MetaFic

"Well?" Harry asked as Ginny re-folded Ron's latest missive.

"Mum gave everyone a vicious tongue lashing, including Ron, who she accused of, according to Ron, "endangering his best friend and encouraging his sister to engage in wanton behavior," if you can believe that!"

"Wanton?" Harry raised an eyebrow

"Her words, not mine," Ginny giggled.

It had been a two weeks since Harry and Ginny had slipped past the Order of the Phoenix. In that time they had engaged in a raid on the Burrow, grabbing food, more personal items for Ginny, and most importantly, Arthur Weasley's magical tent. When Harry had expressed misgivings about absconding with such an item and voiced concern that Mr. Weasley would be furious with him, Ginny had laughed and pointed out to Harry that first of all, it wasn't even her father's tent, it belonged to old man Perkins, but he had basically given her father a lifetime loan of it, and second he, Harry, had already run off with the Weasleys' only daughter, and by comparison the theft of the family tent was a matter of little importance. Harry had considered her opinion and then shrugged and muttered something about being in for a Knut.

The tent had certainly made their lives easier, allowing them more flexibility to move around quickly, thereby both avoiding members of the Order who were searching for them and making it harder for Voldemort's people to pin them down, should they be looking for them.

Currently they were living in the woods near Harlech, but tonight they had moved camp suddenly and not lit a fire when a troop of centaurs passed too close to their location. So they were huddled in the dark tent, using only a candle for illumination. The rain falling outside was making them both feel lethargic, and after plugging up several leaks in the tent's seals, they had settled down next to each other, each in their own sleeping bags.

Ginny finished reading the letter and then blew out their lone candle. A comfortable silence settled. Harry closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep, but it seemed to be evading him tonight.

"Ginny? Are you awake?" Harry whispered.

"Yeah."

"Me, too."

"I'd guessed."

"My brain won't shut up."

"I could stun you."

"Very funny."

"Just offering," Ginny chuckled into the darkness.

"So why are you still awake?" Harry asked after a small silence.

"The cold and damp," Ginny finally whispered in a small voice. "It brings back — unpleasant memories."

Harry reached out in the darkness and grabbed the edge of her sleeping bag. He pulled it over to him, bringing her closer. "Accio duvet," he called. The duvet flew to him, and he tossed it over both of them. Then he scooted up to her sleeping bag. "It's okay; I'm here with you."

"Thanks," Ginny said softly.

"So, ready for your O.W.L. year?" he asked her.

"That depends," she replied.

"On?"

"Are you planning to go back to Hogwarts this fall?"

Harry propped himself up on one arm. "Ginny, you can't just quit school. Your Mum would go spare."

"So you're not planning on going back?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know. But you —"

"I told you I wasn't going to leave you alone."

"But–"

Ginny turned her back to him. "Harry; snuggle up to me, shut up, and close your eyes."

Harry did as he was ordered, moving closer to her and throwing an arm over her sleeping bag. "Now what?"

"Now," she said with a slight laugh, "go to sleep."
***
Harry Potter struggled back up to consciousness, a vague feeling of disquiet gnawing at him. The first thing he noticed was that he and Ginny had both kicked out of their sleeping bags at some point. The second thing that he noticed was the handful of soft skin he was feeling. He had a moment to wonder exactly how his hand had gotten under Ginny's tee-shirt, and then the small woman curled up against him started to squirm and kick.

"No! Please, Tom, I — no, don't! Stop! Please stop–"

Harry withdrew his hand and placed it on her face, gently stroking her check. "Ginny. Ginny, wake up, you're having a nightmare," he said softly.

"Stop it! You're hurting me, please, no, I won't–"

Ginny started to thrash violently in his arms. "Ginny!" Harry hissed a little more forcefully. "Ginny, please, you need to wake up."

"Don't touch me!" she screamed.

Harry found himself suddenly thrust across the tent by the force of Ginny's unchecked wandless magic. He skidded up against a canvas wall and then scrambled to his knees.

"Lumos."

Ginny Weasley was sitting straight up, her wand in her hand, looking horrified at what she had done. "Oh, Harry! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

Harry smiled lopsidedly at her. "Nothing's broken."

Ginny licked her lips and tried to hold back the threatening tears. "I'm really sorry."

Harry crawled back to the tangle of sleeping bags and duvet she was sitting on and placed a hand on her bare knee. "It's okay. You were having a pretty bad nightmare, apparently about Tom Riddle."

Ginny sniffed and nodded. "I get them sometimes."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," she said, shaking her head. "Look, I'll be okay. Why don't you try to go back to sleep?"

Harry stretched out on top of his sleeping bag and looked up at her. "I doubt I'll be going to sleep anytime soon. Besides, I'd rather stay up and keep you company. You sounded really frightened."

Ginny swallowed and smiled weakly. She stretched out on her own sleeping bag and lay her lit wand between them. "Thank you. I don't really want to sit up alone, but I didn't want to ask you to stay up with me, either."

Harry smiled at her over the wand light. "That's okay. I know how hard it can be to ask for help sometimes."

"Let's talk about something that doesn't involve nightmares and Dark Lords."

Harry smiled. "That sounds good." He considered the young woman in front of him for a moment. "So, what do you want to do after Hogwarts?" When Ginny quirked an eyebrow at him, he chuckled. "If you go back to Hogwarts, that is. Look, McGonagall is going to do a career counseling session with you this year."

"Yeah, Hermione told me all about it."

"So?"

"You promise not to tell Mum?"

"Cross my heart."

"Auror."

"Really?"

"Surprise," Ginny said, smiling. "I'm tops in my year group at Defense and Charms, and I like doing active stuff. Plus, well, you know."

Harry nodded. "I know, but we did promise no Dark Lord talk. You realize you'll need to take NEWT level potions to get into Auror training."

"Yeah, I know. I shudder at the idea of more Snape, but what can you do? Can you reach the duvet?"

Harry worked the duvet up to his hand with his feet. "Here," he said, offering it to her.

Ginny scooted closer to Harry. "Just throw it over both of us. So what about you?"

Harry tossed the duvet over them and Ginny laid her lit wand above their heads. "We said no Dark Lord talk, remember?" Harry admonished.

"I meant after you send Voldemort to a dark and muddy grave."

"Ginny, it's far more likely that I'll be the one lying under ground when it's all over. At best I might be able to take him with me."

Ginny gave him a fierce look. Harry started to scramble backward at the sight before him. Her eyes were bright and angry, and her hair was a wild tangle. She reached out and grabbed him by the front of his tee shirt to keep him from getting away.

"You listen to me, Harry Potter, and you listen good," she hissed. "You are going to stop that madman once and for all, and then you are going to settle down and live happily ever after, do you understand me?"

"Sometimes you don’t get a happily ever after," Harry whispered.

"And sometimes you do," she replied, keeping her eyes locked on his.

"Quidditch," Harry said. "I really just want to play Quidditch."

Ginny nodded, releasing Harry's shirt. "That's seems reasonable."

"I told McGonagall I wanted to be an Auror, but once this is all over..." Harry shrugged.

"Yeah, I know."

They were silent for a few moments, and then Harry cleared his throat. "So, if you go back to Hogwarts this year, what are you looking forward to the most?"

Ginny scrunched up her face in consideration before answering. "Well, playing Chaser instead of Seeker, for one, so you have to be there with me."

"What about being a prefect? I'd have thought you'd be looking forward to that."

Ginny actually laughed aloud. "Oh, Harry, there are things you simply don't understand about me, aren't there? First of all, there is no way Dumbledore is going to make me a prefect. I'm too much like the wrong brothers. And honestly, why would I want it?"

Harry laughed with her. "So your parents will buy you a new racing broom?"

Ginny gave him an innocent look. "But I already have a perfectly good Firebolt."

"That was a loan, Miss Weasley."

"Really? Because I thought it was more like a gift," she said, grinning madly. "So what about you? What are you looking forward to this year, assuming you go back to Hogwarts?"

"You mean besides the annual attempt on my life?"

"Prat," she said. "No Dark Lord, remember?"

"I hope Hagrid's around more this year. I really missed him."

"Yeah, me too."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Ginny said.

"Well, it's just that everyone seemed to really like Professor Grubby-Plank. Especially the girls. The unicorns and all, you know?"

Ginny snorted. "Not everyone is enamored of unicorns."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with unicorns?"

Ginny looked away and bit her bottom lip. She sighed. "There's nothing wrong with unicorns. They're beautiful creatures."

"I hear a 'but' coming," Harry whispered.

"But, Unicorn Encounter Day was a bit of an ordeal for some people," Ginny gave him a meaningful look.

Harry blinked at her. There was a sudden uneasy feeling in his stomach as he thought about her earlier nightmare. "Ginny?"

Ginny stared directly into Harry's eyes. "That's why I need to be there when you take him down, do you understand? I need to be there."

"There's no guarantee I'll be able to stop him. Seriously Ginny, he's far more likely to kill me."

"Then we die together."

"Ginny–"

"Promise me, Harry. Promise that when the time comes, you'll take me with you." Her voice was low and fierce, and in that moment, Harry Potter was more than a little afraid of Ginny Weasley. "I need to be there. I deserve to be there after what he did to me. And you'll need someone to watch your back."

Harry looked closely into her eyes. Pain, anger, determination, and something else reflected back to him. "I promise," he finally said.

Ginny relaxed.

Harry ran a hand over her cheek. "I'm sorry," he said.

Ginny shrugged. "What's done is done," she said in a hoarse voice.

"I just — if I'd paid more attention–"

"Harry, you can't save everyone from everything all the time. And you came for me when it counted."

"Still–"

"Hush. Just hold me, okay?"

Harry scooted closer to Ginny and wrapped his arms around her. She reached up and picked up her wand.

"Nox."

"Have you ever told anyone else what happened?" Harry asked into the darkness.

"Madam Pomfrey knew, since she examined me afterward."

"Knew?"

"I didn't want to tell my parents, but she kept insisting that she had to inform my mother. Professor McGonagall obliviated her."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I've talked about it with McGonagall. She — understood. She's a great woman, you know." Ginny paused and sighed. "I just can't talk to Mum."

"Why not? She loves you."

"Harry, you've seen how hard she tries to protect me; I'd never be allowed out of my room again."

Harry nodded and squeezed her tighter. It felt right, her being there.

"What are you thinking right now?" Ginny asked.

"I'm glad you're here."

"Really?"

"Really. That and I have this sudden desire to blast Voldemort into a million pieces."

Ginny snuggled down closer to him. "In time."

"He's killed and hurt so many people; it has to stop."

"We will stop him. I know it."

Harry Potter tried to look down at her, getting a nose full of red hair for his trouble. The way she had said the word 'we' had resonated with him. For the first time in a long time, Harry felt that he was not alone, that others would help him shoulder his burden if he would let them.

"I told Cedric to take the Cup," Harry suddenly whispered in to the darkness. "I offered it to him, and when he wouldn't take it, we agreed to take it together."

Ginny slid up, placing her forehead against Harry's. She reached out and placed a hand on his cheek. "You were trying to do the right thing."

Harry sniffed. "If I'd acted like a normal fourteen-year-old, if I’d been a selfish prat like Malfoy, Cedric would be alive."

"Harry, you couldn't have known what was going to happen."

"They just cut him down. They called him a spare and killed him as causally as you or I would eat a sandwich." Harry was trying desperately to sniff back the tears now.

"Oh, Harry," she whispered.

Harry sniffed loudly and closed his eyes. "I know I have to kill Voldemort, but then what does that make me?"

"It makes you someone who is being forced to do a terrible thing to protect the people he cares about."

Harry wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "We're a lot alike, you know, Tom and I. Who's to say I won't end up being just like him?"

"You won't be like Tom."

"You can't know that."

"Yes, I can. I won't let you become Tom. Tom became what he is because he never learned to love. All he understands is power and fear."

"I'm not sure I know what love is, either," Harry whispered.

Ginny took his face in both of her hands and tilted it back up until they were nose to nose. "Yes, you do. It's such a part of who you are that you just don't realize it. If you didn't know what love was, you wouldn't have come looking for me in the Chamber, you wouldn't have helped Sirius escape from the Dementors, and you wouldn't have pulled Ron, and then Gabrielle, out of the lake during the second task."

"Sirius–"

"I know," Ginny said, cutting him off. "I know. But if you hadn't loved him then he would have died a long time ago. If he hadn't loved you then he wouldn't have tried to keep you safe, first from Peter, then from Voldemort. Ron, Hermione, me, even Neville and Luna in their own way, came because of what we feel for you." She took a deep breath and pulled him against her shoulder as he let his emotion go and burst into tears. "I'm sorry that everything went so wrong that night. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you when you went after Bellatrix LeStrange."

"I miss him."

"I know. I do, too."

"He wouldn't have died if I hadn't messed up."

"You didn't mess up."

"I let Voldemort trick me," Harry gasped, "and Sirius died because of it. I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not–"

"I nearly got all of you killed," Harry gasped. "How in the world can you even stand to be around me after what I did?" Harry sniffed again. "I don't deserve to be loved."

"If that's true, then I guess I don't deserve to be loved either, and I wonder how you can stand to be around me."

"What do you mean?" Harry said, turning a tear-stained face up to her in the darkness.

"Well, think about it. I messed up, too. I let Tom Riddle trick me. I let him trap me, let him do – things – to me. I set loose the Beast of Slytherin, and it's only luck no one died. I very nearly got you killed." She paused and took a shaky breath. "I'm dirty, tainted, broken, and maybe even a little evil. I'm damaged goods. How could anyone possibly love me?"

Harry raised up and wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "I don’t think you're any of those things."

"Then what am I?"

Harry swallowed. He knew he had once chance to get this right. "I think you're kind, and beautiful, and bloody brilliant, and I think I've been a stupid wank for not noticing you earlier."

"Do you mean that?" she asked, her voice low and serious.

"Yes. Every word."

"I love you, Harry."

"Gin–"

"I love you, Harry. Now be quiet and let me love you."

She placed her lips on his. She tasted salty, and sweet, and warm, and Harry never wanted to come up for air again.