Her words haunted him; all through the silent hours of the night when she slept easily in the chair beside his bed. He found himself snatching regular glances, taking in the lines of her face and already the flowery scent that seemed to flow from her like water down a creek made his heart race. ‘You definitely love me, Harry. Something I’ve never understood’ She obviously didn’t see herself clearly. She was pretty and sweet, her voice held a kindness and her eyes a soft, passion that brought a smile to his lips. From the little talking they’d done she seemed one of those people who everyone loved; you just couldn’t help but gravitate towards her. Even her smile drew him to her, life a moth to a flame, and every time it graced her face, the World seemed just a little brighter. Harry sighed at how cliché his thoughts were as he watched her sleeping. She was beautiful and all the pain and sadness fell from her face as she slept. His heart skipped a beat and he found himself startled at the sensation of his stomach dipping suddenly; could it be that he was falling for her all over again?
“Morning” His voice was deep and husky as Ginny yawned, stretching the stiffness from her worn muscles.
“Hey there” Her voice was thick with sleep but he smiled down at her anyway as though she were the most special thing in the World. It was amazing that he still looked at her with that love and devotion in his eyes but didn’t remember anything about what they had been through together.
“How are you today?” Her eyes were sore from the tears they’d spilled over the past few days but she smiled at him gently.
“I’m good, how are you feeling?” Ginny pushed herself from the chair and Harry reached out a hand towards her. They both seemed surprised that his fingers no longer trembled and he had some colour back in his skin. He actually felt stronger, as though he could face the World.
“I’m fantastic” Harry replied with an astonished smile on his face and he knew it was true.
“Do you want to get out of here for a bit? You look a lot better” Ginny blurted, biting her lip when she realised that she had said something completely different to what she had meant to. Harry however, smiled at her and nodded furiously.
“Yes, I would love to go somewhere.” He swung sideways on the bed, flinging his legs off one side and pushing himself up. While his legs felt weak and slightly shaky, there was a zing of energy which made him want to dance.
“Harry…” Ginny began but shook her head, looking at the floor. He reached out to touch her arm.
“Ginny, I want to remember. I want to remember everything and if I can’t do that, I want to get to know you again. You were my World once and my body is trying to tell me that you still are but my brain won’t explain why, so I’ll just have to do what I can to make up for it” She looked up at him, surprised but her face was kind and tender.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Her small hand gripped his and she guided him from the hospital wing and out into the open air.
“So, when are you going to explain it to me?” Harry asked. The sun was low in the sky and the wind swept through his hair, ruffling it and blowing it off in messy directions. Ginny’s hand felt right in his; like matching pieces of a jigsaw, and he squinted across the lake which was sparkling in the morning light.
“Explain what to you?” She was sitting beside him, her shoulder barely brushing his and she plucked the thin grass with her slender fingers.
“Everything”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to be a bit more specific” She smirked and he rolled his eyes.
“Fine then, I mean you and me, us, when are you going to help me understand?”
“Actually I’m not. I’m still holding onto the hope that you’ll remember it all without me having to tell you” She shielded the sun from her eyes with a hand and squinted, wrinkling her nose slightly and making the freckles that spattered across her smooth, pale skin more prominent.
“But how am I ever going to start if I don’t know anything about us. I barely know who I am, let alone you.” He shrugged, turning away from her breathtaking beauty with a sigh.
“It’ll start with a spark; just a tiny moment of insight a remembrance but then there’ll be a flash, a bang, and everything’ll come flooding back in an instant. You’ll see” She said in a hushed voice, as though she hardly dared believe it. His heart leapt in his chest and he wondered if she could be right.
“Okay then, let’s keep hoping. But in the mean time, do you mind answering some of my questions?” She nodded as he turned back to face her again with a solemn expression in his green eyes. “Who’s the guy and girl I keep thinking about? She’d pretty with brown hair and he’s tall and red-headed. I feel like I know them and love them, but I have no idea of their names.” Her eyes widened for a moment in surprised but then she covered it with a slightly sympathetic smile as she answered.
“The guy is Ron. He’s your best friend and my brother. He’s a bit of a prat but we both love him and he’s sort of dating the girl. She’d called Hermione” His chest gave a sharp twinge at the sound of her name and he was confused why his body reacted like that. Ginny seemed to be teetering on the edge of saying something else but looked tentative, unsure how to continue; whether to tell the truth and open up the hole in her chest or lie to him and risk him finding out anyway. “Hermione and Ron were with you right from your first year and they went with you last year to find all the horcruxes. They’re your best friends and they probably will be for the rest of your lives; you’ve been through so much together.” He sensed that there was a large portion that was left unsaid and he reached out carefully, putting a hand on her small, hunched shoulder reassuringly.
“Tell me.” Just two simple words but Ginny knew that she couldn’t deny him the truth; it wouldn’t be fair.
“You’re sort of, kind of… in love with her.”
“No I’m not. I love you Ginny”
“Please, don’t. Don’t say that until you remember otherwise it means nothing” He would’ve laughed but her expression looked so torn, so hurt, that he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“It’s funny Ginny, but the truth is that I do love you. I don’t know why but I know that I’m completely in love with you again. And I can’t love Hermione all that much if I could fall irrevocably in love with you twice, can I?” His words were calm and sincere, completely riddled with bewildered confusion but Ginny beamed into his beautiful, honest face. She could see in his eyes, clear as day, that he wasn’t lying and her heart tripled speed in her chest, trying to thud straight through her ribcage.
“Let’s just wait until you remember, eh?” Her hand found his on her shoulder, resting on top of it gently as electricity flowed between the two of them, shocking them into silence. And that was it, a tiny spark…
