Author's Note: Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone for reading this. It's been really great getting such positive and warm reviews from all of you. There is more to come, by the way. This story hasn't ended. In fact it's just starting. However this is the last bit that I had written out. I'll be working very hard on the next installment, but update times may vary in the future, just bear with me. And once again, Thank you all!
Harry was waiting at the table. He had asked Ginny to meet him at a restaurant. He thought it would be good to break it to her in a public place. She was understanding, but the Weasly temper was not something he planned to underestimate. Besides, she was devilishly good with jinxes. However as the minutes ticked away on his cheap wrist watch the idea of an audience was suddenly starting to turn on him. He was beginning to think it wasn't his wisest decision after all.
So many people to witness him break a heart. He shouldn't have picked a muggle place. Their might be some more understanding from his own crowd, he was a hero to them after all. He moved his silverware around nervously. He had already brushed off the waiter once, he didn't know how much longer he was expected to wait. It had been such a hassle to convert his gold to pounds in the first place. He began to wonder how long he had been waiting. Ten minutes? Twenty? He couldn't tell.
Suddenly a terrifying thought snuck up on him. Had he been stood up? It wasn't like her to make him wait this long. She was normally very punctual. It was one of his favorite things about her. He checked his watch again. It was definitely half past nine. He had said nine, he was sure he had said nine. While he was caught up trying to remember what he had written down the whole place went silent. Harry looked around at the other patrons and followed their line of sight to the front door.
She looked amazing. If the word amazing could be molded into a person it would have looked like Ginny looked. She had on a black dress. The slightest of shoulder straps kept the fabric clinging to her bosoms. Her hips filled the dress, leaving stress lines between each wonderful thigh. Her makeup was done just right. It wasn't too much. Harry hated makeup, he thought it was the biggest mark of vanity. He thought women were beautiful and hated the idea that they would need to cover it. Hers however was light. It served only to highlight her natural beauty.
Harry swallowed once, shock his head and swallowed once more for good measure. If he hadn't felt guilty before he did now. She had gone all out on her look for the evening. She was trying to impress him, and there he sat with every intention of telling her no. If there was any way to feel worse than he did that very moment, Harry didn't know it. She followed the waiter to the table and had a seat across from Harry. She had moved like liquid the whole way over, true class in every step like the Hollywood starlets of old.
"Hiya, Harry." She said with her same old robust voice, shattering the illusion completely. Slowly the other patrons returned to their own meals.
"Hi, Ginny." He said with a bemused smile.
"It's great to see you again." She gushed.
"Thanks, you too." He responded quickly.
"So.." She let the word hang for a second while she gathered her thoughts, "About my letter."
"Yeah, the letter." He prepared himself for her next sentence. The one where she tried to pick things up the way they had been left in his sixth year of school.
"I may have been a little hasty." She said surprising him.
"I'm sorry, what?" He shook his head, "How do you mean?"
"I don't want you to think that I expect everything to just.." She shook her head as well, "I don't even know how to put it. Point is, I don't want you to think I'm trying to push you into anything."
"That's, well frankly?" He paused for a second, "Very mature of you."
"Thank you?" She kidded him.
"No, I didn't mean to say that I thought you were immature." He slapped his head, "Not that you thought that I thought that or anything." He paused and took a breath, "Let's start over." He extended his hand, "Hi. I'm Harry." She laughed at his lame joke.
"I'm Ginny." She smiled, "Harry, I know that you've changed. You would have to have, after all this time."
"You would too." He pointed out.
"Yes, I would too." She agreed, "Which is kind of my point. See, it's like this. Can you keep a secret?"
"Yeah, I can probably manage that." He answered.
"I'm such a twelve year old girl some times." She said with a blush, "When I heard that you were back, it was like my brain shut down. I, Harry… I care about you. I always have. In ways… Merlin, in ways that I just don't know the words for."
"I know, Ginny." Harry began with a sick look on his face.
"No you don't." She said kindly. She touched her hand to his cheek, "You really don't." She removed her hand, "And that's okay. It is. Really. But when I heard you were back I wrote that damn letter before I even thought any better of it."
"Ginny, I-" Harry began. He couldn't believe the strength it was taking for her to lay herself bare in the way she was.
"I've had time, though. To think better of it." She sighed, "I don't want it to be like this." She shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye, "I want you to figure it out for yourself. I want you to love me, Harry. And not because it's the right thing to do, but because it's what you want. In your heart."
"I don't know what to say here, Gin." He sad with a hint of melancholy.
"You don't have to say anything." She smiled sadly, "I'm willing to find out. I made a mistake with that note. I told you how I felt. About, well about you."
"That's true." Harry shrugged.
"I shouldn't have." She put her hand over his, "Because I know you, Harry. I know how you are, I know who you are. You would date me because I felt something for you, even if you didn't. You always sacrifice more than you should. But I don't want that. I'm willing to wait for you. I'm willing to change to be the woman you want. I can wait."
"You don't have to change anything about yourself." Harry smiled and squeezed her hand, "You've grown up so much. You really have, I'm impressed."
"Impressed enough to be a deciding factor?" She asked hopefully.
"No." Harry sighed, "Because you're right. I have changed. I've changed so much. I don't even know you anymore. Tonight more than anything proves that."
"So we'll take it slow." She smiled confidently.
"Slow I can handle." Harry returned the smile, "We'll try the friend thing and see where that takes us."
"We could try dating?" She said sadly.
"We can't." Harry looked away.
"Is there someone else?" Ginny asked.
"No, no one else." Harry removed his hand. It had become clammy, "It's me. Truth told, I came here tonight to tell you that I couldn't be with you."
"Okay." She lowered her head. He could see tears welling in his eyes so he pushed her chin up with his finger so her eyes met his.
"Listen to me." He implored her, "Okay?"
"Okay." She nodded.
"I knew I didn't have feelings, not those feelings anyway, for the Ginny I left behind. I knew that." He smiled reassuringly, "But you? You're not that Ginny."
"I'm not?" She sniffed.
"No, you're not." He answered, "The Ginny I knew would never show this side of herself. She would never be this open. She was so afraid to show the world that she wasn't strong in everyway."
"So you're happy that I can cry?" She smiled through her tears.
"I am." He nodded, "This is a Ginny I would like to get to know. As friends." He stuck his hand out for a hand shake. She cautiously clutched his hand and shook it three times up and down.
"I can live with that." She answered happily.
"Good." Harry responded, "Because you may want to get to know me. I'm not the Harry you wrote that note for."
"So it would seem." She laughed light heartedly.
* * *
Harry lay on his bed. It was soft, maybe too soft. He thought about replacing it in the morning before he got coffee with Hermione. The night had gone well, much better than he had expected. He was confident he had made the right choice. He liked the way Ginny had changed. He thought she was brilliant. He just didn't feel the spark. He sat through the entire night waiting to feel something. The tell tale sign of love, but deep down he knew it would never happen. Someone else owned his heart. He just had to find out who.
He was happy that he was free to find out. He had been afraid that Ginny would make him feel horrible about himself. He was once so used to feeling horrible about himself, in the time before he had become content. Instead she had been so remarkable and so understanding. There was a part of Harry that worried for her still, even though she had been so strong. He worried that it was just more of her false strength. He pushed it from his mind. His mind wandered for several more minutes. He couldn't concentrate on anything. His just moved restlessly.
He rolled over and caught sight of the framed letter from Hermione. He smiled and thought about how excited he was about the next day. Hermione had a way of putting his mind at ease. Of making him feel brilliant and dull all at once. She had a weird effect on him that he could not quantify other than their very long friendship. Somehow after the conversation they had had that morning he knew that friendship didn't really cover it anymore. He wondered idly if perhaps she was the one. The owner of his heart. He chuckled to himself.
It was an absurd notion. She was his best friend. His shelter in a storm. The only person that could make sense of his chaos. Smart and beautiful. Clever and fun. She was ten million times too good for him. He envied the guy that she eventually fell in love with. He also lamented the fact that he didn't think it would ever be him. She couldn't be the owner of his heart, she wouldn't accept it. He rolled back around and with a queasy feeling in his stomach he drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Hermione was home late. She had lost track of time. She wished she could convince herself that it was work, but after Harry had left she couldn't concentrate. He was there all day, on her mind. She daydreamed all day about getting coffee with him. About where it could lead. About finally crossing the threshold of friendship into something so much more. Whenever someone stopped by her office for the rest of the day they remarked on how happy she looked. She knew it wasn't a passing comment, she could feel it. She was practically glowing.
She had walked in her euphoria around the carry out place to get herself some dinner before she got home. The shop keep had guessed right on the nose when he said that some man was very lucky tonight. She refused to admit how deeply her feelings for Harry went, but she was excited to explore it. To test the waters outside of the kiddie pool. She turned her key in the lock with a smile still plastered on her face. She called out to let Ginny know she was home.
She took off her shoes and her coat and moved into the kitchen. She began to lay out the containers on the kitchen cabinet. She shouted to Ginny to let her know that she had picked up a little extra for her as well. She got some silverware out of the drawer and moved into the living room so she could watch the news as she ate. She was halfway through her meal when she began to worry. Ginny still hadn't responded.
Normally if Ginny was going to be out she would leave a note in the kitchen, but Hermione had seen none. Hermione sat her food on the coffee table and got up. She walked slowly to Ginny's door. Hermione understood privacy. She felt it was an essential for life. She hated to interrupt Ginny if she needed her privacy. Still her concern outweighed her guilt. She knocked softly on Ginny's door.
"Ginny?" She asked, "Are you in there?" All she got was a weird muffled response. She asked in a slightly louder voice, "Can I come in?"
The response was soft and muffled but it was certainly an affirmative one. So Hermione opened the door slowly. Ginny was sitting on her bed with a stuffed animal wrapped in her arms. She was in her pajamas, which Hermione knew to mean she had had a bad day. Her makeup ran down her face. She was crying. She clearly had been for some time. She looked over at Hermione with a desperation in her eyes. She looked so small to Hermione then.
Ginny held out her arms and sniffled once. Hermione took the cue. She moved in and sat with Ginny on the bed. She hugged Ginny close to her chest and rocked her back in forth. She made comforting noises and began to slowly hum a lullaby. Ginny nuzzled into her and cried harder. Hermione just continued to hum.
"Thank you." Ginny sobbed.
"It's going to be okay." Hermione kissed the top of her head before she went back to humming.
Eventually Ginny fell asleep. Hermione tucked her into her covers and went back out to the living room. She finished her meal and cleaned up the living room and kitchen. She stuck the leftovers in the fridge for Ginny. She put a note on the fridge door to let Ginny know that they were there for her. She glanced across the hall at the door to Ginny's room. She bite her lip. She knew why she was crying. Harry had told her he didn't love her. She knew this was going to happen. She just didn't think it would be so bad.
Whatever else, Ginny was her friend. It hurt her to she so much pain in those big blue eyes. Hermione glanced at the sink. She would finish everything else in the morning. For now she was tired and sick with herself. She had felt so good about Harry not running back to Ginny. She had been so happy. And so Hermione changed and found herself falling asleep feeling very bad about herself and her ulterior motives.