||Now It's Just Us||

Chapter 23

"This just doesn't feel right, Harry."

"I know."

They looked at each other in silence. It was nearly time to leave for Hogwarts. They had packed their clothes for the ball, along with some food and a few galleons. But as they stood in front of the floo, they couldn't make themselves step into it.

"After all that's happened," Ginny's voice trembled a little, "I can't attend a party. Especially at Hogwarts."

Harry didn't know what to say. Guilt flooded him. After all, it was because of him that so many of their friends had lost their lives. Tonks, Remus, Fred, Lavender Brown, Dumbledore, Hedwig. So many, gone, just because of him. It wasn't fair. He should have died in place of them. It should have been him, not them. He was the cause for Ginny's sorrow. He was the reason Teddy had no parents. 

"It's not your fault, Harry," Ginny knew what he had been thinking, and she raised a hand to place it on his cheek, "I wish you'd stop blaming yourself."

"Who else is there to blame, Ginny?" Harry smiled bitterly, "I lived, they didn't."

"Neither did Voldemort," Ginny pressed, "if it wouldn't have been for you, Harry, we would have been living in Voldemort's rein now. Not to mention several more would be dead."

Harry placed his hand over hers, "Yea."

"Yea," Ginny smiled, "I'm sorry for bringing this up."

"Don't apologise, it's not your fault," Harry squeezed her hand.

"Not yours either," Ginny got on her tiptoes to place a small kiss on his lips, "besides, if you wouldn't have defeated old, noseless, Voldy, you wouldn't have me here, like this, kissing you every morning."

Harry chuckled lightly, "Thank you, Ginny."

"Come on, let's go," Ginny held his hand and they walked into the fireplace together. No matter what happened, they would face it together.

-------

"Granger!" 

"I'm nearly done, Draco, have some patience," Hermione huffed. Asking him to have patience was like asking a child not to be excited while visiting a toyshop. In simpler words, it was unheard of. She finally finished placing her dress, along with the countable make-up articles she possessed, into a brown paper bag. She had also stuffed in her purple beaded bag. Just in case. It was loaded with all sorts of things, from books to Essence of Dittany.

"Granger, it's been half an hour, get on with it," Draco knocked again, harsher than last time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Hermione opened the door, feeling very flustered by his constant badgering.

"What were you doing?" Draco asked.

"Packing my stuff," Hermione lifted her brown bag to show him. He tried to peek in, but Hermione moved the bag away, "you'll see it later."

"Fine, whatever," Draco wasn't Draco anymore, of course. He was Carson Bones. 

Blaise was still asleep on his makeshift bed. Hermione made him breakfast and kept it covered on the kitchen table, and left a note for him to say that they would be gone for the day. She locked up the bottles of firewhiskey in a cabinet and warded it for extra measure. Draco watched her silently as she did all this.

"You first," Hermione said, taking a pinch of floo powder from the basket near the fireplace. Draco stepped inside, and shouted 'Hogwarts' as he was engulfed by the emerald flames. Hermione followed after him. 

The spinning, squeezing sensation stopped as soon as it had started and Hermione's feet hit the ground. She stepped out from the fireplace she had arrived at, dusting some soot off herself.