"I have to get out of here."
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Over the next few days, Ginny did her best to not let herself be alone with Harry. As much as she tried to hide her feelings for him, their almost kiss in his room had proven that she couldn't control herself when they were alone.
She didn't tell anyone about it, and she definitely didn't bring it up with Harry. Her family would take that as a sign that she should just tell him about their relationship. She was less against the idea than she had been when he first woke up, but she was still afraid about jeopardising Harry's recovery by telling him about them. There was also a part of her that wondered if he was attracted to her purely because of her looks, considering he had no memories of her before the day he woke up. That thought scared her. Her relationship with him was so much deeper than that.
If Harry noticed her making an effort to always have someone else in the room with them, he never said anything about it. She wondered what he was thinking about it all. Despite not wanting him to know about their relationship, she also didn't want him to think that she wouldn't be interested in him. Everything was just so confusing, and no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't ever get it to make any more sense or find a clearer path forward.
Despite a little bit of awkwardness between her and Harry, he recovered physically at a rapid rate. Amelia had finally given the okay for him to take a Hair Growth Potion after she decided that it wouldn't hurt anything in his head, so he was no longer missing half of his hair. The bruising on his face had finally faded completely, thanks in large part to the bruise salve Amelia and Andrew applied frequently.
That meant that he looked pretty much exactly like how he had before everything, other than a slightly confused look in his eyes from time to time. There were just so many things that he didn't know about that they had to continue explaining to him. Not that they minded at all– it was just disheartening, knowing that every little thing that should've been second nature to him had to be relearned.
Harry looking exactly like his old self didn't do anything to help with her struggle to resist confessing her love for him. It had been over a week since the last time they'd kissed, since the last time they'd said they loved each other. Every day that passed made her more terrified that the wait wasn't ever going to end.
Harry's improvements went beyond just his appearance. True to his word, it had taken him exactly five days to start walking in the corridor outside of his room without anyone helping support his weight. He was still walking with a limp, but he'd beaten the estimate of a couple weeks that Amelia had set out handily. It wasn't easy though. Harry spent hours every day practising with whoever in the family would help him, and she understood why.
For as long as she'd known him, Harry had never been one to be still and do nothing. In the week and a half since the attack, that was all he'd been able to do. When he put his mind to something, he was also incredibly stubborn. It was one of his most infuriating and lovable traits. He had decided that he was going to throw all his energy into walking again. She could tell that he wore himself out and felt a lot of pain from it, but he didn't stop. He was insane, and she loved him for it.
Harry was actually walking so much that Amelia had to tell him to stop, not wanting to risk him reinjuring his leg by overexerting it before it was ready. Harry hadn't been happy about that. As it was a weekend though, he had a larger variety of people to spend time with, and Ginny found herself sitting in the upstairs tea room with Ron and Hermione that evening, all very tired of the waiting room downstairs.
On the table between them was the latest edition of the Daily Prophet.
ONE WEEK LATER: NO WORD FROM HARRY POTTER!
WHERE IS THE SAVIOUR NOW?
In the week since news broke of a devastating duel between Harry Potter and four former Death Eaters in Diagon Alley, there has been no further updates on Potter's health or current location. Unfortunately, the Prophet has been unable to confirm whether he is at Hogwarts; however, based on everything that is publicly known about the events in Diagon Alley, it is reasonable to assume that Potter sustained injuries that have prevented him from returning to the school, where he was on the verge of completing his seventh year.
Unsubstantiated rumours have suggested that Potter's condition has left him in an unresponsive, near-death state. If these rumours are true, it could be possible that we all have to face the terrible reality that even The Saviour of the Wizarding World is mortal. However, this reporter must emphasise that these rumours have not been confirmed in any way.
Even more sinister rumours, which are also unconfirmed, have suggested that the entire fight was staged by Potter as a way to escape media attention and possibly even flee the country. In this publication last June, Potter announced his romance with Hogwarts housemate and Order of Merlin, Second Class, recipient Ginny Weasley. The Prophet hasn't received any indication that the relationship ever ended, and, like Potter, Weasley's whereabouts are currently unknown. Is it possible that Potter and his longtime girlfriend eloped, using the attack as a cover? As of yet, these are all just rumours, but the moment one of them is confirmed, the Prophet will report it.
The Ministry for Magic, Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries were all unable to be reached for comment on this story.
For further discussion on Potter's possible whereabouts, see page 3.
For a recap of Potter's romantic life, see page 5…
"Gee, I wonder why none of them commented," Ron said sarcastically, shaking his head at the article.
"This is such a load of hippogriff shit," Ginny fumed, irate at the Prophet once again fabricating total lies to sell papers.
"I'll never understand why wizards don't have laws against libel. This would be borderline illegal in the Muggle world."
Ron shrugged at Hermione. "Doesn't matter. People have been profiting off talking about him for years."
"That doesn't make it okay!"
He put his hands up. "I'm not saying it does. It's not okay at all. But this is what they do."
Ginny wasn't really interested in hearing an argument between the two of them about the ethics of reporting, especially since they were on the same side but would still manage to find a way to disagree.
It was a relief when her parents entered the tea room. Ginny rolled up the paper and shoved it in her back pocket as she stood. "You leaving?"
"If the three of you are still insistent on not letting us take a turn staying overnight with him," her mum replied probingly. When none of them responded, she continued, "Then yes, we're leaving. Harry's… a bit annoyed that Amelia made him stop walking today, but she told us that his wounds are closing nicely on his chest and stomach."
Ginny nodded. "That's good. Last thing we need is a repeat of what happened with Teddy."
"And when they're closed, he'll finally be able to leave the hospital," Hermione added.
Ginny wasn't sure where he'd leave to. Surely they'd return to the Burrow, considering he would be so far behind at Hogwarts that he couldn't possibly keep up with the N.E.W.T. material. But if he couldn't keep up, did that mean that they were simply finished at Hogwarts? She refused to go back without him. She blinked and refocused, not wanting to think about what leaving the hospital meant, as much as she did want him to continue healing.
"Exactly. We're just a few days away," Ginny's dad said hopefully.
With that, they all hugged and said their farewells before Ginny, Ron, and Hermione returned to Harry's room. It was very apparent that her mum's assessment of Harry's mood had been accurate. He was still happy to see them, but everything he said had a slightly moody undertone that reminded her of what he was like in her fourth year.
"I think I'm gonna go for a walk," Harry said almost as soon as they entered.
"No, you're not," Hermione responded sternly. "Molly told us what Amelia said. You need to give it a rest, Harry."
Harry rolled his eyes dramatically. "Whatever. I'm so bloody sick of being told to rest."
"Mate, it's only for a bit longer. Once you get out of here, you'll be able to move around as much as you want," Ron promised. Ginny didn't think that was entirely accurate, but it wasn't important right now.
"Yay. Can't wait," Harry replied flatly.
"Would you rather be here by yourself? Because we can leave if that's what you want," Ginny snapped, turning on her heel to walk out the door. It might not have been entirely fair to him, but he had to see how difficult this all was for them too.
Besides, she didn't even take a second step before Harry said, "No!" She assumed that was in a louder voice than he intended because he was quieter when she turned back around. "Sorry for being a prick. I'm just… anyways, what was that in your pocket?"
Ginny raised an eyebrow until she reached back and remembered that she'd stuffed the newspaper into her pocket. She tried not to think about the fact that Harry noticing it meant that he'd been looking at her bum. "Newspaper," she answered.
"Did– it looked like my face was on it," Harry said in an implied question.
Ginny faced a moment of indecision. She didn't want to lie to him outright. They had told him he was famous, so at least that wouldn't be a complete shock. Although finding out that the media was just spreading lies about him probably would be a little startling. She sighed before saying, "Yeah. It's an article about you."
"Seriously?"
She nodded. "They're not exactly rare."
"Can I see it?" Harry asked, looking almost like a kid in a candy store, lighting up at the prospect of possibly learning new information about himself.
"Sure. But you should know that they're not always–"
Hermione snatched the paper out of her hand. "I can read it to you."
Ginny and Harry both gave Hermione a confused, almost stunned look, but she acted like her actions were completely reasonable. "Er– I can read, Hermione."
"Well… yes, but if I read aloud, everyone can hear at once."
Hermione didn't entertain any more questioning of her methods before reading the headline. "One week later: no word from Harry Potter. Where is the saviour now? In the week–"
"Saviour? Is that talking about me?"
"Um… one thing at a time, mate."
Harry drew his eyebrows together at Ron's delaying but didn't interrupt again. Hermione read the first two paragraphs of the article, but Ginny realised as Hermione ended the story early why she'd been so insistent on reading it herself. It wouldn't have exactly been a gentle way of informing Harry about their relationship for him to find out by reading rumours about their hypothetical elopement.
"The Saviour of the Wizarding World?" Harry asked incredulously. "Why are they calling me that?"
They'd never finished telling Harry the story behind his scars. He hadn't brought it up since, so they'd unanimously agreed to not elaborate on the lightning bolt scar on his chest until he asked again. This was about as close to asking as possible.
The three of them exchanged a look, understanding that Harry would continue pressing on the issue if they didn't answer truthfully now. He'd find out very quickly anyways once he left the hospital. At least they could tell him the full truth rather than some sort of sensationalised or altered version of events.
Hermione pressed her lips together before Ginny nodded. She'd be the best person to explain, just like she had all the other complicated and difficult things so far. "It's a really long story, Harry, and a lot of it isn't really relevant to why people call you that. Basically, you, Ron, and I spent nine months on the run, hunting down and destroying the Horcruxes Riddle had made. At the beginning of May last year, we broke into Gringotts– that's the wizard bank in Diagon Alley– and stole a Horcrux of his from a vault. Once we did that, he found out that we were hunting them, so we had to do everything we could to destroy them before he had time to hide the rest of them again.
"He'd hidden one at Hogwarts. You'd thought that he had for months, but we didn't want to believe you until we had no choice. So we went to Hogwarts, and while we were there, he brought his entire army, knowing we were inside and what we were doing. The younger students were evacuated, and everyone we could get from our side was there, but… the odds weren't great for us.
"We found and destroyed the Horcrux at Hogwarts, so the only one left was his pet snake that he kept with him– don't ask," Hermione added, seeing Harry starting to inquire about Riddle's pet. "Then the battle broke out. There was… a lot of death."
"That's where Fred…" Harry trailed off, and they all nodded sadly. He took a shuddering breath as Hermione continued.
"Riddle called a ceasefire and told you to come meet him alone so that– so that nobody else would die. You also learned that on the night that Riddle tried to kill you as a baby and his spell rebounded, his soul was already so fragile that it split into two, and… part of it latched itself onto you. And that made you a–"
"Horcrux," Harry interrupted, looking disgusted at the thought. Then his expression turned to one of confusion. "But how–"
"I'm getting there," Hermione replied sadly. "You learned that it wouldn't be possible for Riddle to be defeated while you were still alive. So– without telling any of us– you went out and met him, defenceless. And– and he cast the Killing Curse on you."
Ginny had heard the story enough times at this point that it shouldn't still have made her well up with tears. But all three of them had tears in their eyes, remembering the events of the battle and seeing Harry's reaction to learning of them for the first time.
"You told us that you woke up in a room where you talked to Professor Dumbledore, who was already dead. He told you that you had a chance to survive because Riddle had– actually, I still don't fully understand it, and I hate to admit that. Basically, Riddle killed the Horcrux but not you. But you played dead, so their army brought your body back up to the castle to try to get us to surrender."
Ron interrupted now. "All hell broke loose. Neville– he's one of our friends– killed the snake, and a bunch of centaurs and villagers from Hogsmeade came running in. The Death Eaters started falling, and pretty soon, it was just him and his bitch."
"His what?" Harry asked.
"Bellatrix Lestrange," Hermione explained, looking like she agreed with Ron's assessment of Bellatrix. "She was a psychotic follower of his. Ginny, our friend Luna, and I were duelling her, but…"
"She almost killed me," Ginny said quietly. Harry's eyes widened, looking more concerned now than he had throughout the rest of the story. "Like… centimetres from killing me. I barely dodged it. And then Mum came in and… well, Bellatrix snuffed it pretty quickly after that."
Harry blinked but continued staring at her for a couple seconds before Ron broke in again, grinning now. "Then you put up a shield between Riddle and Mum and whipped off your Invisibility Cloak. None of us could believe you were alive. You lectured him about how stupid he was, which was so awesome, and then he tried to kill you, but his curse rebounded again and he died."
Harry was quiet for several moments, trying to process the information overload. "So… am I like… immune to Killing Curses or something?"
"I mean…" Ron started, but Hermione cut him off quickly while nudging Ron's shoulder.
"No, you're not. The last one deflected because none of Riddle's spells worked on any of us after he tried to kill you at the battle the first time. You put the same protection over Hogwarts that your mum put on you when you sacrificed yourself," Hermione explained. There was also the whole Elder Wand bit, but it really wasn't necessary to get into that, considering how much he was already struggling with right now.
"But he did hit me with it. So the scar on my chest…"
"Yeah. It's from that," Ron answered, not in as buoyant a mood as before.
"And you all thought I was dead?"
Ginny swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded, looking back down at the floor and trying not to remember the image of his body in Hagrid's arms.
"I– I'm sorry I keep doing this to you all. I can't imagine it's easy to deal with," Harry said in a sombre tone.
"It's not easy. But it's worth it still," Hermione assured him, smiling thinly. "Anyways, that's why they call you the Saviour. Because everyone knows what you did– sacrificing yourself when you didn't know that you might survive. And then defeating him at the end. You always hated that name though."
Harry exhaled sharply and nodded, with a bit of a wry smile on his face. "Yeah. That hasn't changed. It feels weird."
It may have felt weird, but, in Ginny's eyes, it was a very fitting name. "The alternatives were The Chosen One and The Boy Who Lived, if that makes you feel better."
Harry's mouth opened slightly. "They called me all those?"
Ron snorted. "All the damn time."
"Damn," Harry muttered, shaking his head. "I think the newspapers need something different to write about for a change."
"Been saying that for years," Ron agreed, and Ginny nodded.
Harry suddenly got a cautiously curious look on his face. "Can– can I see the picture?"
Hermione looked up at him and nodded, folding the paper over and holding it in front of him. Ginny noticed that Hermione didn't even give Harry the option of holding it himself.
He stared at the familiar picture of him taken after the battle. "Was this– when was this?"
"Maybe a minute after you defeated him," Hermione replied. "That's not how you usually look."
"Good," Harry remarked. "I look almost as bad there as I did when I woke up here."
Ron chuckled. "You definitely looked way worse here."
Harry nodded his acceptance. "Fair enough. I'm looking forward to not looking like a wreck for once."
"You look good now," Hermione told him.
He shrugged. "I still feel weird." And that was the end of his discussion of how he felt.
Harry didn't have any more questions. On the contrary, he seemed far more willing to relax with them and play a few rounds of chess, which both Ginny and Ron won, before they all went to bed.
While Ginny was lying in her cot, she thought back over Harry's reaction to learning about everything. He'd been remarkably subdued, considering just how much there was. It was really surprising, honestly. Obviously, she was glad that he hadn't freaked out, but he just looked like the information only mildly bothered him. She supposed he had a lot on his mind that was keeping him from fully appreciating the news they'd shared with him.
"Ginny?"
Ginny's eyes snapped open when she heard Harry whispering her name. Without hesitation, she was out of the cot and standing right next to his bed. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I had a question."
That was interesting. "What is it?"
"Do you know where the Invisibility Cloak Ron mentioned is?"
"Yep."
"It's mine, right?"
She thought she saw where this was going. "Yep."
"Can I have it?"
"Why?" Ginny asked, watching his reaction in the dark as he tried to justify why he desperately needed the cloak while he was lying in a hospital bed.
He sighed. "I have to get out of here."
Her instinct was to remind him of his instructions. "Harry, you know what Amelia–"
"I know!" Harry hissed. "But… look, I know it's hard, but you've gotta think about how I'm feeling. Everything you've all told me about my past is great, and I really wish I remembered, but I don't. Which means that I literally do not have any idea what it's like to be anywhere other than this room and the corridor outside. I need to see something else, to make a memory that doesn't involve this bloody hospital."
Ginny twisted the bracelet on her wrist. That honestly hadn't ever occurred to her. She obviously knew that he couldn't remember anything, but she hadn't really considered what that meant beyond not remembering people. No wonder he was so desperate to get out of his room whenever he could.
"Please, Ginny," Harry added, practically begging for her to give him the cloak.
She chewed on her bottom lip. Her head told her that it was a bad idea to go against Amelia's orders. But her heart told her that Harry needed this, and it was practically impossible for her to turn him down when he was looking at her with such a pitiful, pleading expression on his face. At least the Healers had stopped checking in at night, so they hopefully wouldn't notice if he left.
"Okay," Ginny said, and Harry's face brightened up immediately. "But I'm coming with you."
His smile faltered for a brief second, like he was concerned about bringing her along, but then it grew even wider. "Brilliant! Let's go!"
He was out of bed before Ginny could even offer to help him. Then he stopped. "Er– do I have any clothes?"
Ginny bit back a smile at the thought of Harry walking around outside in the gown from the hospital. Luckily, her mokeskin bag had an Undetectable Extension Charm, courtesy of Hermione, and she always kept an extra set of clothes in it for herself and Harry, just in case.
"Yeah, I've got something here." Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as she dug through the bag before withdrawing a pair of jeans and a light blue shirt. "Go change and then we'll leave."
Harry didn't need to be told twice. Ginny barely even had time to consider the possible consequences of sneaking out before he was back, dressed and looking so normal that Ginny almost pinched herself to be reminded that he still didn't remember everything, no matter how he looked.
"Here's what we're gonna do," she explained as she held out the Invisibility Cloak. "I'm gonna go outside and tell the Aurors that I'm getting some fresh air. You're gonna stay right behind me and be quiet until we get out of the hospital."
"Done," Harry agreed, grinning widely as he pulled the cloak on. "Whoa," he gasped in amazement. "That's so cool."
Ginny smiled a little at Harry's awe before walking over to the door. "You behind me?"
"Yep," a voice very, very close to her ear whispered.
Goose pimples ran down her arms as she opened the door, making sure to push it fully open to provide enough room for Harry to get through. The Aurors gave her a curious look, not used to seeing her out this late.
"Needed some air," she explained and walked away before they asked any questions. She assumed Harry was still behind her, but she didn't dare speak to him as she walked the path to the back exit to St. Mungo's, dumping them out in an alley.
"Harry?" Ginny hissed once she was sure nobody else was around.
"Yeah," he answered as he pulled the cloak off. He was still grinning.
"So… where to?" Ginny asked.
Harry blinked blankly. "Er– how would I know where to go?"
"Do you want to go somewhere quiet? We could go to a park. Or if you want to be around people, we could walk through some of the busier areas or go to a pub and eat. Or if–"
"Food! Yes! I'm so tired of the food at the hospital," Harry replied immediately, sounding a bit like Ron.
"Sounds good," Ginny agreed, thinking that different food would be great. "Actually… I know a place not far from here."
The entire walk to the pub, Ginny was reminded of her first excursions into Muggle London with Harry last summer. She'd been so confused and eager to absorb as much about her surroundings as possible. Even though Harry understood a lot of the things in the world innately, he still looked around with amazement at the new environment of a city. Before long though, Ginny smelled the river, and moments later, they were at a pub that she and Harry had been to after seeing Romeo and Juliet.
The pub was significantly louder than it had been when they'd visited before. They found a small table that was empty in the corner overlooking the water and crowded together, trying to avoid all the drunks walking around. Harry took it all in with fascination, and they didn't talk until they'd both ordered shepherd's pies.
Thankfully, he'd been understanding when she'd expressed her concern at him drinking alcohol, considering he was still taking potions to help with his internal injuries, and she didn't know how those would mix. Instead, they sipped on Coca-Colas, Ginny's favourite drink that Harry had introduced her to, and stared out at the lights reflecting off the dark waters of the Thames.
"When did Ron and Hermione get together?" Harry asked suddenly.
Ginny tilted her head curiously. "How'd you know they were together?"
He snorted. "They fall asleep holding hands every night. And… I dunno, you can just tell, I guess."
It was intriguing how observant he'd been. Granted, there hadn't been much to be observant about in the room other than his visitors. And, in spite of his observational skills when it came to Ron and Hermione, he still hadn't caught on to his relationship with her.
"They got together last year. At the battle actually."
"At the battle?" Harry asked with incredulity written on his face.
Ginny chuckled and nodded. "Yep. Worst timing in the world, those two. We all knew for ages that they fancied each other. Even you picked up on it, and you usually miss all the signs about stuff like that."
"I do?"
She waved her hand like it didn't matter. "Every teenage boy does. You're all bloody stupid," she joked with a grin that he returned before looking more serious again.
Slowly, he asked, "So… I guess if I've missed signs, I don't have a girlfriend? I mean, probably not… since she hasn't shown up."
Ginny almost froze at the direct questioning. She wet her lips nervously before trying to brush off the question with a joke. "You're actually married with twelve kids."
Harry smiled slightly. "Right. I'll take that as a no then."
Ginny hated herself, but she didn't correct him. She took another sip of her drink as Harry looked closely at her. Actually, she started to blush as she noticed Harry's gaze was focused below her face, towards her chest.
But then he asked, "That– is that a heart?"
Ginny glanced down and kicked herself mentally. Somehow, the heart-shaped locket that Harry had given her for Christmas had come out from underneath her shirt. She hadn't been able to bring herself to take it off, and she'd looked at the pictures in it frequently when she wasn't in the room with Harry. She'd always tucked it back under her shirt before seeing him though.
"Yeah, it is."
Harry stared at it for a couple more seconds, seemingly tensing his jaw. "It– it looks like the sort of thing… like a bloke would get for his– his girlfriend."
Now Ginny really froze. How could she possibly answer that? She'd kept the secret for so long that it wasn't fair to him to spring it on him now. At the same time, she couldn't possibly tell the love of her life that she was seeing someone and make him think she wasn't interested, as convoluted as it all was.
Why couldn't he just remember? He was staring at her so intensely that she felt like melting, missing that look of love that he used to give her before he forgot everything about them. She missed him so much. She missed them. Ordinarily, this would've been a perfectly charming date for the two of them. Instead, it was a terrifying mixture of deja vu at the interactions that felt familiar and the questions she couldn't answer.
And the whole time, Harry was staring at her, like the weight of the world rested on how she chose to proceed. The scary part was that she felt the same way. The weight of her world did rest on it. And she had no plan.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
When Ginny had not only agreed to help him leave but offered to go with him, Harry almost couldn't believe his luck. He'd been worried that she'd been creeped out by him almost kissing her, but now, she was willingly sneaking out of the hospital for a late night escapade together. She couldn't have been that bothered by it if she was still wanting to be around him.
It was so bizarre being in London. He knew from Ginny that he'd been here before, but he couldn't remember any of it. It all felt slightly off, like his memories were lurking below the surface of his mind, but without them, he was just disoriented in the city.
Harry was famished when they took their tiny corner of the pub. They were seated so close to each other that their knees would bump every once in a while, sending a new shock through him every time even though they were both wearing jeans. He ordered the same thing as Ginny– shepherd's pie. It sounded good, and Ginny must've liked it, so he figured it was a safe bet.
Then he'd started asking questions. He wasn't sure what he was trying to get out of it. He just had the feeling that he'd spent the last week working nonstop on this wildly mysterious puzzle that was his life. Every conversation felt like it was rearranging the pieces. Most conversations caused pieces to fall into place. A few had caused pieces to be removed and jumbled up again. But he'd been working diligently, and it felt like there were only a handful of pieces missing.
And the biggest piece that he still didn't understand was Ginny. That thought had been in his mind all week, relentlessly. He was slowly becoming convinced that they had, at one time at least, been more to each other than just friends. They might still have been, before all of this had happened. There was a lot of compelling evidence, from her seeming more distraught than anyone to them almost kissing a few days ago. Maybe most importantly was the way he felt every time he looked at her. From the very beginning of all of this, he'd felt an inexplicable, irresistible pull towards her in a way that he hadn't felt with any of the other people who very obviously cared about him too. He couldn't think of another way to explain it.
The problem was he didn't want to risk asking her and being wrong. He thought a lot about asking Ron or Hermione, but, as comfortable as he was becoming around them, it still felt like such a dangerous thing, confessing that he thought he had or used to have feelings for Ginny. How would they have reacted if everyone else knew that they viewed each other as brother and sister?
If they did ever mean anything more to each other, he thought Ginny might tell him. But she hadn't so far. Granted, it hadn't ever really come up. So when he asked if he had a girlfriend, a small part of him was desperately hoping that she'd say that they'd dated before, just to clear up all the confusion he was carrying. An even smaller part of him was hoping that she'd say she was his girlfriend.
Instead, she played it off like a joke, and he decided not to press the issue. If anything, the awkward way that she answered it added something else to the catalogue of evidence that he'd compiled in his mind.
And then he caught sight of the locket hanging around her neck. Without even thinking, he asked if it had been given to her by her boyfriend.
She was deathly quiet, staring at him like her mind had gone completely blank. He wasn't sure how long they stared at each other before they were interrupted by the food being brought to the table, which startled them both a great deal.
They ate in near silence, but Harry kept stealing glances over at Ginny, and on more than one occasion, he caught her looking at him.
"You play with that a lot," he commented, pointing his spoon at the leather bracelet that she was currently pulling at.
She flushed slightly. "Yeah, I guess so."
And for some reason, he asked, "How long have you had it?"
Her nostrils flared, and he expected to be met with silence, when she answered, "Almost a year." She was silent for a couple seconds before adding, in a much quieter voice, "You made it for me."
He wasn't sure he heard her correctly in the din of the pub. "I made it for you?"
She nodded, never breaking eye contact with him. Her eyes almost looked like they were blazing in the dim yellow light around them. "When you were on the run, you made it for my birthday. You gave it to me for my birthday last year."
Harry's mouth felt dry. He cleared his throat. He was learning new things about himself every day, but based on everything he knew and sensed about himself, that didn't sound like something he would normally do. Which begged the question that would remain unanswered– why would he do it for Ginny?
"Huh. So I'm an artist and a Saviour? This has been a real informative day for me."
Ginny's mouth twitched before she slowly smiled. "You could definitely make more of them. I think they'd probably be pretty popular coming from the Saviour himself," she quipped sarcastically. "But you've only done the one so far."
So he was right in his assessment of himself. The curious thing was why she was so open about the bracelet and not the locket. He wouldn't push on it because he knew he wasn't the kind of person to pry. But not knowing killed him.
He didn't want to let that show though. Maybe Ginny hadn't told him anything, if there was anything to tell, because he wasn't acting enough like himself yet. She might be worried that he wouldn't ever be the same, and he guessed that brooding over the memories he didn't have would've been very out of character for him. And honestly, he was very tired of trying to figure out who Harry was. He just wanted to be himself again.
He did his best. He didn't bring up anything about either of their romantic lives again. They talked a lot about London, and Ginny told him more about Hogwarts. She spoke with a great deal of pride as she described him teaching students Defence Against the Dark Arts, even though he was still unconvinced that he was qualified to be doing that.
When she wasn't telling him stories about his past, they made each other laugh by pointing out the drunkest people in the pub and trying to guess what they were saying. It was so, so stupid. It wasn't even that funny. But they couldn't stop laughing.
Ginny looked beautiful when she laughed, so full of life and joy. He found himself doing everything he could to continue making her laugh; it was almost addictive. Her eyes sparkled in ways that he couldn't have ever imagined, and somehow, they seemed to brighten even more when they were looking at him.
They did have to get back to the hospital before anyone noticed they were gone though. They walked two blocks before Harry realised that they were holding hands. And then he realised that he'd been the one to take her hand when they left the pub. And it felt completely natural. Even better, Ginny hadn't reacted negatively to it at all. Their fingers were laced together, and suddenly, Harry could feel his and her heartbeats intertwining. It was almost magical.
Finally, they reached the alley, and Harry had to let go of her hand. The tips of his ears were hot, but it didn't look like Ginny was blushing at all. He wasn't exactly sure what to make of it. But there was something he had to say.
"Thank you for this. It– it was absolutely incredible. The best night of my life that I can remember."
She brushed her hair off her face and gave him a small smile. "I know you don't remember, but I'm usually up for sneaking off with you in the middle of the night. Next time, we'll do something even more fun than a pub though."
Harry grinned, not sure whether he was more pleased by the reference to their shared past and the possible implications or the promise of what the future held.
Without warning, Ginny stood on her toes. Harry froze as she very softly brushed a kiss on his cheek. It sent a jolt through him. He could feel warmth flooding through him from where her lips had touched his skin.
He must've looked like he'd been stunned because she smiled at him again. "This was the most normal that things have felt in a long time. It's just– it's good to know that– that you're still you."
He nodded. "I'm happy about it too."
She giggled, and that almost sent another shockwave through him. "Alright, we've gotta get back in there. Put your cloak back on."
Reluctantly, Harry did what she asked and followed her back to the room in silence. Once they were past the Aurors and into the room, he quickly changed back into his robe– he didn't realise until after that he hadn't asked Ginny to look away.
"Goodnight," she whispered quietly to him before slipping into her cot.
"Goodnight," he echoed, unable to keep the smile off his face as he climbed into his own bed.
He was wide awake though. And there was only one thing on his mind. A terrifying, amazing, dangerous thing. He had no choice in the matter though. After tonight, even though he could only remember the past week of his life, he had to admit it.
He was in love with Ginny Weasley.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
The night hadn't been a complete bust, after all. She'd been terrified and certain that it would've been ruined after Harry started asking about their love lives. But somehow, things had shifted, and they had the best night since Harry had been attacked. It really felt like things were actually how they were supposed to be again.
The dreadful reality was that they still had to return to the hospital. The night wasn't perfect, but it was real. And it gave Ginny hope that they could actually have a future together, even if, Merlin forbid, he never got his memories back. He was still the same person, and she was still very much in love with him, which was why she created the opportunity to kiss his cheek. It made her heart skip a beat every time Harry blushed at her like that.
It took a while for her to fall asleep. She knew she'd done the right thing, letting him leave and going with him. Hopefully nobody would ever find out about it. As she drifted off to sleep though, she wasn't thinking about the potential consequences of their sneaking out. She was more focused on the very delayed realisation that, despite having been in a hospital for more than a week, Harry still smelled faintly of his Firebolt. He still smelled like her fumes of Amortentia.
Things were different between her and Harry after that night. There was no more awkwardly avoiding each other. Instead, Ginny actively tried to spend time with him when nobody else was around. They never really talked about the night they'd spent in London, but it was obvious they were both thinking about it.
They didn't need to talk about it though. They could both feel that something was different. They talked and laughed more together. When Harry walked in the corridor for practice and nobody was around, she'd hold his hand. Just because she could. And Ginny was forced to conclude that, even though it wasn't the life she imagined, even though it would be so different and difficult and challenging, she could be happy with him even now. But she still really preferred him remembering.
A day later, they received the long-awaited news.
Amelia was examining Harry's reports and checking the progress of his wounds healing. She seemed satisfied. "Well, Harry, I have to say that you are a remarkable patient. You've practically regained full mobility, and the wounds on your chest and stomach are almost completely healed. The scars may be permanent, but the wounds are closed. So… there's nothing in your condition that's keeping you here anymore."
Harry's eyes lit up. "You mean I can leave?"
Amelia smiled and nodded. "Yes, you can. You still have to take it easy and not overexert yourself, and I'll come check on you in a few days. But yes, I'm very happy to tell you that you can go back home."
Ginny exchanged overjoyed looks with Ron and Hermione. He was finally coming home.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
"So… we're going back to your family's house, right?" Harry asked Ginny and Ron after Amelia left. He could barely hide his elation at finally being allowed to leave the hospital. He'd been awake for over a week and had only left once, for a few painfully short hours. He was so ready to be back out in the world.
Ron nodded. "Yep. It's your home too."
Harry grinned and glanced over to Ginny, who was sharing in his excitement. He was really excited to be out of the hospital. But he was also really excited at the prospect of spending more time alone with Ginny. Ever since their night in London, things had felt different. A very good different. And he was excited to see where they went from here.
He changed into the same clothes Ginny had provided a few nights ago, and then he was ready to leave. It wasn't like he had anything to pack up. Ron and Hermione had gone ahead to tell Molly and Arthur and return home, so, once again, Harry and Ginny were alone as they retraced the familiar steps to the back exit of St. Mungo's.
Then they were standing in the alley that she'd kissed his cheek in. With the way she was looking up at him now, he almost tricked himself into believing she'd do it again. Instead, she just cupped his cheek in her hand, which still felt very warm to him.
"Are you ready to go see your home?"
He nodded eagerly. "I can't wait."
She hugged him tightly, and he didn't hesitate to return it. But it wasn't just a hug. A second later, the world disappeared and reappeared. Harry gasped, understanding somehow what had just happened even though he was still surprised by it.
He smiled down at Ginny, who nodded for him to turn around. When he did, he saw a very tall, very lopsided house made of a mismatched combination of stone, wood, and brick. It didn't look like much, but the warm feeling in his chest told him that, somehow, this place was home.
Ginny was looking expectantly at him, and he understood that she was probably hoping that seeing the house might've jogged some memories. He hated that it didn't. He'd have given everything to remember for her. Instead, he just had to try to continue being as much himself as he could, even if he couldn't remember exactly who he was.
"Come on," Ginny said after a moment, taking his hand and pulling him with her. He followed very willingly. The sun was setting, and there was a golden glow that seemed to light up everything around the house. Especially Ginny. He was home.
Ginny released his hand just before they entered the home from the back porch. With an encouraging smile, she opened the door, and Harry was welcomed home with cheers from the entire family, who'd all packed into the kitchen to celebrate his return.
As he ate a delicious dinner cooked by Molly, he looked around the table at all the members of this very large family. His family. For the first time since he'd woken up, everyone seemed to be laughing and smiling and enjoying themselves, and Harry felt like he had found his place. He belonged with these people.
He was still learning more about the dynamics everyone had with one another. For example, this was the first time that he'd actually seen George picking on his older brother, Percy. And Percy, who had seemed so put-together and professional at the hospital, surprised Harry when he fired a joke back at George.
Charlie was in a better mood than Harry had seen him before too, loudly making jokes with the rest of his brothers. Molly and Arthur were very quiet, watching everything unfold. Harry felt their eyes on him several times. They cared about him, and that meant more than he could even fully understand.
Ron and Hermione were also much more affectionate than they had been in the hospital. Once they finished eating, Harry was pretty sure they never once stopped touching each other, either holding hands or leaning on the other. They didn't talk much. They seemed exhausted, like they'd just finished taking a terrible exam. Harry imagined that was pretty much how they felt after the past eleven days in the hospital, so he couldn't judge them for needing each other now… especially considering that he and Ginny kept intertwining their feet under the table. It wasn't much, and it was far less overt than what Ron and Hermione were doing, but it somehow felt completely right. Harry was still learning things, but he finally felt that the pieces of the puzzle in his life had almost completely fallen into place.
A couple hours later, once the family had started separating to return to their own homes, Harry realised he didn't know his way around the rest of the house. "Er– where do I sleep?"
Molly gave him a slightly curious look, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You'll bunk with Ron. He'll take you up."
"Oh– yeah," Ron replied like he hadn't been expecting that. Harry supposed it would take a while for all of them to get used to him not remembering things. "Yeah, just give me a sec and I'll take you up."
Then he peeled off with Hermione, heading back into the kitchen from the sitting room, leaving Harry with Molly, Arthur, and Ginny. He glanced over at Ginny and saw that she was wearing an expression that he hadn't seen on her face in several days– the strange mixture of sadness and anger that he'd associated with her disappointment at his amnesia. He started to ask what was bothering her when she stood up suddenly.
"I should go to sleep. Night everyone," Ginny said in a thick voice, barely sparing him a glance before swiftly exiting the sitting room and racing up the stairs.
Harry watched after her for several seconds before looking back at Molly and Arthur, not understanding what he'd done to upset Ginny now.
"You didn't do anything," Arthur said, apparently reading his mind. "I think Ginny was holding out hope that you'd remember once you were here, where all of you spent so much time together. And since you haven't… it's hard for her."
Harry pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. This was hard for him too. Why couldn't he just remember? He'd been living this puzzle for as long as he could remember. He had to be close to figuring it out.
"Alright, let's go up," Ron said, reentering the sitting room. Harry stood and said goodnight to Molly and Arthur before following him up the stairs at a very slow pace, fighting through the pain in his leg.
When they reached the first landing, Ron continued on, but Harry stopped, and not because his leg was hurting too much. It felt like he'd been shocked again. Like some magnetic force was holding him on this landing. He looked to his left and saw a door that was identical to the one on his right. But for some reason, he felt like he was supposed to see what was behind this specific door.
Something invisible and powerful pulled him towards the door. He wasn't even thinking when he reached his hand out and wrapped his fingers around the doorknob. There was a tingling in his fingers that told him he was meant to do this. Without any further hesitation, he turned the knob and opened the door.
The room was painted a golden yellow, with few adornments on the walls that he could see, other than a poster of a band and another showing someone flying on a broom. That must've been a Quidditch poster. There was a comfortable-looking bed that took up most of the available space. Despite the furnishings and decorations though, his attention was drawn quickly though to the most notable thing in the room.
Ginny hadn't even noticed that the door was open. She was staring at something on the wall behind the door, and tears were leaking out of her eyes. He didn't think he'd seen her cry before. She'd held it together all week in front of him. It hadn't really occurred to him that she might've been crying privately. She looked so sad that he felt an empathetic pain in his chest, wanting to comfort her.
"Ginny," he said gently.
Ginny flinched, surprised by him, and wiped at her eyes. "You– you shouldn't be in here," she said in a thick voice, subtly waving her wand at whatever she was crying at.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, completely ignoring her reproach.
Ginny cleared her throat, but her voice was still cracking. "I'm– I'll be fine. You should– you should go up to Ron's room."
He ignored that too. Instead, he closed the gap between them and pulled her into a warm, tight hug. She tensed before sighing and leaning into the hug. He felt her shoulders trembling slightly.
Harry wasn't totally sure what he was doing, but he started running his hand through the hair that lay on her back. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm–"
His eyes caught sight of what had been making her cry. He stiffened, and his hands stopped moving. Ginny slowly leaned back, sensing the change in his posture. She looked up at him and saw where his eyes were directed.
Then her own eyes widened. "Harry… you need to leave," she said, more forcefully than before.
Harry wasn't going to stop now. He gently released her and stepped towards the wall, ignoring her reaching after him in a futile attempt to stop him from seeing this thing on the wall that had drawn him in. It looked so familiar. What was it that she didn't want him to see so badly?
She stopped pulling on him now, and he stood, staring at the picture on the wall. It was a picture of Ginny in a rather odd position. She looked like she was running and was almost angry at the person holding the camera. Not understanding, Harry took another step forward, and the picture moved.
He watched as Ginny sprinted towards him, like she was about to run out of the picture. Her fiery red hair billowed out behind her, and her mouth, slightly curved into a smile, was moving like she was shouting something he couldn't make out. Then he saw her eyes. He'd caught glimpses of the entrancing, flaming nature of her beautiful brown eyes throughout the past week, but he'd never seen her as intense as she was in this moving picture.
The rest of the world faded away as his vision tunnelled, and all he could see was her, running at him like a blaze of fire. It felt like he was drowning, unable to breathe. He was frozen, and all he could do was blink.
He blinked once, and he saw her running towards him, shouting that they'd won the Quidditch Cup before throwing herself into his arms and kissing him.
He blinked twice, and he saw her running towards him, just before Voldemort cast the Killing Curse on him in the Forbidden Forest.
He blinked again, and he saw her running towards him, in this picture that he'd given her on their first anniversary.
He blinked once more, and he saw her running towards him, just before he was hit by Augustus Rookwood's lightning in Diagon Alley.
He gasped, suddenly able to breathe again.
He blinked one final time, and he saw her eyes blazing as she helped him out of a panic attack, as she watched Teddy take his first steps, as she kissed him, and as she said she loved him.
And, like it had never been in doubt, the final missing piece to the puzzle of his life fell into place.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
Sooner or later, she would stop being surprised at Harry's lack of memory. The reminder that he would be sleeping in Ron's room because there was no reason for him to sleep with her was just a little too painful though. She made up an excuse and went to her room as soon as possible. The last time she'd been here, it had only been for a short while before she snuck out to see Harry. She still hadn't really slept in a different room than him since their first few nights at Hogwarts in September, and she hated that she was going to have to figure out how to do it again.
The picture on her wall seemed to taunt her. She didn't even need to make the picture move for it to draw her in completely. She stared at the picture of their first kiss, trying desperately to not completely break down as reality set in. Harry wasn't ever going to remember. He was home now, and he still didn't remember. She loved him, and she would continue to love him without his memories, but it was completely devastating to know that their first years together would never be something he remembered.
She flinched when Harry said her name. She realised she'd been crying and quickly wiped her eyes, wishing he hadn't had to see her like this. But she just couldn't take him being here, so close but so far away.
"You– you shouldn't be in here," she said before waving her wand at the picture, changing it so that it showed only her rather than them kissing, on the off chance he saw it.
Harry didn't even think about it. "Are you okay?"
Ginny fought to clear the lump out of her throat, not feeling anywhere near okay. This was killing her. "I'm– I'll be fine," she lied. "You should– you should go up to Ron's room."
He really was as stubborn as ever. Instead of leaving, he did pretty much the opposite, acting so much like how he would've before everything that it almost sent a dagger through her heart. He wrapped his arms around her. She tensed for the briefest second before exhaling gratefully and leaning into him. He had no way of knowing just how much comfort this brought her, and for a brief second, she could imagine that none of it was real. They were happy, and he remembered that he loved her.
She almost burst into tears again, feeling pathetic but helpless when he started brushing his hands through her hair. He used to love doing that.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm–"
Suddenly, he stiffened and stopped caressing her hair. She leaned back, reluctantly leaving his embrace, but when she saw where he was looking, she recoiled. "Harry… you need to leave," she said, far more loudly than anything else they'd said to each other tonight.
Yet again, he ignored her. At least she'd changed it so it didn't show them kissing, but something still felt wrong about him seeing this. If he figured out what it was from, there was a chance he'd start hating her for never saying anything, blaming her for hiding it. She tried to hold him back, but she eventually gave up when he didn't relent. It didn't matter. This would all just make everything hurt more for her.
But then he gasped, just like he had when he'd woken up from his coma. Ginny watched him closely as he slowly turned. There was something different in his eyes, a sort of intense recognition that felt familiar. Was it possible–
A smile started breaking over his face. "You know… it's rude to go this long without kissing your boyfriend."
She couldn't believe her ears. But he was still smiling. Her heart was pounding wildly. "Harry…"
In a flash, he was right in front of her, cradling her head delicately in both his hands. She was breathless when he leaned down without hesitation and kissed her softly, making her world explode. Did he really– how was it possible? She didn't particularly care. This might have been the gentlest kiss they'd ever shared, but it electrified her, setting her heart and lips ablaze, like she'd just drank a litre of firewhisky.
He pulled back a few centimetres, ending the kiss far too soon. Her eyes blinked open, and she saw his bright green eyes staring at her with something she was intimately familiar with– love.
Barely breathing, he whispered, "I remember. Gin… I remember."
Then he captured her lips in a far more passionate kiss that sent her head into a dizzying spiral, and she tasted the saltiness of their own combined tears of relief. He called her Gin. He remembered. The nightmare was over. She'd never been happier to kiss him, and, as they fell backward onto her bed, she wasn't sure that she'd ever stop kissing him.
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A/N: I've written around 100 chapters over three books so far, and no matter how many times I do it, every time I write 'Chapter XX' and look at the blank page, I get this feeling that I can't write. It's dumb and insane that it still happens, but whether I'm starting a new book or a new chapter or even a new scene, the blank page gives me pause and often requires me to take a breath and remind myself that I do, in fact, know how to write. It really gets annoying though, which is why I know that this arc is the only time I haven't felt any of that when looking at a blank page. I wrote everything– all 60k words– from the fight in Diagon Alley all the way to the end of this chapter in literally two weeks, which is crazy fast even by my standards. It was like every time I sat down to write, I couldn't stop.
In my original notes for the story, written on my phone in July 2023, I wrote: "The attack causes some really debilitating physical effects that leave Harry fighting to play in the last match of the season."
So yes, when I first planned this story, the stakes for everything after the attack was centred around Quidditch. As I wrote SoR and got into ToG, I smartly started feeling like that was nowhere near enough. It's much more interesting if Harry's on the brink of death and has to fight out of a coma, right? Which is why all of my more updated notes say that he has to wake up and recover. Funny enough, something important is missing from all my notes: memory loss!
In the back of my mind, I'd had this idea rattling around that Harry's mind could've been vulnerable because of surviving multiple Killing Curses and that could potentially open the avenue to memory problems later if I wanted to pursue that. When he wakes up from his panic attack after the forest in C.5, he has a moment where he doesn't remember Ginny, so it was an idea, but I'd never bothered to write it down because I wasn't planning on using it this early. Then I got into the fight with Rookwood and needed there to be a real reason why Harry gets put into a coma that he can't wake up from. As soon as I had the lightning idea, I was off to the races (and I did eventually go back and add Harry telling the Defence leads about his problems with electricity so that Owen would know and could tell Rookwood). I wrote more and had to up the stakes, so Amelia warned Ginny about the memory loss because she had to be prepared for something even worse, but I still wasn't planning on it. Then I got to the very end of Chapter 28, where Harry opens his eyes. Originally, he was going to say her name and that would've been the end of the chapter. But for some reason, I thought I'd see how I'd feel if, instead, I wrote "Who are you?"
And that just spoke to me. I needed to give them one final hurdle to overcome before the end of this book. I didn't feel like a couple chapters of Ginny waiting was enough, and I didn't really love that the main challenge Harry would face would practically be physical therapy. More importantly though, I identified the real reason to choose this storyline, and that made it so easy to write. Writing Ginny's memories has given me the awesome opportunity to write so much about her life from the canon years, including getting to show how she fell in love with Harry. I don't get to do that with him because we have seven books of what would've made up his memories. I wanted the chance to tell my own, perfectly canon-compliant story, of how Harry could've fallen in love with Ginny, even when he didn't know her.
It's not perfect. Nothing is. But I firmly subscribe to Dumbledore's theory that love is the most powerful magic, and, ultimately, falling in love with Ginny and getting the very forceful reminder of it from the picture is what fixed what the magical healing couldn't. It may be cheesy, but I'm a cheesy guy, and that's why I'm so proud of these chapters– arguably my favourites– and why I'm also wildly amazed and grateful that I got to post the chapter that concludes this crazy arc on my birthday, almost a year to the day after I began writing it.
So there's a look into my incredibly messy writing process that I know you all wanted! Now, for a tiny bit of housekeeping: I'm a little bit of a jerk for saying we'd be getting two chapters a week until a resolution to the memory loss when I knew it was coming literally three days later, but I did laugh a little writing it! So from now on, we're back to once a week, despite any other cliffhangers moving forward! I promise you all, we've made it through the worst of the angst!
Oh, and one last thing… this chapter title comes from one of my favourite parts of SoR, at the beginning of C.16, right after they say 'I love you' for the first time. If you're interested, go back, read that, and see how nothing's changed for Harry in the past year… Ginny's still the missing piece.
Coming Friday: Making Up for Lost Time- If it was a dream, he didn't want to wake up.
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Flutterbye123: You were pretty close with your guess that learning about him and Ginny would return his memories! Sorry you only got one week of two chapters haha, but I'm glad you're still loving it and hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Percabethforever: Esperaba que esa frase al final del capítulo diera esperanzas a todos, porque Harry estaba empezando a darse cuenta de las cosas, ¡y ahora hemos visto que lo ha recordado! Esperemos que pueda jugar, y sin duda hará todo lo posible para estar listo, ¡pero al menos ya se ha ocupado de la parte más importante de su recuperación!
(I was hoping that sentence at the end of the chapter would give everyone some hope because Harry was starting to figure things out, and now we've seen it through to him remembering! Hopefully he'll be able to play, and he'll definitely do everything he can to be ready, but at least he's taken care of the most important part of his recovery already!)
Dust1423: I'm glad that you liked seeing those little bits of Harry and Ginny growing closer– I wanted to build it up slowly while also giving little hints to where they were going before ultimately arriving here at the end of this chapter, and I really hoped you liked all of their relationship growth in this chapter because I certainly did!
Padfoot-Prongs05: I'm really, really sorry that your comment made me laugh when I saw it because I knew I was taking it back to one chapter a week with this chapter. I totally understand that the wait every week is hard– it's hard for me to wait a week to release every new chapter because there's so much that I want to share with all of you. I mean, I've been waiting a literal year to post this chapter! But I promise that dealing with weekly waits is better than me speeding up the release schedule, running out of chapters to post, and then either rushing through writing lower quality chapters or having to wait months for me to write enough good chapters to get ahead again. I don't want to do that, and I definitely don't want to put all of you through that. I like being as ahead as possible with writing because I feel like it allows me to shape the story better. Right now, I'm writing chapters that won't be released until September, which makes the writing process very comfortable for me and guarantees a steady stream of content for a very, very long time!
Guest: Absolutely no worries, and I hope you enjoyed the double chapter (even though it's coming later than usual today)! We definitely got some more great moments of Harry crushing on Ginny, but I'm sorry to ruin your idea of him winning the Cup while still not having his memory haha... if he does win it, he'll remember everything about Quidditch! And I also think your points about Trelawney are very accurate, and I agree that Trelawney was much better at predicting the future than anyone ever gave her credit for. I've seen plenty of videos theorizing that, and I'm totally on board for it. I've really never thought toooo much about Divination, but I fully believe Trelawney was supposed to be good and the story intentionally cast doubt on her to make the prophecies more questionable, which still sort of carries through in this story. And for that matter, Ron's similar with how good he is at predicting things, and I try to work that into my story in as many as possible!
Etschi89: I have to say, I was really glad when reading your review that you didn't say that you hoped the angst continued for a while to get more two chapter weeks haha! I think there may still be some weeks in the future where two chapters makes sense, but the next one I have in mind that I might do isn't until Book 3, so we'll be back to once a week for a while. Hopefully that still keeps all of you entertained! And I really appreciate your encouragement about the writing and releasing process… it's honestly terrifying to be releasing this whole story that had an audience of one for a year. It's nowhere near as scary as it first was, but there is still some of that nervousness with every time I click 'Post' that probably won't ever go away, much like the self doubt with every new chapter I start writing. It definitely keeps all of this from ever feeling too routine, at least!
I'm glad that you were pretty accurate with your prediction that Ginny would have a major role in restoring his memories without it being a kiss! It might've been a little obvious, but I think most people were expecting a kiss, so props to you for thinking there could be something else! We'll have to see how Harry does physically, but he's already overcome the scariest hurdle, so hopefully the rest will be a little easier!
And I certainly have a lot of challenges and trials planned for them in the future, but there's also sooo much happiness that will definitely make up for it, and I can't wait to keep writing and sharing it with you all!
NoodleMan12: This might be one of the kindest and most impactful comments I've ever received. I'm so honoured that this story holds such a special place in your heart. Genuinely, I started writing this whole thing because I wanted to write the story I wanted to read, but as the community around it has grown and I've seen the impact that it's had on so many people, the motivation has become equally about giving you all a comforting, happy place to spend time with our favourite characters. I think that feeling holds true for the rest of this book, and I know it's very true in Book 3, so I hope I continue to bring happiness to you for a very long time!
I'm also definitely wishing you the best with your study abroad! Since you're doing one now, I'm assuming that you and I are similar ages, so I think I can maybe speak to this a little bit from personal experience (I'm assuming you don't mind an unsolicited, personal story with a bit of advice from your friendly neighborhood Sloth, but if it's annoying, feel free to disregard lol. I'm barely 23 and barely qualified to do life myself, let alone try and help others with theirs!) I became really introverted in high school, and that made starting college incredibly difficult for me (starting college in 2020 certainly didn't help either). I drove home basically every weekend my freshman year because I was so lonely, and my parents very lovingly pushed me to do a semester long program a thousand miles away from home in my sophomore year to try and get me more comfortable with putting myself out there. It was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life, moving somewhere where I knew nobody and had a lease so I was stuck there for six months and had to figure out how to make it work without coming home every weekend. I ended up deciding that I'd do the classic fake it until I made it because nobody there knew me, which meant it was a chance to kind of be whoever I wanted to be. I forced myself to say yes to every single thing I was asked to go to, whether it was a work event or people hanging out or whatever, until I developed real friendships with the people there that I still have three years later. Those connections made it feel like home, to the point that I was more distraught about leaving there than I had been about leaving home six months earlier.
When I came back home, I tried my best to keep being that person, even though it was a lot harder to do it in a familiar environment. I forced myself to say yes to more things, I tried to avoid spending days on end alone in my apartment. It wasn't the easiest, but I changed enough that when I moved a thousand miles away from home again, back in August, I didn't feel anywhere near as much sadness, and life at my new home in grad school is as fun and enjoyable as ever because I started over with the same forcing myself to say yes, even though so much of me still screams that I'd rather be home alone writing or reading than going out to different events or a bar or whatever lol
I might be projecting a ton and I'm really sorry if this feels like I'm being preachy or something, but this actually felt good to get off my chest because your comment just resonated with me so much because it reads like something I could've written a few years ago, and I hope it maybe helped you a little bit too. Believe me, I know it's wayyyy easier said than done to overcome that homesickness and anxiety. It never fully goes away, but I do promise that it does get better, and I'm betting that a few months from now, you'll be surprised at how nervous you were at the start of your study abroad with how much you enjoy it. I'm definitely rooting for you, and, in the meantime, I'll still be releasing chapters to give you an escape, and my inbox is always open if you need someone to talk to! Thank you so much for reading and brightening my day with that comment!