Evermore

Chapter One: The One Who Had It All

Ginny nodded, stepping a bit closer to him. "I considered that," she told him, her voice soft. "I considered every possibility imaginable, and there was more to think about than before, because now you're of age, and certain things aren't off-limits like they were before. And yet, the notion that I also wanted you to remember me through the gift..."

Harry shook his head. "Gin, really, you don't..."

"Yes, I do," she told him, her voice slightly firmer than it had been. "I have to get you something to remember me by, Harry. I mean, who knows? Maybe you'll meet a cousin of Fleur's or something while you're going there. Veelas are very pretty..."

Harry swallowed then, knowing that he could easily lead in with a compliment right about now, about how pretty Ginny was. Of course she was pretty; anyone would be a fool to deny such a blatant fact. But the fact remained that everything was up in the air, now that Lord Voldemort was first on Harry's hit list, and the notion of keeping a girl—or anyone, for that matter—happy while he was hunting for death traps wasn't the first thing on his list.

"They are, sure," Harry said, shrugging ever so slightly, the air suddenly becoming rough between the two of them. "Guess it's not something I thought about..."

"No?" Ginny asked.

He shook his head. "No. Kind of a little too preoccupied with You-Know-Who than to really be thinking about dating..."

Ginny nodded. "There's the silver-lining I've been looking for," she whispered.

Harry blinked then, nearly staggering backwards as Ginny made for him then. "Ginny, what are you—?" he demanded then, the words barely getting out of his mouth as Ginny kissed him. He very nearly squirmed in her arms, although it was difficult to get away from her as she'd fully latched herself onto him. He kept his hands firmly at his sides, and although he wanted more than anything to shove her off and away from him, the notion of hurting her feelings crushed him because, at the end of the day, even if he no longer romantically cared for her, he didn't want any harm to come to her.

The sound of the door bursting open from behind them was enough for Ginny to pull herself back from Harry, who let out an audible sigh of relief once he turned around. However, the angry look in Ron's eyes was enough to make him nervous, and he said an awkward goodbye to Ginny as he made for the lopsided staircase. He didn't stop walking until he got up to the room he shared with Ron, and would've been all too happy to slam the door on his face, but Ron wasn't having any of it.

Ron commanded the room as he stamped inside, and Harry merely sat down on the edge of his bed, looking at the exasperated expression on his best friend's face, while Hermione sensibly closed the door in his wake, and looked terribly awkward. "Do you know what the hell you think you're doing?!" he demanded.

"Ron!" Hermione shouted.

"No, 'Mione, he needs to hear this!" Ron thundered, never taking his eyes from Harry. "Do you realize how torn up Ginny was after you ended things?"

Harry sighed. "She kissed me!" he said, his hands flying in the air. "Not the other way around, and certainly not encouraged by me."

Ron narrowed his eyes. "What were you doing in her room, then? I doubt you got lost in there on your way to a kip."

Harry muttered something unintelligible under his breath. "No. Ginny just asked me to help her with something..."

"There, now, you see?" Hermione said, allowing herself to step forward. "Harry wasn't doing anything wrong, Ron..."

"Not now, Hermione," Ron said, his glare never vanishing. "Did she imply that this thing she needed help with was in her bedroom?"

"No," Harry replied, fighting to keep his tone level as he crossed his arms, "she didn't. All she said was that she needed my help. Or that she'd like it, or something. I thought that maybe she was just fetching me on someone else's behalf. How was I to know that we were going into her bedroom, Ron? I've never been in there."