We're sitting on the floor,
Everything was gonna be just fine.
Missing you, missing me, a thousand times.
Waiting hours for you just to see you.
Here for hours just to hear you scream my name.
“Hurry, Ginny!” Mrs. Weasley yelled up the stairs as the setting sun illuminated the Burrow. “Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on their way!”
Ginny groaned. Ron owled last week with wonderful news. It had been six months and the trio had destroyed almost all of the Horcruxes. However, there was a reason that she dreaded their return- Harry. He ran away from her twice. A part of her- her heart, loved him, but her head- the sensible side of her- hated him. She hated what he did to her, how he broke her heart.
“Ginny?”
Ginny swore under her breath when she heard a familiar male voice behind the door.
“Harry?”
The horribly, yet wonderfully familiar face of Harry Potter entered her room.
“Ginny, I’m-“ he began. She knew what he was going to say, but, to her surprise, found that she didn’t want to hear an apology.
“Don’t apologize,” she muttered. He opened his mouth to retort but closed it again quickly. He smiled hesitantly and took a seat on her bed.
“It’s been so long,” Ginny sighed. “I’ve been waiting to see you, for so long. Now that it’s here it’s like so…“
Harry nodded in agreement as her voice trailed off uncertainly. She knew that he was thinking along the same lines as her. “We’re just friends,” he had told her brother before leaving.
“Are we ‘just friends’ then?” she asked.
He didn’t seem surprised by her sudden question. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about, well- my feelings for a long time. I care about you, a lot, but with the confusion and- everything, I don’t know.”
“I still love you,” she whispered, as her heart sank little by little.
His hand gripped hers very tightly, though he said nothing. Ginny knew exactly what he was struggling to say, so she replied, “I missed you, too.”
I'm begging you to let me in for one; one more night.
She looked at him solemnly for a minute before asking him another question. “Are you scared?”
This time, he hesitated before answering. “All the time.”
“You don’t show it,” she said quietly, as if voicing his fears for him. “You’re always so strong.”
He didn’t look at her as he replied, “I’ve learned to live with it.”
“You can’t get used to fear,” she said, her tone now growing fierce. “I’ve been scared for you. Everyday, I’ve been worried that I might never see you again. I’m afraid every moment that I could lose my best friend, my brother, and you. I haven’t gotten used to it and neither have you.”
He looked at her in shock for a moment before dropping the walls around his heart. His shoulders shook as he let the tears that he had held back for seventeen years fall onto Ginny’s warm and welcoming arm.
I can sing all the songs I know you want to hear.
At the end of the night this will be between us.
'Cuz I know that all of this time was wasted.
I can't pretend, 'cuz I can taste it.
You know if I could go back, then I would.
And I wish I could.
Ginny allowed him to cry out his heart on her shoulder. She missed his warmth and was grateful at a chance to have him back. She knew that she could have used this moment to unleash the frustration that she had felt while he was gone, but she found that she didn’t have any of those feelings now. All she wanted was to spend the short amount of time with him in peace.
When his sobs had stopped, he looked over at her and slowly, but resolutely, leaned in to kiss her. As their lips met, she knew that they weren’t “just friends”, they were much more than that. They had a connection- a connection that she intended to keep.
I'm begging you to let me in for one; one more night...
No more nights. Take these used tissues and cry for me.
I'm begging you to let me in for one; one more night.
One last night. No more nights. Take these used tissues and cry
for me.
I'm begging you to let me in for one; one more night.
One last night. One more night with you.
Ginny sighed as they pulled away. “I’ve missed that.”
Harry hesitated. “Me, too.”
“I’m glad.”
He looked shocked. “What do you mean?”
“I’m glad you at least missed something we shared.”
He nodded sadly and averted his gaze. She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled ruefully.
“I’ll always be here for you, Harry.”
“Okay,” he replied, returning the smile. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” she murmured.
Hours later, long after the sun had set completely, Ginny blinked groggily. “Did we fall asleep?” she asked Harry, who was staring at her, only half awake.
“Yeah,” he replied quietly. She was relieved that he was a lot more relaxed about waking up with her that he had the last time. Things are different.
“The war changed us,” she said.
“What makes you say that?” he asked.
“You can’t deny it. We’re different. It’s subtle and it doesn’t really matter, but I have a feeling that everything has changed.”
He didn’t say anything, but Ginny sensed that he felt the same way. Things are and were going to be different.
“Before I forget,” she said, grabbing a bracelet from her bedside table, “I made this for you, while you were gone.”
Harry took it, smiling slightly. “What is it?”
“It’s called a Promise Ring. Hermione taught me how to make it. When you wear this, you’re making promise for me.”
He held out his arm, signalling to her that she should tie it on. “What am I promising you?”
She tied the knots loosely around his wrist. “While I made this, I made the promise that I would be there for you if you needed me. And while you wear this, can you promise me that after all of this, you’ll return to me?”
Harry nodded earnestly. “After the war is finished, I’ll be there for you- no matter what it takes.”
She grinned at him. Somehow, she knew that in the end, things would be all right.
**************************************************************
The next morning, Ginny waved Harry off, along with Ron and Hermione feeling happy to have patched things up with Harry and the others, but also a reluctance to see them off again.
Harry smiled at Ginny. Hermione and Ron seemed shocked at the show of his positive emotions. Apparently, a smile had been rare on Harry’s face as of late. He turned his back to the Burrow after bidding farewell to Mrs. Weasley and Ginny. He clenched his fists in determination. He was going to do this. He was going to destroy the last Horcrux and finally tell Ginny how he really felt. He made the promise, and the bracelet around his wrist wasn’t coming off until he could go through with it. In his head and heart, he knew he could do it. He was going to destroy the Horcruxes and bring down the one who had kept him from his life- his love.
Five down. One to go.
A/N: Sorry this is so short, but when I titled this the Halifax Triplet, I was referring to the musical definition of triplet. A Triplet is three short, concise note in quick succession. I have the Short and concise down… I just need to improve on the “in quick succession” part >_>; FYI, the Promise Ring is taken from Sailor Moon... lol me and my anime obsession…