Where All the Time Went (open/Ginny)

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny knew this was hard for Harry, all of it was hard for Harry, but she just couldn’t stand to let him off by himself. “I know, Harry, but I don’t want to lose you either. We always work best together, as a group, as friends, helping each other. We’ll do it better together, seeing each other, knowing each other is safe. I don’t want to sit here at Hogwarts doing nothing happily with James while you’re out there risking your life.” She squeezed the hand of his he held, almost wishing to herself that they had happened. She loved James but right now she wanted Harry so much too. She knew that him holding her hand was as much him trying to reassure himself as it was trying to reassure her.
Her heart began to race and her breath caught in her throat and she couldn’t breathe. “No, Harry, no you can’t!” She pulled away, terror in her eyes. Voldemort would kill him. “Let someone else do it, Dumbledore has others in the order, you can do anything, just not that!” She fought tears from her eyes. She loved Harry, she did, and imagining the possibilities if Voldemort found out the truth was agonizing. “You’ve never been successful with Occlemency, how are you going to perfect it?” It was like seeing a boggart, her worst fears flashed in front of her eyes. She took a deep breath, calming herself, steeling herself. “I’m coming anyway. I can learn Occlemency, I was always better at concentrating than you,” she chuckled slightly, “I can do it if you can… just, wait to do it, please? At least a six months or a year. Wait until Lily and Snape have their falling out and I have to leave James. It’ll give us both time to prepare and perfect Occlemency. We can spread it out, you’ll begin to appear some over the year and I’ll begin to offer my help as an interested Slytherin student but we won’t go all out until the end of their fifth year. Promise me, please?” She hoped he’d listen. It would be easier on both of them. She couldn’t leave James behind, and by then she would be of age and Voldemort would be more likely to take her seriously. “Please, Harry, wait a year?”

[Harry James Potter]

Harry knew the feeling she was feeling. Sirius and the Order all going out risking their lives while they were happily at Hogwarts, many without a care in the world, and when his chance to save someone he loved came up, he seized it without thinking and in the end, it killed Sirius. Harry didn't want Ginny to go through that as he did, and end up doing something rash.

"Ginny... I know what you are saying, I've felt it before. I-I just don't want you to get hurt... it's... just that you are so happy here. I don't think I could be as happy as you are here. Just... seeing you with someone other than... me, it makes me angry, jealous of my own father," Harry admitted studying her, afraid that such an admission would make things awkward between them, as she was dating his father, "Now I know how you felt when I was with Cho." Harry looked down, breaking the eye contact.

"I can't just wait around for you to be ready to come with me..." Harry said confidently, before he sighed, "Alright, I'll wait. But only until I can master Occlumency, alright? No longer."

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny was hiding her fear beneath the hard shell she's developed in Slytherin. She was ambitious and cunning and manipulative, but still different from Slytherins and she got verbally abused for it. But she knew that Harry couldn't do it alone. He relied on others just as much as she did. She wanted him to be happy, but she couldn't let him do it alone. "I know, Harry, I don't want to get hurt, and I don't want you to get hurt either, but I won't let you do it alone. Yes, I'm happy with him, but we both know I have to leave eventually, even he knows that." She smiled weakly, "I'm sorry it's making you jealous, Harry," she fought the urge to hug him or kiss him right now. It was difficult, she really wanted to do something. "I was never jealous of Cho, I knew she wasn't worth your time, and... I knew you were her rebound. It couldn't last long with what happened to Cedric." She felt bad about that fact, but she had always known it.
She smiled mischievously, "then I've got plenty of time." She meant it as a joke, but knew that it was true, "we're going to have to work really, really hard to master Occlumency..." she looked at him, "but at least this time we'll work together."

[Harry James Potter]

Sometimes he wished that his friends weren't so stubborn about protecting him, but then if they weren't, then they probably wouldn't be his friends. He cared for them, and they cared for him in return. It was something that for most of his life he never had living with the Dursleys, and didn't really get, even after the past... had it really been almost 6 years (on this coming September it would)? Then again, he never cared for people like he had these past 6 years before, so why would anyone care about him if he didn't know anyone to care about? He liked other kids at school... they just didn't like him because of Dudley, and their fear of getting beat up. In fact, he had the biggest crush on Rosalia Holland, who was his age, but she avoided him, just as everyone else did, but she always was the one with the answers, and seemed to be extremely brave and stood up for other people, just not against Dudley, because... well... he was scary.

"What if... I want to do it alone. If I need to do it alone? That it is supposed to just be me and him... would you let me fight him alone?" Harry asked, wanting to confirm that she would not interfere with their final duel. It was always going to end with just him and Voldemort. He didn't want Ginny getting in the way of his death, or Voldemort's death. "Was I the only one who thought it would work?" Harry asked feeling bad, having really thought that he and Cho might be able to have something after she got passed Cedric, and help her passed Cedric, "I'm such an idiot. Don't tell me that this whole time you've seen me as just a brother... If... you do... oh geez... that's it, isn't it? I'm such an idiot! I'm so sorry Ginny about... that... time." When he had kissed her not long before arriving here.

Harry smiled weakly at her little joke, which was actually what worried him most was that he wouldn't be able to master that art, though he had gotten much better this past year, having practiced some, Dumbledore helping. "Yeah, Dumbledore said that my problems started because it was Snape teaching me. Told me he probably should have done it himself, so to start off with someone I liked, then perhaps handing me over to Snape for him to teach me. With you, it'll probably be easier."

[Ginny Molly Weasley]

Ginny could see the look in his eyes and knew he was annoyed that his friends kept trying to protect him… she had learned to read his expressions in the years she had known him. She also could tell that it was more him being unused to the affection than angry at their caring.

“We both know you don’t want to do it alone, Harry. Yes, I know that when it gets down to the final battle I’ll be back, fighting death eaters while you face Voldemort, but I’m going to help you until you reach that point. I promise, I won’t get in the way of that final duel, but I’ll be there from now ‘til then.” She looked him straight in the eye, “you need someone to help you and you want someone to help you and I’m the only one who knows enough to do it.”

“Yes, it was, because you two had such an animosity towards one another. He was harder on you at first than you could handle and you didn’t try as hard as you knew you should have. Us working together will help both of us work harder. And Dumbledore will help us too, this time I know he will.” Ginny smiled, “we’ll master it together.”

She chuckled, “yes, you were the only one who thought it would work. Ron and Hermione hoped it would for your sake, but we all knew it wouldn’t.” Her eyes flashed surprise and then understanding when he started to stumble over what he was saying. “No, no, Harry, it wasn’t like that at all! I-I’ve liked you for so long. I’ve always known it would be you and me and I was so excited when you kissed me. And then you ran off and I traced you and you ended up here.” She glanced away, her emotions boiling up. She reached her hand up to brush along his cheek and on impulse leaned in to kiss him. Realizing what she did she jerked back and tears began to stream down her face. “I-I’m sorry, I-I-I have to go,” Ginny turned on her heel and ran out of the room, regretting what she had done.

[Harry James Potter]

Harry smiled at the confirmation that she would at least let him tackle Voldemort in the end alone. That was probably the part that he feared most about his friends interfering. Especially if it was meant for him to die. After all, neither could live while the other survived. Which meant, neither could really live their life while the other lived. Harry thought that Voldemort really hadn't lived for a long time, though if he were to die, Harry being he, then Voldemort could stop worrying about the only one who could defeat him, and stop obsessing over him. And Harry couldn't have peace while Voldemort was alive still. So one of them had to die. And if it was him, he didn't want others to interfere.

"Together," Harry agreed with a large smile. He didn't like being alone. Lived his whole life before Hogwarts pretty much alone, so he could stand it, but he hated being alone, though his love for his friends outweighed that hate.

Needless to say, Harry was surprised, but his body responded instantly, kissing her back, his eyes having closed, even when she had pulled back quickly. Harry's mind had gone fuzzy so that as soon as he realized what she had done, and what he had done in response, she was already gone. "Ginny," Harry whispered, forcing it back from a yell, and willed himself to stay there, and not go after her.