Saving Harry

Chapter IV: Setback

Harry jolted awake, the image of Sirius falling through the veil burning in his eyes.

He felt movement beside him and he turned his head in that direction.

"Are you okay," he heard softly beside him.

"Yeah," he managed to croak out, hoping that Ginny wouldn't press the issue.

Ginny rolled closer, wrapping an arm around him, pulling him into her body. "I can't help if you don't tell me what's the matter," she whispered into his ear.

Harry felt tears spring into his eyes, overflowing and trailing down his cheeks. "I can't," he sobbed out quietly. "Not yet. Please understand."

Ginny ran a hand through his hair, tenderly conveying her acceptance of his plea. "All right Harry, but you need to understand that you won't really begin to get better till you start talking about what is wrong."

Harry tensed in her grasp for a moment, but then sagged, nodding his acceptance of what she was saying. In his heart he knew she was right, but at the moment he didn't think he had the strength to do it.

He nodded to her, letting her know that he understood at least on some level.

As he lay there, Ginny had continued to rub one of her hands up and down his back. Harry relished the times she did that. It felt so good and though he tried to fight it, he associated it with a feeling of being loved.

All through his childhood growing up at the Dursley's he had never been touch or caressed in any way that offered the slightest bit of comfort. The only reason any of his relatives had touched him was to punish and cause him pain.

Ginny glanced down at Harry's face. His eyes were scrunched shut, tears forming at the corners.

Keeping up her caresses she asked him quietly, "What's wrong?"

Disassociating his problems with his relatives from what he was feeling about Sirius, Harry began to speak. His voice was just above a whisper and Ginny had to listen hard to make out what he was saying.

"No one has ever touched me like you are. All I remember from growing up is being slapped or hit or punched. Being touched meant nothing but pain," he cried out softly.

Ginny had to fight hard not to give into tears as she listened to Harry. Never could she imagine growing up with out some form of comforting touch. The warm hugs she had received when she needed them, whether because she had a bad dream, her brothers had made her cry or just because someone wanted to make her feel better.

Surprisingly even the sting of a potion being applied to a skinned knee came to mind. Sure it had stung, but it was the act of someone caring for her that was foremost in her mind and afterwards the comforting hug had accompanied the treatment to make it all right.

"Why did they hate me so much? Why did they treat me so badly?" Harry mumbled out as he relaxed into Ginny's loving touch.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I wish I could understand why they did what they did, but I can't because I can't understand how anyone could treat a child like that."

Slowly Harry's breathing levelled out and she knew he had fallen back to sleep. As hard as she tried, Ginny could no longer fight the tears in her eyes and two hot trails formed on her cheeks. She just couldn't comprehend anyone treating a child like Harry had been treated.

While Ginny knew that Harry was avoiding his biggest problem, the loss of Sirius, she knew that his starting to talk about his terrible childhood was a step in the right direction for him to heal.

As the sun moved down toward the horizon, Ginny felt Harry stir. He gave a might yawn and straightened up, stretching out his aching muscles.

"Come on, lets get washed up for dinner," she said.

Harry gave her a wan smile, nodding his head. "I can't believe just how much that short walk tired me out."

"The more we do it, the easier it will become," Ginny replied.

The pair rose and headed back inside. Molly was busy at the stove, preparing the evening meal. She looked at them as they entered, giving them a warm smile. "Dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes" she said, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Okay, Mum," Ginny replied. "We're headed up to wash up. We'll see you soon."

Molly watched as Harry stared at the table as if he was counting the place settings. She was tempted to ask if he wanted to join the family for dinner but refrained from doing so, figuring it was to soon for him to be willing to join the family just yet.

Suddenly Harry's met Molly's. He smiled sadly at her and almost as if he had read her mind he said softly, "Not yet. Soon, maybe, but not yet."

Molly gave him a wan smile. "I understand, Harry. Whenever you're ready."

Harry sighed, looking so sad that it broke Molly's heart to see it and he gave her a nod of his head before he went over to Ginny who had stopped at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for him.

Taking his hand, she said tenderly, "Come on, Harry. Let's get you ready for dinner."

Neither saw the tears that leaked out of Molly's eyes and trailed down her cheeks. With a deep sigh, she turned back to the stove and continued working on preparing dinner, though her actions were much slower than they had been.

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Harry and Ginny returned to their room and once settled back into bed, Harry turned to Ginny.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what's with you being allowed to stay with me?" he asked lowly.

Ginny looked thoughtful for a moment. "To tell you the truth, I'm not 100 percent sure. It's been a surprise to me too."

Harry looked pensive so Ginny continued. "I think that because of what I had to deal with after the Chamber, they think I'm the one who can relate to you the best. Plus what I learned in dealing with it, I can help you deal with things."

Harry nodded his head slowly, taking in what Ginny said. "Well, no matter the reason, I'm glad you're here with me."

Ginny gave him a warm smile. "I'm glad too," she said happily.

Harry gently took her hand. "I think it's time we talked about this," he said as he lifted her hand a little.

Ginny sighed, knowing that it was something she'd have to deal with. Though her hands no longer looked quite so red and inflamed, you could still see the effects of her scrubbing them repeatedly.

"I. . ." she began hesitantly. "I had a hard time dealing with what happened," she continued lowly. "When I got home, my hands were coated with blood and no matter how hard I tried, how hard I scrubbed, they just didn't feel clean."

Harry's eyes closed and he sagged noticeably. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that," he whispered, barely audible.

"Harry," Ginny said emotionally, "Don't feel that way. I'm just glad I was able to be there and help you. I don't know what I would have done if I lost you."

Harry gave her a wan smile and lifted his free hand and ran it through her hair. "I'm sorry I put you through that, but I'm glad you did. I just wish that things were different."

Ginny looked at him questioningly. "How so?"

Harry smiled at her, but it was touched with sadness. "Though I've lost my parents and Sirius, I've come to realize I have others that love me and I'm not really as alone as I thought I was."

Ginny could tell by the look in his eyes what he was trying to convey. She felt a warmness fill her, he was telling her in his own way how much her felt for her.

She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him. "You're not alone Harry. I'll always be here for you," she whispered softly.

Harry gave himself into her embrace, sighing contently. He knew he loved Ginny like no other, but he just couldn't say those words to her, yet. He closed his eyes, sighing sadly and leaned in, resting his head on her shoulder.

Ginny just held him, humming softly as she stroked her hand through his hair, offering love and comfort to the broken young man that had captured her heart.

It wasn't much later that Molly came upstairs with their dinner. She sat it down on the bedside table, looking closely at the pair laying in the bed. There was a subtle difference in Harry's demeanour but she couldn't tell what it meant. She hoped fervently that it was a sign that he was getting better but she wasn't sure.

"There you go," she said pleasantly. "I'll be back up for the tray later."

Both looked at her, Ginny with a smile, but Harry still had that sad look about him that just broke her heart. With a sigh, Molly headed back down to join the rest of the family for dinner.

Harry picked slowly at his dinner, though he did manage to eat most of what was on his plate.

Ginny watched him closely, she could tell he was thinking hard about things and hoped that he would continue to open up to her. It was the only thing that was going to allow him to move on and heal.

Ginny took Harry's plate and set it aside with hers. She was just relaxing, sitting on the bed next to Harry when she noticed he seemed to be fidgeting, unable to stay still.

"What's the matter," she asked him, a bit concerned.

Harry sighed before turning to look at her. "I'm a bit tired of just laying here," he admitted softly.

"Want to take another walk?" she asked hopefully.

Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."

Ginny stood and grabbed the tray of their dinner dishes as Harry rose and put on his trainers.

He was surprised when she didn't put on her flats. His gaze fell and he ended up staring at her feet. To him they seemed perfect, neither to big or to small, their skin a flawless expanse ending with her beautiful dainty toes. The toe nails were painted a deep red, edged on the front by gold, Gryffindor colours.

Ginny noticed where Harry's attention was focused and smiled lightly. "What?" she asked with a smirk.

Harry's eyes flew up and met hers and he blushed deeply. "I – ah, well, ah I was wondering why you didn't put your shoes on?" he stammered.

"Oh, I just like to go barefoot sometimes," she replied offhandedly. "Was there anything else?"

In what he thought was impossible, Harry blushed deeper. His mouth opened and closed several times though no sound came forth.

Ginny couldn't hep giggling. "Come on, Potter. Spit it out," she said mirthfully.

Refusing to meet her eyes, Harry said softly "I was just noticing your feet."

Ginny couldn't leave it at that. "Why? Is there something wrong with them?" she asked, her voice tinged with humour.

"NO!" Harry exclaimed, much louder than he wanted. "No," he said again softly. "I was just noticing how beautiful they are," he added shyly.

Ginny looked at him sceptically. "Really?" she asked dubiously.

Harry sighed. "Well compared to mine, I mean. Mine are ugly compared to yours. My toes are all knobby and . . . well, I mean . . ." he said lamely.

"We'll have to compare them later," Ginny chided him gently, unable to hide her smirk.

Harry looked at her horrified, causing Ginny to laugh.

"Who knew that you'd have a foot fetish," she teased.

Harry finally got that she was having a go at him and he shook his head, giving a soft chuckle.

Ginny took him by the arm and guided him out of the room. "Maybe I should put on my flats," she said with a smile. "I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself by running into something while not watching where you are going."

"Don't put them on, on my account. I'm sure I'll be able to restrain myself," Harry replied, giving her a small smile.

Ginny was happy to see him smile, something that he hadn't done much of since he had arrived at the Burrow.

I no time at all, the pair were once more outside after Ginny deposited their dinner tray into the kitchen.

Ginny tucked her hand into Harry's elbow and they slowly made their way down toward the pond. There was just a touch of a breeze that made things very pleasant. She was glad to feel the tension drain out of him as they got further from the house.

Sunset wasn't for about 2 more hours and the late evening Sun cast a golden glow onto everything.

Ginny led Harry to a small bench that was placed in the shade of an old oak tree. She heard Harry sigh as he sat down but for once it didn't sound sad. It was one of contentment. He then took in a deep breath as he savoured the fresh clean air.

"This is nice," he said softly.

"Yes it is," agreed Ginny.

She was taken by surprise when Harry wrapped his arm around her waist and leaned into her side. Not that she was adverse to his action. She just hadn't expect him to initiate something like that.

They just sat there in companionable silence, listening to the sounds of nature that surrounded them. Birds were singing in the meadow across the pond, a bullfrog croaked out nearby in the rushes, insects buzzed about, all in all it was just about as peaceful a scene as one could ask for.

Finally as the Sun dipped below the horizon and twilight fell, Ginny rose and extended her hand to Harry, helping him to rise. He surprised her once again when he slipped his hand into hers.

She gave it a gentle squeeze and Harry looked at her in surprise, it was as if he hadn't even realized that he had taken her hand. Ginny just smiled at him, letting him know that she was okay with it.

Harry gave her a shy smile and they made their way back to the Burrow.

As they entered, Harry paused, looking in the direction of the parlour. Ginny looked at him questioningly.

Harry gave her a wan smile. "Maybe we should join your family for a bit," he said softly.

Though surprised, she managed to hide it. "Are you sure?" she asked pointedly.

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah," he replied. "I can't avoid them forever."

Ginny gave him an encouraging look and nodded in reply.

"Please just stay close," he whispered.

"I'm here for you," she said, giving his hand another squeeze.

Slowly they made their way into the parlour, pausing right inside the doorway.

Molly was the first to notice them, a surprised look on her face. "Hello, you two. Come on in and sit down," she said warmly.

Mr. Weasley smiled at them and just nodded as he sat in his chair listening to the wireless.

Hermione was seated back in a corner, predictably reading a book. She glanced at them and Ginny had to bit her tongue when she saw a frown flicker across the bushy-haired girls face. Luckily she didn't say anything and turned her attention back to her book.

Ron looked up, also with a surprised look. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but remained silent as if he didn't know what to say.

The Twins were conspicuous in their absence.

Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He glanced at Ginny, who gave his hand a squeeze and a small smile. "So far so good," she thought to herself.

Harry made his way over to where Ron sat. "Fancy a game of chess?" he asked lowly.

With a shocked look, Ron answered "S-sure."

Ron quickly reset the chess pieces and offered Harry his pick of colours. Harry ended up with black and Ron made his first move.

Ginny sat down close to Harry and silently watched. She noticed her brother peeking at his mate every few seconds, something unusual as he normally kept his focus firmly on the board.

Harry, for his part, kept his eyes fixed on the board, never once raising his eyes to meet Ron's. Slowly she noticed him start to relax a little. Though he remained somewhat tense.

The game progressed slowly, Harry being very deliberate in his moves. Ron, on the other hand looked decidedly distracted, not playing with his usual intensity.

They had been playing for about 45 minutes when Harry castled. Ron, not paying particular attention, hurriedly made his next move.

Ginny watched in disbelief as Harry moved one of his rooks and took Ron's queen.

Ron stared in shock and with a low growl spat out "What kind of freak move was that."

Harry's head snapped up, a blank look on his face, his body tensing. Suddenly be bolted up and ran from the room.

Ginny arose, furious at her brother. "You are a complete arse!" she yelled before she ran after Harry.

Ginny heard Harry running up the stairs, the door to their room slamming shut behind him. She vaguely heard her mother berating Ron, but she paid it no mind. Her thoughts were focused on Harry.

She quickly followed Harry up the stairs and opened the door to their room. She came to a sudden stop, Harry was no where to be seen. Bewildered, she paused. "Harry?" she called out softly.

To her utter dismay, she heard a soft whimpering sound emanating from the closet. Hurrying to the door, she slowly opened it. There in the darkness she found Harry curled up in a ball, his body shaking with near silent sobs.

"Oh, Harry," she said emotionally, tears coming to her eyes.

She quickly knelt down and reached out her hand, her tears increasing as Harry recoiled from her touch.

"Harry," she said softly, trying to calm the distraught young man huddled before her.

As she reached in towards Harry, she heard the door open softly. Looking up in alarm, she saw her mother standing in the doorway. With a silent shake of her head, she sent Molly back out into the hallway.

She stared at Ginny in shock at the situation she had found her in. Giving a subtle nod of her head, she left Ginny to her task.

"Harry, luv," she said tenderly.

Harry's only reaction was to curl up tighter into himself, flinching away in fear.

"Please Harry," she tried again. "Won't you come out. You know I won't hurt you."

Harry just shook his head vigorously, edging further back into the corner of the closet.

Ginny gave a small huff of annoyance. "Well if you aren't coming out, I'm coming in."

When Harry didn't respond, she crawled into the closet, getting as close to him as possible. She laid down, wrapping her body around his, taking him into a tender embrace.

She gently ran her one hand through his hair and whispered soft words of love and comfort into his ear.

Slowly Harry calmed down, his breathing becoming ragged as he fought for control of his emotions.

It seemed to take forever but he finally relaxed somewhat back into Ginny's embrace.

Ginny could feel his breath still hitching slightly, sending small shudders through his body.

"I'm sorry," he whispered out hoarsely.

Ginny rolled her eyes, glad that Harry was still with his back to her so he didn't see her doing so.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she gently said.

Harry sighed deeply. "I feel so ashamed," he said softly. "I don't know why I reacted like I did. I mean it wasn't as if he called me a freak or anything."

Ginny caressed his cheek, using just enough pressure to turn Harry's head towards her. "The word triggered your subconscious memories of your relatives calling you that. It's still quite raw for you. It isn't your fault."

Harry's lips twitched and for the briefest of moments a wan smile graced his face, but his eyes still held a deep sadness, looking so haunted that Ginny had to fight back her tears.

Ginny shifted uncomfortably. It was quite cramped in the small closet. "If you're feeling up to it, why don't we get into bed," she urged.

It took a moment but finally Harry nodded his head. Slowly, both extracted themselves from the closet. Harry stripped down to his boxers and his tee before climbing into bed.

Ginny grabbed one of Harry's tees. "I need to run to the loo," she said apologetically.

Harry looked like he wanted to protest her leaving, but he nodded his head in acquiescence.

As Ginny opened the door, Harry said "If you see your mum, tell her not to be to hard on Ron. It wasn't really his fault."

Ginny nodded though it was a bit reluctantly. Yes, Ron hadn't meant to set Harry off but the boy just never thought about what he said. She knew for a fact that he knew that Harry's relatives used that derogatory term in regards to Harry and he should have know it wouldn't be received well.

Ginny was just coming out of the loo when she saw her mother coming up the stairs.

"How is he doing?" Molly asked sadly.

Ginny sighed. "Better now, but it was such a trial. I could just hex Ron for his run away mouth."

Molly sighed too, if anything much more deeply than Ginny had. "I know. I don't know where his mind is most of the time."

Ginny gave her a wan smile. "Harry asked that you not take it out on Ron. He knows he didn't mean anything by it. It's just something that hurts Harry deeply to hear."

"Well, I did give your brother a piece of my mind, but I'll leave it at that and not add anything else as punishment," Molly replied.

"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said, giving her mother a quick hug. "I need to get back to Harry."

"All right, dear. Giving him my love and let him know we don't think badly about what happened," the Weasley matriarch replied.

"I will Mum," Ginny said as she left to return to Harry.

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Ron sat in stunned silence, his mouth agape as he watched Harry run from the room. He barely heard his sister yelling at him. His mind working furiously trying to figure out what had happened.

"Ronald!," his mother yelled at him. "What were you thinking, or weren't you thinking at all?"

Ron hung his head, blushing fiercely. He couldn't for the life of him remember what he had said.

"W-what did I say?" he stammered.

Molly rolled her eyes before shutting them, pausing as if she was counting to ten before answering. "It was something along the lines of 'What kind of Freak move that Harry had done," she answered disapprovingly.

Hermione had closed her book and come over to where he sat. "Really, Ron. You know his relatives used that term for him," she said derisively.

Ron thought he'd be sick to his stomach and he had to fight to keep his dinner in place, not even paying attention as his mother berated him for his lack of thought.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" he heard his mother finish up.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"As you should be," Molly said with a huff. She shook her head in disgust and left to go check on Harry.

Hermione sat down next to Ron. "Ron," she sighed. "You really need to start thinking before you speak."

Ron looked at her in anguish, his mouth opening and closing several times.

Hermione patted his arm sympathetically. "Just think about it," she said softly before rising and heading back to her chair and book.

Ron glanced at his father who was looking at him disappointedly. He hung his head and gave it a slow shake. He knew he needed to change, the problem was he didn't know how to go about it.

He rose slowly, looking very dejected. "I'm going to go take a walk," he said lowly. Trying to ignore the looks he was getting, he made his way out through the kitchen and headed toward the paddock.

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Molly came back down, a frown forming on her face when she noticed that her youngest son was missing. "Where did Ronald go?" she asked, her voice laced with her displeasure.

"He went for a walk," Hermione replied, looking up from her book.

When it looked like she was going to go find him, Arthur spoke up. "Let him be for now. I want him to think about things for a bit and then I'm going to go and talk with him."

Molly relaxed considerably. She knew that having a man's point of view was just what Ron needed at the moment.

"All right, Arthur. Just don't let it go too long," Molly stated

"He needs some time to think on things but don't worry. I'll make sure I don't wait too long," her husband replied.

Molly nodded. "I'm going to make some tea. Would anyone else like some?" she asked tiredly.

"That would be great Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said.

"I'll wait till I come back in from talking to Ron," Arthur replied with a thin smile.

Molly nodded in reply and headed off into the kitchen.

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Ginny rejoined Harry in their room. She was concerned as she looked at Harry curled up in the bed. Though he wasn't back into a fetal position, he was scrunched up facing the wall.

Sighing she removed her jeans, leaving her in just her knickers and Harry's purloined tee shirt. She gently crawled into bed and wrapped her arms around him.

Her heart broke when she felt him flinch as she touched him and she had to fight back her tears that threatened to flow. Then, to her surprise and gratification, Harry relaxed back into her.

"I just feel so broken," he whispered.

"You've been through a lot," Ginny whispered back. "We'll get through this."

Harry turned in her arms, facing her. "I'm so glad that you're here," he said lowly. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Ginny smiled warmly at him. "Then it's a good thing you don't have to."

Harry was staring at her with a strange look on his face. Ginny was wondering what he was thinking when he slowly leaned in and captured her lips in a gentle, tentative kiss.

The act took Ginny totally by surprise. Then she gave herself into the kiss. She couldn't believe the feelings coursing through her. It was like flying on the world's best broom and so much more.

Their passion grew, each giving more of themselves into the searing kiss.

Suddenly, Harry pulled back and stared into Ginny's eyes. She couldn't understand the hesitancy that she saw on his face. For a moment she thought that maybe he regretted kissing her.

With a trembling hand, Harry reached up and tenderly cupped Ginny's cheek. "I think we need to stop," he whispered huskily.

As much as her body wanted to continue, she knew he was right. She didn't want to jeopardize her staying with him and she also knew it was too soon for such a physical relationship.

Ginny had to take several deep breaths to cool her ardour. Never before had she felt so on fire, so filled with desire.

She smiled reassuringly at him, pushing her cheek into his hand. With a contented sigh she gave him a chaste kiss. "I know you're right. We can't let ourselves get carried away," she said softly.

Harry smiled back but Ginny could see it was tinged with sadness. He looked rather forlorn.

"I'm so . . ." he began to say before Ginny silenced him with a finger.

"You'd better not be saying you're sorry,"she chided him mildly. "That was the most wonderful, intense kiss I've ever had and I hope we can share more of them later."

Harry's smile brightened considerably. "I hope we can too," he replied. Then a bit more seriously he said "Thank you, Ginny."

Ginny was tempted to ask what for, but decided not to.

Harry nudged her so that she turned and laid flat. Then he snuggled into her side, resting his head on her shoulder while wrapping an arm lightly across her chest.

"Good night, Ginny," Harry murmured.

"Good night, Harry," Ginny said softly, giving him a soft kiss on the top of his head. She heard him sigh contentedly, burrowing in a little tighter. Within moments she heard his breathing change as he drifted off to sleep.

Ginny was just starting to drift off when she heard the door click open. She cracked open her eyes and saw her mother peeking in. After a moment, Molly withdrew, closing the door softly behind her.

"Thank Merlin we stopped when we did," she said to herself. With a sigh of relief, she relaxed and within moments, joined Harry in dreamland.

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Arthur glanced at the clock on the mantle, rose and headed out to find Ron. It didn't take him long to track his son down. He found him leaning on the old stone wall that encompassed the paddock where they play Quidditch.

He walked up beside him and placed his arm around Ron's shoulders.

Ron flinched at the contact, so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't even heard his father come up to him.

"All right there son" he asked.

Ron sighed deeply. "Yeah I guess so," he replied softly. "I just feel so bad about what happened."

Arthur paused for a moment, staring off into the distance. "Ron, you'll be of age soon. It's time you started to act like it,"

Ron's shoulders sagged and he hung his head. "I know," he lamented.

Arthur patted his son on the back. "I know growing up is hard and you'll make mistakes. It's just a fact of life. The thing is that you need to acknowledge them, do what you can to fix things and learn from them," he said sympathetically.

Ron gave his father a wan smile. "Thanks Dad," he said softly.

"Any time, son," Arthur answered as they turned and headed back towards the Burrow.

"Don't worry about your mother, I don't think she's going to be to harsh with you," he added with a smile.

Ron looked at his father hopefully and smiled.

"Your sister on the other hand. . . well lets just hope she doesn't hex you to badly," he said with a chuckle.

Ron just stared at him in horror.

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A/N: Another update at last. As always you reviews and comments are greatly appreciated.