Ron looked up from the book he was reading as Ginny entered the living room. He smiled gently at her, noticing that she was still wearing the vaguely sad and pre-occupied expression that meant she was very upset about something. Moving closer to the arm of the couch, Ron patted the cushion next to him. "Come here."

Ginny smiled gratefully and sank onto the couch next to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder while he put an arm around her. Staring across the room out the window where the rain was steadily pouring down, she resisted the urge to sigh heavily, as she knew it would not make her feel any better and would instead serve only to upset Ron. Ginny snuggled closer to him, pulling his arm just a bit tighter around her shoulders as she felt him give a tiny sigh of his own. It seemed as if there was a lot of sighing going on in the Burrow recently, especially where she and Ron were concerned. She knew that he was as anxious as she was, probably more so; he was just better at hiding it- of course, he was doing a lousy job of it. Since they'd come back from school, Ron had been unusually quiet and spent a lot of his time writing letters to, presumably, Harry and Hermione.

From up above, they heard a tremendous 'BANG!' that managed to shake the house slightly, followed by the sound of Percy's angry footsteps as he marched down the hall. They heard him pounding furiously on a door, yelling for Fred and George to 'stop that infernal racket' and to do something useful rather than spend all of their time being nuisances. Ron laughed softly and Ginny smiled. She loved Ron's laugh- provided it wasn't directed at her. It was one of those strange things that never failed to make her feel better- like her father's plug collection, or the smell of her mother's cooking, or the way Bill always put his hand on her head whenever he greeted her. They were little things that didn't really mean anything and that logically shouldn't have the effect on her that they did, but (like the way Percy's lips pursed when he was officially annoyed by something Fred and George were doing, but was actually secretly amused), things that made her feel as if everything was safe and normal.

There was another loud noise from above and Ginny's smile grew. It was nice, she thought distractedly, being home with all of her brothers- even if Fred and George were being worse than usual this summer. No one had really told them off for their behaviour yet (though she suspected that Percy was nearing his breaking point). Ginny had a suspicion that her brothers were trying to distract the rest of the family- especially their mother-, and that her parents-especially their father- were secretly glad of it. The summer was not off to a wonderful start, but Fred and George's loud explosions managed to vaguely take the attention away from the fact that Bill and Charlie were around a lot more than was usual, that their father had worked every weekend since school had ended- something Ginny could never remember happening, and that Ginny herself- and Ron- were a lot quieter than usual. Thinking that, she leaned in closer to Ron, feeling safe and warm with his arm around her and the fire crackling merrily in the corner.

She felt Ron gaze down at her and she bit her lip, wondering if she should say anything about what was keeping her up at night and was constantly gnawing at her stomach. She hadn't planned on having that discussion when she'd walked in, but now that she was here...

She smiled slightly. Maybe he wasn't as daft as she'd thought him during the Yule Ball. Quickly the smile faded and she couldn't help the small sigh that escaped. "Ron..." she started hesitantly, not sure what to say now that she had made up her mind to say something. Having this talk was probably only going to make them both feel worse, rather than better. The person she should be talking to was probably Bill, or Charlie, or even Percy- but not Ron. And yet... Taking a deep breath, she plunged warily ahead in a small voice, "You-Know-Who... He's really back, isn't he?"

Ron stiffened, tightening his hold on her almost imperceptibly. She didn't know that as he looked down at the top of her head, he was remembering standing behind a pile of rubble with Professor Lockhart babbling behind him, waiting for his best friend to rescue his little sister. She didn't know that he was remembering how helpless he'd felt, being able to do nothing but wait, or how relieved he'd been when he'd heard Harry's voice and finally seen her as he helped her climb through. Swallowing hard, he answered finally, "Yeah. He is."

Ginny nodded, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes stung as tears threatened. She'd known it was true- she'd never truly doubted it... But a part of hadn't been able to keep from hoping that maybe- just maybe- Ron might have lied to her to protect her. She didn't know what she'd been thinking- had she honestly thought that Ron was going to tell her that no, she was just being paranoid? If he had done that, she probably would have been angry with him. She just didn't want to admit it yet. She shuddered suddenly, a rush of panic seizing her.

Ron hugged her closer, rubbing her arm and covering her clenched hands with his. "I... I wish I could say that he wasn't, Gin. Really. But..." He sighed. "We have to deal with it sometime. We can't just pretend that it's not happening- even if we want to."

Ginny nodded, feeling herself lose control and she turned, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging Ron's arm to her. She leaned against it, her back to him and rubbed her eyes. "I know," she said quietly. "I knew. I just didn't want to..." She stopped, shaking her head as she began crying. "Ron, what if... What if something happens? I mean, to- to..." she trailed off, her throat closing up on her.

Ron wrapped his other arm around her, feeling her distress. "Ginny, it's all right. Nothing's going to happen to Harry, not with Dumbledore around. I mean, the only reason anything happened this time was because we didn't have any warning. Now we do. Dumbledore won't let anything else happen, Ginny. You know that."

Ginny shook her head, getting herself back under control. "It's not Harry," she managed to get out. Taking a shuddering breath, she said, "What about you?" She struggled to keep from sobbing and held his arm tightly. She shook her head. "If something happened to Harry... But- but you're my brother, Ron. I don't think I'd... I don't know what I'd do if..."

Ron hugged her, not sure what to say. "Gin... It's gonna be okay, you know. You can't think like that."

"I can't help it," she whispered, staring at the weave of his sweater.

He sighed. "I know. But it'll just make you crazy. C'mon, Ginny, please- don't cry. Really. Nothing's going to happen. I mean it. I'll be careful, and Dumbledore's looking out for us, too. I mean, if Harry's going to come spend the summer with us, he's got to make sure it's safe, doesn't he?"

Ginny nodded. "I guess. But Ron..."

He shook his head and said quietly, "Ginny, don't. It's not going to make you feel any better, and it isn't going to do any good. It'll be all right. Really."

Ginny sighed and turned to look at him, an anxious expression on her face. "Ron... You're not just saying all this to make me feel better, are you?"

Ron grinned at her, and said more confidently than he felt, "No. Nothing's going to happen."

"You can't promise that," Ginny said quietly.

"No," Ron said slowly. "But sometimes you just have to believe something, even if it may not be true. Does that make sense?"

Ginny gave a small smile. "When did you get so smart?"

Ron shrugged. "I think Hermione must have read it in a book somewhere."

"Ah," Ginny said, nodding. "Which would explain how you knew it." She laughed at the look on Ron's face. "But really, Ron. Can you promise me something?"

"I'll do my best."

"Promise me that you'll be careful? And that Harry and Hermione will too?"

"I can't speak for Harry or Hermione," Ron said slowly. "Although I don't think you have to worry. And I promise you that I'll be careful, okay?"

"No heroics? No unnecessary running into the middle of something you can't handle?"

Ron laughed. "No way. Feel better now?"

Ginny nodded. "Thanks, Ron."

"Hey, what's a big brother for?"

Ginny laughed and hugged him. "I mean it, Ron. Thanks. And you do have to be careful. You're my brother, Ron. I love you."

Ron hugged her back. "I love you, too, Gin. And I will be careful."

Just then an even louder and more violent explosion rocked the Burrow and Ron laughed. He stood up, taking her hand as he did so. "C'mon. Let's go see what they've invented this time- and keep Percy away from it."

Ginny laughed and ran after him up the stairs, hearing Percy ahead of them. Maybe Ron had just said those things to make her feel better- but it had worked. He was right- she couldn't let herself keep thinking the way she had been. She just had to believe that he, Harry and Hermione could take care of themselves... Somehow, things had to turn out all right- there wasn't anything she could do, but she had to hope. Maybe, later that night, when she lay awake staring at her ceiling, she wouldn't be so confident. But that was later- and she'd deal with it then. Now she tried not to trip over the steps as Ron dragged her up.

"What IS that?! You've making all this noise because of a BROOM?!"

Ron grinned at her. "Must be some broom."

Ginny laughed. Yes, she would worry later- when Percy wasn't threatening to turn Fred and George in to the Improper Use of Magic Department.