from a dragon.

A heavy knock on the door interrupted Fleur's retelling of their search underwater for missing loved ones. The door opened, and a tall, dark man with gold earrings and an almost regal demeanour entered.

"I heard you were awake. I've got to say, Harry, this is a sight for sore eyes," the man said in a deep, booming voice.

Harry wasn't sure how to respond, and thankfully, Bill helped out. "Harry, this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic. He's basically in charge of the government."

Harry still hadn't regained full functional use of a filter on his words yet. "Shouldn't you be… working or something?"

Minister Shacklebolt laughed loudly. "I know you don't remember, but this is far from the first time I've taken off work to see you. I am fairly busy though, you're right. But when I got word that you'd woken up, I wanted to see for myself."

"Er– thanks, Minister."

The Minister laughed again. "Please, Harry, you've been calling me Kingsley since you were fifteen. I'd rather not go back to the niceties now."

"Sorry, Kingsley," Harry replied, much preferring this to his title.

"Not a problem, Harry. How are you feeling?"

"I'm not in much pain anymore. I just started practising walking again. Amelia thinks it'll take some time to get back to full mobility, but I think I can manage it in a few days. And obviously… I don't remember anything."

"Well, if I had to put my Galleons on someone to beat your Healer's timeline, I'd be betting on you."

"That's wizard money, dear," Molly added before Harry could even ask what a Galleon was.

"Thanks. So… I guess you've been friends with all of us for a while?"

Kingsley nodded. "For a few years now. The last year brought us all closer thanks to fewer forces trying to drive us apart. I was even at your birthday party last year," he added with a grin.

Harry didn't know much about governments, but he guessed it was fairly unusual for a government's leader to attend random people's birthday parties. Then again, if everything he'd been told was true, he wasn't just a random person, at least in the eyes of the government.

"That's– I guess you don't do that often?"

Kingsley laughed yet again. "Only for you, Harry. But I do need to leave now. I just wanted to drop in and make sure that you were doing alright. I've asked some people at the Ministry to help St. Mungo's in their search for a solution to your amnesia. Trust me, we'll find something."

For some reason he couldn't articulate, Harry did trust him. "Thanks, Kingsley."

Everyone else said goodbye before he exited the room. Bill grinned at him. "Believe it or not, Kingsley thinks you're more important than he is."

Harry blinked in disbelief, but he didn't get to say anything before Fleur launched into a story about how heroic he'd been, saving her sister from merpeople. It sounded a little far-fetched, but then again, so had everything else to this point. Apparently everyone around him, including the Minister for Magic, thought he was a hero. He didn't really feel like a hero. He barely knew what it was like to feel like Harry.

He started getting a better idea of it late that night. He'd spent time with everyone and had taken close to a hundred laps around the room, supported by pretty much every single visitor he had at one point or another, and he was exhausted by the day's end.

Like the last night, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were staying with him. Apparently they'd flat out refused all the offers from their family to have someone else stay with him. He had to suppress a smile when he heard about that, very much enjoying the idea of them arguing over which of them could be with him for the night.

Unlike the previous night though, he couldn't sleep. He'd fallen asleep as soon as he'd closed his eyes last night, but for some reason or another, he just couldn't make it happen now. But from the sounds of tossing and turning from a cot on the floor, he wasn't alone.

He had no idea who he was asking when he whispered, "You awake?"

There was a strange tug in his stomach when he heard Ginny's voice answer, "No."

He stifled a chuckle. "Good. Me neither."

He heard her small exhale before she shifted some more, and then the room was bathed in a soft glow of light coming from the tip of her wand. It occurred to him that he must also have a wand somewhere, but he didn't think too much about it, preoccupied very quickly with other thoughts. Not that he was thinking of how brilliant Ginny's eyes looked, sparkling in the light. He definitely wasn't thinking about that.

She caught him staring, even though he wasn't thinking about it. She raised an eyebrow. "See something you like?"

Harry involuntarily smirked. "A potential source of entertainment."

She snorted and started to lie back down. "Good night."

"Wait–" Harry started, but Ginny was already sitting up and grinning at him. "Ha ha. Very funny," he said.

"You need to be quiet," she instructed. "You'll wake– well, you won't wake Ron, but Hermione might wake up."

"Then get closer so I can be quieter," Harry whispered loudly.

Ginny groaned as she stood up from the cot and transfigured it back into a chair. Then she lifted the chair up and moved it so she was right next to his head. He almost started staring at her again, but thankfully, she talked before that happened.

"So what's got you up?"

"Dunno… maybe everything's catching up to me. Learning about all the shitty things I've lived through, even if I don't remember them. I guess– I'm worried things are gonna feel even worse if I do remember everything. Like it's one thing to hear about someone I knew who died when I don't remember them, but… I apparently knew a lot of people who died. I can't imagine dealing with that kind of pain."

Ginny's expression was enough to make his heart accelerate, looking at him with sadness and protective fire. "It's not easy," she said quietly.

Harry felt like an idiot for forgetting. Of course, he hadn't really forgotten, but in saying that, he'd ignored that she absolutely knew what it was like, dealing with that loss daily. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's fine. Don't worry about me."

He thought that would be easier said than done. "How– how do you get through it?"

She bit her bottom lip for a moment. "It's not easy. You've seen me at my worst. I have bad days. Just a few weeks ago was Fred and George's birthday. That wasn't easy for any of us. But… I'm able to get through it because of the good things I still have in my life. My family. My friends. You, when you're not in a hospital bed and no fun."

Harry chuckled. "I promise we'll do something fun as soon as I can walk on my own."

"Take your time. Being here is… well, it's not as bad as it was when you were unconscious."

Harry nodded, noticing the darkness in her eyes, remembering his coma. They could both do with some cheering up, he guessed. "Tell me something good."

"What?"

"You said you get through everything because of the good things you have in your life. I've heard about way more bad things than good since I woke up. So tell me something good in my life that helps me get through everything. And it can't be you all. That's cheating. I wanna know about something I don't already know about."

Ginny's face scrunched up in an unbelievably cute way as she considered the question before she seemed to physically brighten up when an answer came to her. "Quidditch."

"Quidditch," Harry repeated, liking the way the word sounded, and Ginny nodded eagerly. "Tell me about it."

Harry listened with rapt attention as Ginny excitedly told him all about the magical sport played on broomsticks. She was clearly in love with the sport, and that passion made him excited about it, even if he couldn't remember ever seeing it before. Her eyes just lit up, and she had a wide smile on her face as she told him all the rules. Her voice raised loudly enough that he was surprised she didn't wake Hermione, but he didn't mind. This was the most excited he'd been since he'd woken up.

"So I liked to watch Quidditch?" Harry asked after Ginny finished describing the game.

She gave him a look of disbelief. "You? Nope. You and I play Quidditch. On the same team."

"We do? That– that's awesome!" Harry exclaimed, shocked that he played a sport as great as Quidditch on the same team as Ginny.

Her grin made him want to smile wider. "It is awesome. Our team is awesome. We're awesome."

Ginny told him all about the season to this point– how they'd won their first two matches easily and were being scouted by professional teams for after they graduated.

"We're gonna play Quidditch professionally?" Harry asked, somehow even more surprised than before.

She nodded enthusiastically. "You told me about a month ago that you wanted to do it. I've known my whole life. But yeah, if you still want to… when you're recovered, we'll get you back on a broom, and it'll come back to you easily."

Harry grinned at the prospect of flying on a broomstick before a thought occurred to him. "Wait– you said that we need to win one more match to win the championship, right?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, we haven't played against Slytherin yet, but–"

"When is it?" Harry asked.

"The fifteenth of May. Less than a month from now. But Harry, if you're not fully recovered–"

"I'm playing."

Ginny sighed exasperatedly, like she was used to his newfound stubbornness. "Look… we– we actually fought at the start of this season because you were hurt and I tried to keep you from practising. I'm not gonna make that mistake again and tell you that you can't play. But please, just wait until you get approval from Amelia. I don't want to be worried about you falling off your broomstick." The slightly haunted look she had made him wonder if she'd actually seen that before.

"Don't worry. I'm not stupid or anything. I'm just gonna recover fast. I told you all I'm gonna be walking normally in less than a week. And I'm positive I'm gonna play in that match. We're gonna win."

A smile creeped onto Ginny's face, even if she looked a little unconvinced at Harry's confidence in his healing capabilities. "I guess I'll hold you to that. It'll be good to see you flying again."

Harry smiled back at her, and he imagined, for the briefest moment, what she must look like, playing the sport she was so passionate about. She probably wore a fierce and determined look on her face, with the wind causing her hair to billow in a red flame behind her. It was a wonder he'd ever gotten good at Quidditch. He didn't understand how he practised on the same team as her and didn't get distracted by that.

Ginny blinked, interrupting their impromptu staring contest. Harry wondered if his ears were as red as they felt. The light from Ginny's wand probably made them look even redder. Then again, underneath the dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks, she seemed to be a little red too. And, unbidden, Harry smiled at that thought.

Ginny blinked again and seemed to swallow a lump in her throat. Suddenly, her voice was much more fragile and quieter than it had been a moment ago when they'd been discussing Quidditch. "I– we should try to get to sleep."

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Harry replied, looking down at his hands and trying to figure out what he'd done to ruin the moment.

"Harry–" Ginny started, and Harry was immediately drawn back into her eyes. She hesitated uncertainly for a moment, and he wondered, somewhat hopefully, if she might hold his hand again. Instead, she said, "Good night."

"Yeah," he responded, knowing he wasn't hiding his disappointment at her not wanting to talk anymore. "Good night."

She extinguished the light on her wand and transfigured her chair back into a cot. She lay down, and he didn't hear her moving at all.

He sighed and tried to fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes though, he saw Ginny's face, staring at him like he really mattered to her. What the hell was that? Why did it make his fingers tingle like they had when he'd woken up? And most importantly, what was there to do about it?

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

It was a restless night for Ginny. She honestly wasn't sure how she was still functioning with how little sleep she'd gotten since this nightmare had begun. She was already awake, once again, when the sun rose and illuminated the room.

Harry had seemed disappointed when she'd told him good night, and that seemed to have carried over into today somewhat. Every time he looked at her, it was like he was confused or disillusioned. She wished that she could've made him happier, but she couldn't stand it any longer. Telling him about Quidditch, seeing his reaction to it and his promise to be ready for Gryffindor's final match… it was too much, even though it should've made her happy.

"You and Harry were up late last night," Hermione commented suggestively after they left Harry's room to get breakfast.

Ginny didn't appreciate the reminder. "We couldn't sleep. He wanted to know about something good in his life. We've been talking way too much about bad things by the way."

"What'd you tell him?" Ron asked.

"I told him about Quidditch. He seemed really excited about it."

"That's good, Ginny. Things like that… it's what's going to bring his memory back."

Ginny nodded but didn't say anything further. When they reached their waiting room, her parents and Fleur went upstairs to see Harry. Everyone else had to return to work, as much as they hated it, but they'd be here later in the evening.

"Are you two not going back to work?" Ginny asked them as they ate bagels from the tea room upstairs that had been delivered to them.

"Mister Trumble told me not to come back to work until Harry was better. I figured where he's at right now doesn't count as better," Ron answered.

"Kingsley told me the same," Hermione added.

"You do know… if he doesn't get his memory back, you will have to go back at some point."

"Sure," Ron said. "But he's still in the hospital. I'm not going back at least until that changes."

Hermione took Ron's hand in hers. "Neither am I."

Ginny smiled thinly, not sure if she was more grateful that they were there for Harry or for her.

Once she finished eating, she conjured a piece of parchment and a quill and began writing a letter.

"Who's that for?" Ron asked curiously.

"Demelza," Ginny answered. "She'll run practices for Gryffindor while I'm not there. I'm telling her to promote Dean to our starting squad. Harry told me last night that he planned on playing in the Slytherin match, but… just in case, I want Dean to practise with Demelza and Natalie. If worst comes to worst, I'll play Seeker."

"In front of all the scouts?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Gwenog already saw me play Chaser once. I care more about winning the Cup than showing off at Chaser and losing because we don't have another decent Seeker. But… to be honest, I don't know how much I'll care about it when the time comes if Harry's not better. I'm just planning ahead logically, but I– I really couldn't care less about any of it."

Truthfully, Ginny would snap her Firebolt in half and never fly again if that would bring Harry's memories back.

She scratched out a few more lines to Demelza, telling her that everything was okay, even though it wasn't actually close to that at all, and asking her to relay the message to their friends at Hogwarts. It was weird knowing that school had started without them and even weirder that she didn't care. There wasn't a lot she cared about right now.

Hermione probably guessed what Ginny was feeling because she asked Ron to deliver the letter to the mailroom at St. Mungo's. As soon as he left, Hermione turned to Ginny. "What's bothering you?"

"Are you joking?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"No. Something's bothering you besides Harry not having his memories. You were in a much better mood yesterday."

Ginny exhaled slowly, annoyed that Hermione was pressing the issue. "I hate talking to him about the good things in his life."

Hermione blinked. "You'd prefer talking to him about the bad things?"

That might've been the stupidest Ginny had ever witnessed Hermione being in her life. "Merlin, no. But think about the good things in his life. The family. Teddy. Quidditch. Hogwarts. His friends. You know what the one common thread through all those is?"

Hermione's expression switched from confused to devastated in a heartbeat. "You."

"Me! It's me! It kills me to talk about the good things in his life with him when I can't tell him about me!"

"There's a pretty simple way to fix that, Ginny," Hermione replied.

"For the hundredth time, I can't. Trust me, I thought about it all night. But I can't."

Hermione sighed. "I don't know what to tell you then."

"I'm not asking you to tell me anything. We have to keep talking about good things, for Harry's sake. But it's just– it hurts."

Hermione pulled Ginny into a hug. "I know."

One of the best things in Harry's life was his godson. And while Ginny had decided not to tell Harry about Teddy being his godson for basically the same reason that she'd kept their relationship secret, she hoped that seeing him might trigger some sort of memory for Harry. And at the very least, it might make him happy, seeing Teddy.

Andi came to the hospital within several minutes of Ginny sending her a Patronus. She felt terrible that she hadn't reached out sooner, but those worries were alleviated when Andi gave her a crushing hug.

"Your mother's been telling me everything. I'm so sorry, Ginny," Andi whispered.

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut for a second. "Thanks, Andi. And thanks for coming. He doesn't remember either of you, but… I'm hoping that seeing Teddy might help jog his memories."

"It can't hurt to try," Hermione agreed, holding Teddy while Andi and Ginny were hugging.

"Certainly not. Can we go see him now?" Andi asked, clearly wishing she'd gotten to come sooner.

"Yeah, let's go," Ginny said, taking Teddy, who was very excited by his new environment, from Hermione. "We'll be back soon."

"Take your time," Hermione replied.

She led Andi to the lift and told her which button to press. "Just to warn you… Harry doesn't look great. His face is sort of grey and yellow. And he's missing half of the hair on his head."

Andi grimaced. "That poor boy has been through too much."

Ginny nodded sadly. They all had.

The lift doors opened with a ding, and they were knocking on Harry's door a few moments later.

Her mum hugged Andi tightly. "I'm so glad you came," she said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears again.

"So am I. We wanted Harry to see Teddy."

"Oh, he'll love that. Here, I'll get Arthur and Fleur, and we'll give the three of you some time with him."

All three of them planted kisses on Teddy's head as they went back downstairs, and Ginny stopped just before they entered and turned back to Andi. "I should tell you… Harry thinks that Teddy is just my godson. And he doesn't know that we're in a relationship. I didn't want to tell him about me or Teddy and make him feel even worse about not remembering us."

Andi put an arm around her and hugged her once more. "I'm so sorry," she said again. Ginny blinked back tears that wanted to fall and nodded before opening the door to Harry's room.

He was adorable, and he grinned when she walked in holding Teddy. "Harry, this is Teddy… my godson. And this is his grandmother, Andromeda, but we call her Andi."

"Hi Andi," Harry said, seemingly in a much better mood than he had been in earlier in the day. "And hello, Teddy," he added in a slightly more playful voice.

Teddy giggled and immediately put his arms out to Harry. Of course he'd want to be held by his godfather.

"I think he wants to see you," Ginny commented, glancing up to gauge Harry's reaction.

He nodded a little hesitantly. "O– okay."

She smiled as she walked to the side of his bed. "I'll set him on your lap," she said before gently setting Teddy down. Harry was still a little hesitant, but then, he reached out and Teddy grabbed his finger with his fist. Ginny's breath hitched, remembering Teddy doing that exact thing on one of their first ever visits with him.

Hopeful, she looked up at Harry's face and saw that he was smiling widely at Teddy. For a brief moment, she thought maybe she'd been right. Maybe seeing Teddy and him grabbing Harry's finger had brought his memories back. But, as happy as Harry clearly was to be holding Teddy, his eyes lacked recognition. He didn't remember Teddy.

HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG

The kid was cute. Like really cute. Harry was nervous at first, having never held an infant before that he could remember, but he instinctively knew how to handle Teddy when Ginny set him down. Teddy observed him curiously for a few seconds, and Harry worried that Teddy would cry because of the bruising on Harry's face. Instead, he smiled widely, and Harry, feeling very relieved, reached out to pull Teddy closer to him.

That was when Teddy wrapped his fist around Harry's finger. It was adorable, and, even though he'd known Teddy for all of two seconds, Harry suddenly felt connected to him. Ginny had told him that he'd been around Teddy quite a bit before everything happened, so he assumed that was where the connection had come from. He wished he remembered Teddy because it was obvious, from the way Teddy was reacting, that he remembered Harry.

Harry almost jumped when Teddy's hair started changing. The back half of his hair turned black while the front half receded into his head. "How did you–"

"His mum was a Metamorphmagus," Ginny answered, watching them closely. "She could change pretty much anything about her appearance. Teddy inherited it, but he doesn't have much control over it other than copying the hair of whoever's holding him."

"That's… really cool," Harry said, grinning at Teddy, who was now trying to stand up on the bed.

Harry helped Teddy up and glanced back over to see that Ginny was still observing everything carefully. Teddy didn't have the best balance though, and when he lost balance, his soft but firm knee landed on the wide and barely healed scar on his stomach. Harry couldn't help it when he yelped in pain before cutting himself off, gritting his teeth and clenching the fist that wasn't helping Teddy off of him.

The damage had been done though. Simultaneously, an alarm went off in the room and Teddy started crying. The sound of Teddy's wails broke Harry's heart. It killed him knowing he was responsible, even if there was nothing he could've done to keep himself from reacting like that.

Ginny was very quick to get to her feet, taking Teddy into her arms and trying to soothe him while looking at Harry's stomach with a great deal of concern. Harry glanced down and saw why. A rather substantial amount of blood was seeping out of his wound and onto the dressing gown.

The door flew open and the other Healer, Andrew, ran in. He took one look at Harry and pulled his wand out. Andrew opened Harry's dressing gown, revealing the blood that was now pouring freely out of the reopened cut on his stomach, and Harry didn't even have the energy to feel embarrassed, being exposed like that in front of Andi and Ginny.

He was dimly aware of Andi leaving the room with Teddy, but most of his focus was on staying awake. He was very lightheaded. Andrew was muttering spells, and the door opened a few more times.

Ginny was by his side, gripping his hand tightly. She was the only thing keeping him awake. Harry's vision started to blur as he looked at her face and saw the fear in her eyes.

"Stay awake, Harry. Stay with me. You can't– I can't lose you again…"

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but then everything faded to black.

When the light returned, it was like nothing had changed. Ginny was still standing next to him, holding his hand, and there were several voices at the foot of his bed. He couldn't be bothered to see the sources of them though. He squeezed Ginny's hand, and she looked down at him, eyes widening, seeing him awake.

"You're not… losing me," Harry whispered.

Before he could even react, not that he would've resisted it, Ginny kissed his forehead. He breathed in. She smelled like flowers. She smelled… really good. A second later, she was standing again and brushing the hair out of her face.

"Don't scare me like that," she said sternly, shaking her head and swallowing a lump in her throat.

"If all the stories I've heard are true, I scare you all like that pretty often," Harry commented wryly.

Ginny rolled her eyes, but he could see her holding back a relieved smile. "That's a habit I'd like to break at some point."

"No promises," he replied before squeezing her hand again. And now she smiled for real.

With the help of Ginny and a young, blonde Healer, Harry sat up. "Well, Harry," Andrew began, "you just can't seem to catch a break."

Harry sighed. "I'm learning that."

"I'm happy to inform you that your bleeding has stopped, but your wounds are still very raw and taking time to heal. Curse wounds like this aren't easy to fix, and I know you've seen how close those wounds have been to opening already. So until they do fully heal, please don't let anyone else, baby or otherwise, crawl on you."

Harry snorted. "Sure thing. I think I can manage that."

"I hope so. Here's a fresh dressing gown for you to change into, and I'll let your other visitors know they can return in a moment."

Harry nodded his thanks before Andrew and the Apprentice Healer left. Then he realised he didn't have anyone to help him stand up. "Er– d'you think you can get Andrew to help me up so I can change?"

Ginny frowned. "Is there a reason I can't do it?"

He baulked slightly. "Er– I didn't know if you'd want to or could– um, hold me… if I fall."

She crossed her arms defiantly. "I'm much stronger than I look."

Harry's eyebrows raised, more than a little impressed. "Alright, then. Let's see what you've got."

It turned out that Ginny wasn't lying about being strong. She helped Harry reorient himself in the bed to stand, and, even though he knew he was putting a significant amount of weight on her, she didn't falter.

"You gonna look away?" Harry asked as he started to shrug off his bloodied robe.

Ginny tilted her head slightly. "You didn't have a problem with me looking a second ago."

"I don't know if you noticed, but I was a little preoccupied at the time."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

When she finally did look away, Harry quickly changed before tapping her on the shoulder. She took his hands in hers and helped him lower himself back onto the bed before repositioning so that he was actually comfortable.

"For the record," Ginny said as she sat back down, "I have seen you shirtless plenty of times."

Harry's cheeks felt like they were suddenly on fire as Ginny almost smirked to herself. "Was I some sort of nudist or something?"

Ginny actually laughed at that. It was the first time he'd heard her laugh. It sounded beautiful. She laughed far longer than the question warranted, but Harry enjoyed every second of it. Finally, she wiped her eyes, still giggling a little, and shrugged. "The only way you're gonna know the answer to that question is to get your memories back."

He grinned at her very mischievous response and was about to question the fairness of that when the door opened and Andi entered slowly with Teddy, who had thankfully stopped crying.

"Are you feeling okay, Harry?" Andi asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine now. Sorry about–"

"Don't apologise. You couldn't help it. I do think we'll keep this little one with Ginny though."

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, that's probably for the best. Sorry, Teddy," Harry said. Teddy just cocked his head, looking concerned for Harry. "I'm okay, mate. Don't worry."

Ginny took Teddy from Andi and stood near Harry. Teddy never took his eyes off of him, not crying or smiling. He was just watching Harry with great curiosity.

For his part, Harry found that he actually enjoyed just looking at Teddy too. And, even though he'd never admit it, there was something about Ginny holding Teddy that he just couldn't take his eyes off of. She was such a natural with him that it was impressive and admirable to witness.

Teddy and Andi stayed for an hour or two before Teddy started dozing off. "I promise we'll play once everything's back to normal. Okay, Teddy?"

Teddy didn't reply, but Harry meant it all the same. He had a feeling he'd really enjoy playing with Teddy once he was able to without risking bleeding out.

"He'll be looking forward to it. Take care, Harry, Ginny. This– it'll be over soon," Andi said hopefully. Harry smiled bracingly and nodded.

A moment after Andi and Teddy left, Ginny stood up. "Where are you going?" Harry asked, hoping he didn't sound as disappointed as he felt.

A corner of Ginny's mouth pulled upwards. "I was thinking you might be ready to start trying to walk more. If you don't want to though, I–"

"No! That's– yeah, I'd like that."

So for the second time, Ginny helped Harry out of bed. He was glad that she was strong because he had no choice but to hold onto her. She supported him with an arm around his waist, and he held himself up with his arm around her shoulders. It struck him as a very comfortable and oddly familiar position, even though he had no idea why that would be the case. He wasn't complaining about being this close to Ginny though. He could smell flowers again.

They took several laps around the room in near silence before Harry asked, "So we're best friends?"

Ginny looked up at him curiously. "Do you not believe that?"

He shook his head. "No, it's not that. Believe me, I can see why we were best friends before. It's just… Ron told me we got closer in the last couple years. I was wondering what changed or… were we not always really close?"

Ginny sighed and took a full lap before answering. "When I was really little, I heard the story of how you survived Riddle's attack. To me, you became like– like a fairy tale almost, someone I idolised despite knowing next to nothing about. And then Ron became best friends with you in your first year, and you came to our house the next summer. I was really, really shy around you. It took several years for me to grow out of that. But when I did, we became really close pretty quickly."

Harry grinned. "Did you have a crush on me?"

Ginny smiled faintly. "Yeah. For a very long time."

Harry was incredibly tempted to ask when that had changed, but something held him back. She was his best friend. Based on everything he knew, that was the extent of their relationship. And with how amazing she'd been to him and how much he liked her, he didn't want to risk pushing her away by making things weird. She viewed him as a brother now. He was part of her family. He was being stupid. He'd only known her for a couple of days. Why was he even thinking about stuff like this?

"I'm glad you stopped being shy," Harry finally said, not joking anymore.

She smiled a little more. "Me too. So… you see why we're best friends?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty obvious. You care a lot about me, clearly. You're a really nice person, and you're easy to talk to. And you're really funny, even if you're depressed that I'm in the hospital."

Harry was very aware of Ginny's thumb that was softly rubbing against his side. "Believe it or not, I'm even funnier when I'm not worried about you. Not that that happens very often."

"Yeah, why do you stick around me? Seems like you're just asking to be worried about me getting hurt all the time. Not that I'm complaining."

Ginny was quiet. Harry glanced down and saw she was staring up at him. Her eyes were swirling brown orbs, filled with too many emotions for him to process. What was she thinking? He swallowed nervously as his eyes flickered down to her slightly parted lips and back up to her eyes.

"Because I care too much."

"What?" Harry asked, having completely forgotten the question.

Ginny's tongue traced over her lips, which Harry didn't find distracting at all. "You asked why I stick around. Because I care too much about you to leave."

His palms felt very sweaty, and his mouth was dry. "I'm glad for that," he managed. "I– I care about you too."

It might've been ridiculous for him to say. He literally knew like fifteen people. He'd known her for only a couple days. But it didn't matter. He knew he cared about all of them. And it was a good thing Ginny was his best friend because, for some instinctual reason, he cared about her the most.

Now Ginny's eyes darted down to his lips and back to his eyes. His breath was coming shallower, and he realised they'd completely given up on walking. She was still holding him up, strong as ever, even though she seemed incredibly delicate at the moment. Everything seemed to slow down.

"You care about me?" Ginny asked quietly, tilting her head up further.

Harry nodded, no longer in control as his head started to dip towards hers. "Yeah," he whispered.

Ginny didn't move. She didn't push him away. He could practically feel her breath on his lips, and he closed his eyes, praying that this wasn't a mistake. He just couldn't help himself. Something was telling him that this was right.

A knock on the door made him freeze, centimetres away from her, and then he very quickly moved back. He moved so quickly that he almost tipped over until Ginny caught him.

"C– come in," Ginny called. Harry noticed that she seemed rather flushed, and he was positive that he looked the same.

Ron and Hermione walked in. "Damn, Ginny, take it easy on him. It looks like he's about to pass out," Ron commented.

"Already did that once today," Harry replied without thinking. His mind was still elsewhere.

"What?" Hermione and Ron asked at the same time.

Ginny sighed. "Hang on. Let's get him back in bed first."

Harry and Ginny made their final lap of the room en route to the bed. As Ginny helped Harry lower himself onto the bed, they locked eyes once more. Ginny smiled faintly at him, and the simple action accelerated his heart. He smiled back before moving back more fully onto the bed.

He watched Ginny as she explained what had happened with Teddy and Andi, even though he didn't hear much of it. He was wondering more about what would've happened if Ron and Hermione hadn't interrupted them. It was a ridiculous fantasy, and it was probably for the best considering how much about their history Harry still didn't know. But it did occur to him that, for some inexplicable reason, Ginny hadn't been looking at him like a brother a few minutes ago. And he liked that a lot.

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A/N: Honestly, I planned on waiting until Friday to release this chapter, but I think you've all been through enough waiting. After a month of this angst, I think we're all getting ready for it to end, and I did definitely feel that fatigue in the comments, understandably so, which isn't what I want for you all when reading this story. For me, knowing not only how everything plays out but also having read the book in its entirety, the angst feels less than how it must feel to be reading it on a weekly basis and continuing to wait for a resolution, only for this new challenge to be introduced.

I'm very aware that I'm far from a perfect author, and, having never actually followed a fic on a regular release schedule before, it wasn't really something I accounted for in planning the pacing of releases and is something I'm still learning about in my writing even now. Writing can be a very insular experience, where the only voice influencing anything is mine. That can be a good thing creatively, but it also has its drawbacks. It's one of the big reasons I'm grateful to have a beta reader (and a British one at that!) because it gives me a chance to actually talk about ideas and the writing process more openly, but it's also why I'm grateful for all of your feedback. I try to never take anything, positive or negative, too seriously because otherwise I'd probably be on an emotional roller coaster with every new chapter, but I do always take the time to read any perspective on my story other than my own because I feel like it can only make me better, and this was one instance where I think it's better to speed things along. At the end of the day, despite their challenges, this is intended to be a very happy story, so until things do return to being more happy, I'll be releasing two chapters a week to help us get there faster.

Surprisingly, I don't have much else by way of notes for this chapter, mainly because I don't feel like there's much I can say that without spoiling things for the future, so, instead, I'll circle back to one final hint about Owen.

Prophecy is a weird thing in HP. There's the big prophecies from Trelawney; however, she's clearly capable of seeing the future to a certain extent beyond those. It's made fun of a lot in the book, but she accurately predicts a lot of things in PoA, like Neville breaking a teacup or Hermione leaving the class forever. In thinking more about that, I decided that I like the idea that she actually has prophetic visions regularly. Occasionally, something provokes them, like the two we knew about, but I think that she spends so much time alone that it makes sense that she'd deliver prophecies more often and just have no memory of them, so it doesn't really end up mattering.

I have no idea if I'll ever do something more with that idea, but it's not really applicable here anyways. All the way back in C. 5, Ginny overhears Trelawney delivering a prophecy to McGonagall, who thinks it's nonsense because, as far as she knows, Trelawney's made two accurate predictions her whole life. This prophecy was delivered at the exact moment Harry chose to go to the Forbidden Forest. Had he chosen to report Grimhall, the entire year might've gone differently, but once he went to the forest, he set in motion a series of events that led to him duelling Grimhall, taking over as Defence professor, becoming close with Owen, and eventually being attacked in Diagon Alley.

Ginny only overheard part of it, and she was so preoccupied with worrying about Harry that it didn't really register, but she recognised it when Dennis told them in C. 22 about part of the prophecy that she kept repeating as the day the prophecy would come true drew closer. Since we've already seen most of the prophecy and it's come true, I'll type it out in its entirety and translate it.

Original: Shadows spring the proposer on slanted streets. Eternal circles and burrowing dangers collide. Battles fade as memory but the hero's fate hangs uncertainly.

Translated: Shadows (Death Eaters) spring (the season) the proposer (Ginny overheard poser, which could've been a word on its own) on slanted streets (Diagon Alley… diagonally). Eternal circles (Fleur's term for an engagement ring) and burrowing dangers (Owen's in the House of the Badger… which burrows) collide. Battles fade as memory (yep, memory fades) but the hero's fate hangs uncertainly.

There's like a dozen more hints I could mention about Owen, but it all sort of boils down to if there was ever something Owen did that made you go 'huh, that's weird', there's almost certainly something more there. But unless I'm asked specifically about possible hints in the comments, this will be the end of the regularly scheduled Owen section of the A/N. We've just got too much to talk about moving forward, and that next conversation will be happening very soon!

Coming Friday: The Missing Piece- "I have to get out of here."

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

I hope the quicker release schedule and some slightly happier and more hopeful moments in this chapter have helped because I know a lot of you have been worried about the amnesia storyline and wishing it would come to a quicker resolution! It's a terrifying idea to imagine, and I know it's something that's done in fics a lot, so I hope my version of it has been interesting at least and that I continue to surprise you all with the rest of the arc!

Percabethforever: Gracias por recordarme lo de la profecía. Espero que mi nota de autor haya aclarado las cosas.

(Thank you for the reminder about the prophecy! I hope my author's note cleared things up!)

Etschi89: First, thanks as always for the compliments about my writing! I was really hoping my take on memory loss would be unique enough that people would still be interested in reading it, and I'm glad you've found it to be that way! If you're right in your theory that a kiss could be the key to restoring Harry's memories, we sure were close at the end of this chapter! I also completely agree that Harry's subconscious memories are still there and he'd probably do fine in a duel if it came to it. It's all those more active memories about people and events that he's lost, but it was important for me to make sure that he's still the same person, for his sake, Ginny's sake, and our sake as readers, and that would definitely include his magical instincts.

That's such an interesting idea about Harry possibly developing a personality more like James now. I don't think he will because he has his friends grounding him and because he'll always lack some confidence if he can't remember anything, but it is really cool to imagine how Harry's personality would be different without any memories of the Dursleys or any of the bad things that have happened to him and if he'd actually be the same person then. And of course, you are right about there being a lot of things left unfinished at Hogwarts that probably wouldn't make much sense for me to create only for Harry to not go back and finish them, but he's not back yet so who really knows? Hopefully you're right about Harry and Ginny's connection being the thing to bring him back though because it seems like they're getting closer and closer to testing that theory!

I'm really glad I could make you laugh with the line about Voldemort caring about Harry's education haha! I'd wanted to write a joke about that for a very long time, and this was the perfect spot for it. I honestly have no clue what Voldemort was doing during DH, but I love your theories and the possible implications for the Lestrange brothers and future stories! My best guess is that Voldemort was spying on people, studying magic, continuing to build his army of Death Eaters and Inferi, and searching a lot for the Elder Wand. I feel like there's even more possibilities, but that's what came to mind right away!