Author's Note: Sorry about how long this took to get out, Work has been consuming so much of my time lately that I just have not had time to sit down and write in forever. Once again a big thanks to my Beta. As always enjoy.
Harry Was scribbling out invitations so quickly that his hand was hurting. The friction produced from paper and skin was leaving unpleasant marks and his joints were stiff. Still, in the twenty minutes since he had started he had gotten a letter out to every one invited to Ron's bachelor party. After the last letter was off he rose from his kitchen table and stretched his legs. After flexing his fingers to get the blood back into them he decided to go around to Ron's flat to let the honored guest know when his party was going to be. He grabbed his keys from the jar near his door and hit the brisk London streets.
When he turned up at Ron's he was let in and directed to the couch in the living room. Luna was away at work and Ron was taking a break from his novel. Ron sat with him and joked around for awhile but before long Harry was telling him about the party. Harry told him that he was going to have it at the pub down the street from Harry's house. He had rented out the entire bar for the evening, he also said that there wouldn't be anything deviant on the agenda for the night. Ron agreed that it was for the best. The played a few games of wizard chess, which Harry lost profoundly. After a time Harry got up and said goodbye.
When he was out on the streets of London once more he didn't feel like going home. He found himself walking down side streets and exploring the city he had once known so well. He stopped by the apartment he had seen the other day but the family wasn't there. A knot twisted in his stomach for reasons he didn't understand completely. He shook his head to clear the haze he noticed building. He stuck his hands in his pockets and started walking. He let his mind wander. He remembered his dorm room back at Hogwarts: the secret little places around the room that he would stash things in, the games played with the other guys, the late night conversations with Ron about all things young man. He recalled the long talks about quidditch and difficult classes and the varied portions of wizard culture that he had never known about.
He remembered a conversation about girls. They had lamented the puzzling actions of girls they were attracted to and described the lewd actions they would like to take with those very same girls. The ghost of a smile graced his face. He remembered the winding corridors and the moving staircases of his old school. The place had been a kind of home to him, one that he missed very much. It was in those halls that his greatest memories were formed. It was in those halls that his worst memories were formed. He recalled the night of the battle for Hogwarts. It had once been such a raw point in his mind. Like an exposed nerve whenever he touched it he had recoiled in pain.
That was in the past. He was a different man now. The memories were no less horrible, but he no longer blamed himself for what had happened. He had accepted so many things in the last three years. Suddenly Harry stopped. He had been walking on autopilot for the last twenty minutes. Somehow, as though his feet knew the way better than his mind he found himself standing in front of her building. His eyes moved to the window he knew to be Hermione's. He steeled his will and decided to walk up and say hello.
When he had reached the third floor flat he knocked four times on her door and waited. When it swung open the face that greeted him was not Hermione's. This face was smaller, rounder and had far more freckles.
"Harry?" Ginny said flabbergasted.
"Ginny?" Harry retorted in very much the same way.
"What..." Ginny started before shaking her head and trying again, "What are you doing here?"
"I was... I was going to see if Hermione was home... what, um... What are you doing here?" He rubbed his neck.
"I live here, Harry." Ginny raised her eyebrow, "Me and Hermione are flatmates."
"Right. Of course." Harry said with a dumb smile before adding under his breath, "Why wouldn't you be."
"Do you want to come in?" Ginny's voiced sounded a little strained to him, "She's in the shower, but she should be out shortly."
"Yeah. Sure, that would be great."
Ginny opened the door and Harry stepped in. Everything about the apartment felt feminine, right down to the sweet smells of the place. There were plants and flowers on every window frame. In the living area, which included a kitchenette, there was a large bookcase against the far wall. In the opposite corner there was a large collection of trophies and other sporting paraphernalia. It wasn't a great stretch to tell what belonged to which roommate. An acoustic guitar was propped up against the chair Harry had sat in. He pointed to the guitar.
"Do you play?" He asked casually.
"No, neither of us do." Ginny smiled, "Luna got it for us when we moved out. She said every apartment should have an acoustic guitar."
"Yeah." Harry shook his head amused, "Sounds like her."
"Do you?" Ginny asked.
"Play?" Harry questioned, "Yeah, a little."
"Something you picked up on your travels?"
"Movies and books started to cost too much money." Harry explained, "Guy has to entertain himself."
"Play something." Ginny urged him.
"I'm not really..." Harry began. But Ginny just stood up and pressed the guitar to his chest.
"Play something." She insisted.
Harry's heart sank at her candor. He sighed and strummed the cords once before he started to re-tune the guitar. Once he had it back into playing condition he searched out the right pitch and began to play the song he knew the best. It was a classic muggle song, which he hoped Ginny wouldn't mind. Slowly the mournful melody began to take shape. He looked over and saw Ginny nodding. He hoped his singing wouldn't put her off as he began. He closed his eyes and let the music take him back to the car he was in as a child when first he had heard the song.
"Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me."
He sang as Ginny's foot tapped along to the mournful beat of the song,
"Jai guru deva, om
Nothing's gonna change my world,
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
They call me on and on across the universe,
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe
Jai guru deva, om,
Nothing's gonna change my world,
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world."
Harry listened as the methodical guitar rhythm reverberated off the walls of the room. Ginny nodded him to encourage that he continue. Harry closed his eyes once more and strummed out the rest of the song,
"Sounds of laughter shades of life are ringing
Through my opened ears inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying Love which shines around me like a
million suns, and calls me on and on
Across the universe
Jai guru deva, om,
Nothing's gonna change my world,
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva
Jai guru deva"
As soon as the song ended he watched as Ginny sat back in a pleased awe. He rested the guitar on his lap and smiled at her. She smiled back.
"What was that?" She asked happily.
"The Beatles." Harry responded, "Across the Universe."
"It's lovely."
"It was always one of my favorites." He said, pleased.
"I've never heard it before." She gushed.
"It's a classic in the muggle world. It's a lot simpler than the wizard music I've heard, but it's.." He struggled for the word.
"Haunting." Hermione added from somewhere behind him. He spun his head around to see her wrapped in a towel with her wet hair hanging down over her bare shoulders, "I haven't heard that song in years."
"Hermione!" Harry stood up and looked in the other direction. Ginny cast him a surprised glance before her eyes rested on Hermione. A knowing smile spread across her face, "I didn't realize you were out of the shower."
"Just got out." She blushed, "Let me, um... Let me get changed. Wait here."
Hermione disappeared around the corner, her footsteps could be heard as she raced down the hall to get dressed. Harry sat back down, sliding into the armchair with a groan and a defeated grimace. Ginny smiled at him. Her eyes saw through him in a way that left him feeling oddly vulnerable, and perhaps a little upset. He put his head down on his chest as the blush kept growing brighter and brighter.
"How long was she there?" Harry asked quietly.
"Since 'images of broken light' I think." She answered.
"You could have told me." He said darkly.
"I suppose that's true." She wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue, "But where's the fun in that?"
"That was mean." He looked up at her with hurt eyes, "We're supposed to be friends."
"Is that what we're supposed to be, Harry?" She accused, "Because it seems to me that you broke my heart and haven't spoken to me in forever since then."
"I didn't mean to hurt you, Gin." He tried to defend himself before she raised her hand to cut him off.
"Over it." She said dismissively, "I needed time to digest anyway."
"You're mad at me, aren't you." Harry asked pleadingly.
"I was, Harry." She said softly, "I cried forever. I really did. It was a mess, and yes I looked terrible."
"I wasn't going to say." Harry smiled.
"But that was then." She countered, "This is now. And now, I see the providence of your decision."
"What?" He looked stunned.
"You were right." She shook her head with a smile, "The Harry I was in love with didn't play guitar and he damn sure didn't blush and look away. He had way more confidence."
"I did not." Harry joked.
"The thing I realized, and it was Ron, if you can believe it, " Ginny rolled her eyes, "that said it best. He said, 'You fell for a boy fighting a war, not a man that roams the world.' It made me feel better."
"I knew I kept him around for something." He smiled.
"So you have my blessing." She smiled.
"For what?" Harry asked.
"For what?" Ginny laughed.
"Did I say something stupid?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Apparently not." She said with a few more chuckles filling in her words, "But you better do so soon, she's not going to wait around forever."
"Who?" He pressed.
"You can't be this thick?" She said aghast, "I'll talk to you later, Harry. Thank you for playing for me."
"No problem." He said, bewildered, as she got up and patted his shoulder before walking out of the room.
Harry sat alone in the room staring at the wall trying to figure out what had happened and why he felt so stupid all of a sudden. He only had a few seconds in his confusion before Hermione showed back up in a pretty blue sun dress. Harry stood up to greet her with a handshake which she thought was going to be a hug. The two ended up doing a strange little awkward dance as both changed positions several times to match the other one's attempted greeting before they settled on a brief hug
Harry couldn't help noticing, even in that brief span of time, how wonderful she smelled. Maybe it was the freshness of the soap on her skin or maybe it was the strange feelings he had been having lately, but he found her positively addictive. When the hug ended they shared a short talk before heading out the door. Harry recommended they get lunch at a little Thai place down the street and she agreed and they were off.
The sun was out and the weather was nice so they decided to get their food to carry out. They found a park bench and had a seat to eat. The weather was nice out for a change, and with little small talk the two began to consume their meals. Harry was enjoying the warm sun on his face and the warm body on the bench beside him, secretly treasuring every accidental instant when she would shift and touch his thigh with hers; the moments when hands touched as both reached for something close together had become his favorite part of the day. Harry was eating some of his rice when she asked about the song.
"Oh that?" He said with his mouth half full, "Ginny found out that I play guitar."
"I didn't know that." She looked down, "You play very well. When did you learn?"
"Maybe two years ago?" He scratched his head, "Hard to say. One of the other farmhands at the time taught me the basic cords and the rest I just sort of got through practice."
"You learned to play by ear?" She asked.
"Mostly." He smiled, "Though I did buy a song book once, but the problem turned out to be that I couldn't read music."
"Smooth." She giggled.
"I never claimed to be perfect." He nudged her with his shoulder.
"That's what sort of makes you perfect." She nudged him back.
"You're awfully complimentary today." He grinned.
"You're awfully full of surprises today." She responded pleasantly.
"Speaking of surprises." He transitioned, "I've had some time to think about the teaching position."
"And?" She said nervously.
"I think I'll take you up on it." He answered.
"That's wonderful!" She sprang forward and hugged him, spraying the remains of their lunch across the ground. She jumped back and began to apologize profusely about the incident.
"No worries." He waved off her concern, "I'm filthy rich."
They laughed at the absurdity of the statement for a long while before they got up and began to walk off to spend the rest of the day together.