Forgive And Forget - Chapter One: Choices
Title: Forgive And Forget - Chapter One: Choices
Author: ginnyweasley777 hannah_ward
Pairing: Harry/Ginny (main), Ron/Hermione
Word Count: approx 2505 words
Genre: Fluff, General, Angst, Romance
Warnings: None
Rating: PG
Setting: Post HBP, Alternate Universe
Summary: DH disregarded for the most part. The final battle has been fought, and now Harry, Ron and Hermione are joining Ginny at Hogwarts for her seventh year. Ginny vowed not to let Harry break her heart again and is determined to keep her distance from him, but can Harry win her back?
Author's Notes: Thanks to Erik for the excellent beta work.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing and receive no profit from this. This is for entertainment purposes only.
It was a beautiful, hot summer’s day, and Ginny Weasley would much rather have been outside in the sun than sitting in her bedroom at the Burrow, staring miserably at the wall. She was inside because going outside meant that there was a chance of running into Harry Potter, whom she was trying her hardest to avoid at all costs. She wasn’t able to avoid him at meal times because her mother insisted that everyone sit down together, but that was as much as Ginny could handle.
So, instead of going outside, Ginny sat on her bed, running through in her head all that had happened a year ago between her and Harry on the day of Bill and Fleur’s wedding.
***
I t was the day of Bill and Fleur’s wedding at the Burrow and Ginny was doing her best to act happy. Now that she had managed to accept Fleur, Ginny was genuinely glad that Bill was marrying the part Veela, but she just didn’t feel like celebrating.
She had felt this way ever since Harry had broken up with her at Dumbledore’s funeral two weeks ago, and while she had pretended that she had accepted the break up, her heart betrayed her. She just couldn’t stop thinking about Harry in a romantic way; after all, the few weeks that they had been going out had been incredible for her as well as for Harry.
Ginny had spent the first two weeks of the summer moping around the Burrow, preferring to go out and fly her broom alone for hours, rather than be in the company of her family, who were all stressed with the coming war against Lord Voldemort. Hermione had arrived at the end of the first week and for once she had not tried to press Ginny for details of what had happened between her and Harry at the funeral. She knew that Harry had broken up with Ginny, but that was all. However, knowing Hermione, she had probably read between the lines and figured it out for herself. After all, she wasn’t the cleverest witch of her age for nothing.
So, when Harry had arrived two days ago, Ginny had tried her hardest to avoid him. She wanted to figure out what to say to him first. Ginny knew that he, Ron, and Hermione were not going to return to Hogwarts for their seventh and final year, as Dumbledore had set Harry the task of finding and killing Voldemort. She knew this much from Hermione’s silences whenever she asked her any questions. Ginny couldn’t bear to be away from Harry; even two weeks apart from him had been awful, and she wanted Harry to reconsider the breakup and allow her to go with the trio after the wedding. Ginny loved Harry with all of her heart, although she had not told him so, and she would do anything to be with him, not to mention to help with the war against Voldemort and the Death Eaters.
When Ginny walked downstairs in her pale gold dress, she saw Harry standing with Ron in the kitchen, looking striking in his emerald green dress robes, which matched his eyes. She had never wanted to kiss him as much as she did then. She had just taken half a step towards him when her mother stopped her.
“Ginny, you’re supposed to be in the sitting room with Fleur and Gabrielle.”
Ginny sighed as she saw Harry and Ron walking out of the back door. “Yes, Mum,” she replied as she turned away.
All the way through the wedding ceremony, Ginny was thinking about Harry and running through in her head what she was going to say to him. She was still preoccupied when she sat down at a table with Hermione.
Ginny managed a genuine smile when she saw Bill and Fleur take their first dance as man and wife. Bill had improved rapidly in the weeks since being attacked by Fenrir Greyback, although many of his wounds were still only barely healed.
Ginny’s smile faded when she saw Harry walking purposefully around the edge of the dance floor, heading straight for where she was sitting with Hermione.
“Ginny, will you dance with me?” asked Harry softly when he finally reached her.
Ginny sat quite still, unsure of what to do, but took Harry’s outstretched hand when Hermione gave her a little shove on her arm. As her hand touched Harry’s, Ginny felt little tingles making their way from her fingers and up her arm, spreading out when they reached her shoulder to warm her whole body. Merlin, the effect that he had on her was unbelievable.
They weaved through several couples until they found an empty space on the dance floor. Gently, Harry put his hands on Ginny’s waist while she put her hands on his shoulders and they began to sway in time to the music.
As unsure as Ginny felt about what there was or wasn’t between her and Harry at that moment, she couldn’t help but enjoy the feeling of being in Harry’s arms, something which she had missed greatly in the past two weeks.
The song finished and the next one started. Speaking quietly so that Ginny could barely hear him, Harry whispered into her ear, “We’re leaving early tomorrow morning. We’re going to leave a letter for your Mum, but I wanted to tell you in person.”
Ginny stiffened at his words and pulled herself from Harry’s grasp. Now was her only chance to change Harry’s mind and tell him how she felt. She took his hand and forcefully led him off the dance floor and out to the pond, away from the guests, ignoring the many curious looks that they received from family and friends alike.
Harry looked bewildered when Ginny finally stopped at the edge of the Burrow’s pond.
“Ginny, what are you-”
She cut him off quickly. “I want to come with you.”
Harry tensed as he pulled his hand from her grasp and looked away. “You can’t come with us Ginny, you know that.”
All thoughts of what Ginny was originally going to say flew out of her mind as she replied hotly, “No, I don’t know that, all I know is that you broke up with me for some stupid, noble reason and that I can’t bear to be apart from you because I love you, Harry Potter! You have no idea how much I‘ve missed you in these past two weeks.”
Harry turned to look at her, and Ginny saw a flame of emotion igniting in his eyes. “I do know how you feel, and I love you too, Ginny, but I still can’t let you come.”
“Why can’t you?”
“I’ve got no choice in anything Ginny. I can’t let you come. I’ve got to keep you safe, because I love you. I have to know that you‘re safe while I‘m out there!”
“Everything we do is a choice, Harry, everything we do!” replied Ginny fiercely, blinking back tears now.
“No, it’s not, Ginny! I’ve got to kill him, and I’ve got no choice in that,” replied Harry, starting to pace at the water’s edge.
“Tom, you mean?” asked Ginny shivering at the not so distant memories of Tom Riddle.
“Yes, and that’s why I can’t let you come, because he hurt you once and I’m not going to let him hurt you again,” replied Harry. “I’ll probably get killed doing this and I can’t keep you hanging on for the slight chance that I might live. You deserve better than that, Ginny,” he finished softly.
“What if I want to hang on for you? What if I think that you‘re worth waiting for?” she asked stubbornly.
“Please, don’t make this any harder than it already is. You can’t wait for me, Ginny. I don’t know how long this is going to take. It could take months, years even. I just don’t know. What I do know is that you are not going to come with us, because you need to stay safe,” answered Harry, turning to look at her.
“I can still be safe if I’m with you, Harry, I don’t want to leave you. I want to help you fight.”
“No, you can’t. We can‘t be together anymore, Ginny, it‘s just not possible. I‘m sorry, but you deserve to be alive and happy.”
“I love you, Harry. How can I be happy or safe when we’re apart in the middle of a bloody war?!” said Ginny angrily.
“Then at least you’ll be alive,” answered Harry firmly.
“Fine!” replied Ginny, fighting back a sob. “But don’t expect me to be waiting for you when you get back! I‘ll have moved on.”
With that, Ginny took off at a run back towards the Burrow, missing the tears that were welling in Harry‘s eyes as he kicked a stone on the ground angrily.
Ginny had gone from the elation of hearing Harry say the three words which she had dreamed of hearing him say to her since she was ten years old to the cold despair of having him tell her that they couldn’t be together. She rushed past her mother, ignoring her questions, and ran inside the house.
As she flung herself down on her bed, Ginny vowed to herself that she would not spend any more of her life waiting for Harry, no matter how much it hurt not to do so. Harry had made his choice and she had made hers, and she would stick to it no matter what. After all, her brothers didn’t say that she was stubborn for no reason.
By the time Ginny woke up the next morning, Harry, Ron and Hermione had already left the Burrow, leaving behind only a huge hole in Ginny’s heart and a letter to Mr and Mrs Weasley telling them not to worry or look for them.
***
Ginny returned to Hogwarts for her sixth year and the castle seemed empty without the inseparable trio, but not as empty as Ginny’s heart felt. She tried hard to ignore her feelings but it was hard to do so while people were dying all over the country at the hands of the Death Eaters.
News of Harry, Ron and Hermione was scarce while the war raged on until, a week before term was due to end, the final battle was fought. Voldemort and his Death Eaters waged one last attack on Hogsmeade and steadily advanced towards Hogwarts where Ginny waited with her friends to defend the castle. The younger students had been sent home in secret the day before and only the sixth and seventh years remained behind with the teachers for the Final Battle to commence. None of the Slytherins had stayed behind as most of the older students had gone to join their families with the Death Eaters.
The fighting soon reached the gates of Hogwarts and broke over into the castle grounds before Harry struck. Everyone gathered to watch one last, terrible battle between Harry and Lord Voldemort. Teachers, students, Order members and Death Eaters alike all surrounded the area, all other fighting forgotten while they watched their respective leaders begin battle. It was over almost as soon as it began, Harry cast the
Expelliarmus charm a split second before Voldemort attacked with Avada Kedavra. The two spells hit each other, and Voldemort was killed by his own rebounding curse once again, this time for real. Lord Voldemort was no more and the Death Eaters fled for their lives, knowing for once that they were beaten.
As the celebrations began and the Wizarding world was reborn, Ginny remembered the promise that she had made to herself and Harry almost a year ago; she would not allow her heart to be broken again.
The sixth and seventh years were sent home straight away for the summer after the Final Battle as the remaining Death Eaters were still being rounded up and many students still had to mourn the loved ones that they had lost during the midst of the war.
***
With a sigh, Ginny roused herself from her thoughts. Hermione had returned to her parents for three weeks before coming to the Burrow. Harry had, of course, come straight to the Burrow after the battle since he no longer had to return to the Dursleys.
This made things very difficult for Ginny. She knew that to remain strong she would have to avoid Harry at all costs. She had, in the weeks since returning home, developed a system of avoiding Harry all the time around the Burrow. Unfortunately, there was a flaw to this system. Hermione and Ron, who had become a couple while they had been in hiding, were constantly trying to get Harry and Ginny into the same room together so that they could talk to each other.
Ginny was adamant that she wasn’t going to talk to Harry and just turned straight around and left the room whenever this happened. As far as she knew, Harry was just as determined to avoid her as she was him, because he had steadfastly ignored her the one time that Mrs Weasley had seated them next to each other at dinner. He didn‘t even look at her on the rare occasions that they remained in the same room with each other for longer than a minute before one of them fled.
All of Ginny’s family, especially her mother, had noticed that something had obviously happened between the two of them, and for once they were not pressing the matter. For the most part it was just Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny at the Burrow with Mr and Mrs Weasley.
Thankfully, all of the Weasleys had survived the war, and now they were all rebuilding their lives in the aftermath. Bill and Fleur were now living in a little cottage near the coast, Charlie was back in Romania, and Fred and George were busy with their shop in Diagon Alley. Percy had come back to the family in the midst of the war, having realised his mistakes, and was living in a flat in London, close to the Ministry. Kingsley Shacklebolt was now Minister for Magic; Rufus Scrimgeour had been sacked after the war ended.
At least I’ll be free from Harry again when I go back to Hogwarts, thought Ginny, sighing again. Little did she know that downstairs in the kitchen Professor McGonagall had just given Harry, Ron and Hermione permission to return to Hogwarts in September to complete their seventh year, a year later than the rest of their classmates.