The air was heavy with the weight of a history tainted by misfortune. Light filtered through the windows, but all they did was cast booing shadows across the worn, threadbare rug. The silence was suffocating, but for some sadistic reason, Harry was enjoying it.

He felt like a dark cloud had settled over him, casting a tremendous shadow that no amount of sunshine could penetrate. The only pastel thing left in the entire room was the pink teddy bear he had won during the fair - yet another reminder of his regrets. The journey from St Mungos to Grimmauld Place had left him utterly drained to ponder about it any longer. In addition, there was the dull pain in his chest.

Harry knew he had no right to feel possessive or even be feeling something for her, but his heart couldn't help but ache with the realization that he wanted her undivided attention. Jealousy, an emotion he rarely allowed himself to acknowledge, crept into his thoughts, leaving him wrestling it with such emotional intensity that threatened to ruin his energy levels.

"Harry?!"

The boy sighed. And then there was a terrifyingly mad Ron and a disastrously concerned Hermione.

"Just leave me alone, Hermione." Harry mumbled into the pillow he was clutching to his face.

"Who the ruddy hell even tells Kreacher to keep pillows in this room?"

"It's a bedroom, Ronald. What do you expect, a microwave?"

"A what?"

"A Muggle instrument that you don't have to mind -"

"Wavermac?"

"Honestly, Ronald-"

"Honestly, you two!" He had had enough. "I appreciate you guys trying to cheer me up but that's definitely gonna work as much as the elder wand did for Voldemort, so I'd really appreciate it if you could leave me alone to rot in misery!" The exclamation was followed by a painful silence, which was suddenly interrupted by a shrill yelp. Harry's senses kicked in, and he tried to take an en garde which only resulted him in landing on his knee. There was a sudden pop and Kreacher showed up, looking more relaxed than he ought to.

"Master Wheezy and Miss Granger, I was ordered to take yous to Master Wheezy's place."

"By whom-?" Hermione was cut short as a squeal escaped her throat when Kreacher grabbed her hand and the helm of Ron's robes. The aging elf gave Harry a smile before he disappeared with a pop, leaving an empty space in the room. Harry briefly wondered if his life was even under his control or not.

"FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR!" It was Mrs Black's portrait. That was for sure, but the real question was who was she shouting at.

Just as he considered assessing his capacity to use non-verbal and wandless magic, the door swung open; and, for a second, Harry felt his heart stop. Beautiful red hair and even mesmerized brown eyes that enthralled him. It was her.

"Ginny?" he managed to ask, even surprising himself when his voice did not waver.

"Yes?"

The intense staring was done. Now, their dynamic was back. At least, that was what Harry thought. "What are you doing here?"

"You're saying you don't, but you're a liar. Every time, why do you deny it?" It would have made no sense had he not been in that reality of feeling hurt in the sweetest possible way. She approached him, but stopped a couple of feet away from him and made no move to help him up.

"Your passion is like. . ." He stopped himself. No, not this again. I'm dead inside, yeah. "Like a pile of plastic wands."

"That can be used to deceive people?"

"You aren't getting me, Ginny!" he shouted, his intangible pain coming back in waves. He wanted no more heart breaks than that which ended in burning flames of jealousy. "You're already seeing a guy! Besides, I don't feel that way towards you. You should just leave now. There's no use going round and round, beating the bush about. . .rubbish teenage hormones." Cautiously, he looked up at her, hoping to find an exasperated expression across her features. Naturally, he was surprised to see a smirk instead with a 'devil-may-care' look in her eyes.

"Honestly, you're a bad bad liar, Harry." Damn, my name. "Have you ever heard of the term, 'a love that comes once in a lifetime'? I'm pretty sure that you're that love of mine -"

"But I don't -" Ginny gave him a very triggering smile, and the lie died in his throat.

"You don't, what?" Without waiting for a reply, she rummaged through her bag and took something out - Hermione's mobile phone. She pressed a couple of buttons before exclaiming in exasperation and again going back to meddling with it. Harry briefly wished to help her, just taking it as an excuse to talk to her, but he felt his wrists clenched together by a chain he had crafted. "Ah, ha!"

As if challenging him even further, the tool let loose of his not-so-secret secrets."Do you really wish to leave her behind, then?"

"N-no."

Harry gulped, a wave of déjà vu rushing over him.

"What's gotten your robes in a twist, then?"

"I-I am not holding back, Hermione, but I must. I wish to tell her everything; how I feel about her and all, but at the same time, I need want to, if that makes sense."

Hermione had recorded the whole damn conversation.

"You're right. You don't need to because she already knows it! Everyone but you, yes even Merlin, can see that! You're in denial. That's the only thing I can tell you."

"Hermione, I-"

"No, you listen! Just tell me, are you really in love with her?"

"Yes. I have fallen, am crazy, and lost in love."

He really could not meet her eyes now. He closed his eyes, in hopes that she would just leave rather than embarrass him further. He felt a shuffle of feet but it was not going away from him. "Harry. You know that you don't have to deny anything, right?" Her tone was gentle and soothing, like it had been when he had found Dumbledore on the ground, limbs tangled and an unmoving mess; it was enough to arouse him, and at the same time, calm him.

"Do I-I love you?" He looked up at her, with insecure eyes that he would hate having on but it would only be seen by her. That was a reassuring thought, he presumed.

Ginny seemed to be taken aback by the question, but she regained her composure, although not completely. "Does it. . .hurt letting go?"

Yes. Harry reconsidered the question, and it said no. "I dunno. Part of me says yes and the other says no."

"If you think about something in a deeper sense, you tend to listen to your mind. But this is a matter of the heart." Her blazing eyes held his weak gaze, and he felt his burden lose a considerable amount of weight. She placed her hand on his chest, the eye contact never flickering, as if to ask what his first thought was.

"Yes."

There was no verbal response from Ginny's side. Instead, she shrugged and closed her eyes, egging him on. Harry took a deep breath. It was time to get serious and quit acting. With a surge of adrenaline, he leaned in, his heart beating faster. He looked at her through his eyelids. What are you leaning in for?! Even if he wished to act on his instincts, he could not; she was simply irresistible.

His lips brushed against hers, before he was grabbed by the helm of his shirt and the embrace deepened. It was just like the welcoming warm wind after a hailstorm; soft yet fierce, nice yet needed. Harry basked in the embrace, worshipping each second of it, before they had to part.

Totally breathless, yet needing to be in close proximity, Harry hugged her. Her breath came in gasps, slightly tickling his neck. They sat in comfortable silence, thinking nothing but rejoicing something. This is nice.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

Ginny's question caught him off guard, and he tightened his grip on her. "I-I am a fool. I trust you know that already."

"I do." Nice!

"A seer predicted having a bad week without a lucky charm. I've been chasing misfortune after driving out my lucky charm. Did you know that?" He withdrew from the embrace, but never let go.

"So, I'm your lucky charm?" Her inquisitive eyes were like ice, melting his burning morals. This. Is. Nice!

Harry looked deeply into her eyes as he confessed, "You're my everything."

Hey guys!

The penultimate chapter is done. What do you think about this chapter? Let me know!

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x