Ginny had a shadow. Ever present, tiny and dark, it had lurked around over the last week as she ate, walked through the halls, or sat in the common room. It grew closer as the days went on, and Ginny was aware of its looming background presence. This shadow had a name. Its name was Romilda Vane.

"Congratulations on a job well done. It seems like your love potion went to the right person," said a voice from behind Ginny as she stood up to pack her bag and leave the library after a long night of studying. She spun around in surprise to see Romilda appear from the darkness of a row of books. Her voice was etched with steel. She held out her hand to shake Ginny's, as though Ginny had won a match.

Ginny stared for a moment at Romilda's outstretched hand, turned back to the desk, latched her bag shut and hitched it up on her shoulder, "Just for your information, I didn't have to poison Harry in order for him to ask me out. He just did."

Romilda retracted her hand from the seemingly friendly gesture and Ginny watched it ball into a fist. Apparently, pleasantries were over. "Is he a good kisser?"

The question rattled through Ginny's brain - - incense her or just let it drop? - - Ginny smiled, "Ooooh yes. Completely fantastic. Best kisser in the history of kissers."

Romilda's eyes flared, "How about his broom? Has he flown you on his broom?" she asked, voice laced with jealousy.

"I've been riding on Harry's broom since before my third year. And you had better be talking about his Firebolt and nothing else..."

Romilda's face twitched dangerously, as if it was being consumed in a fire, she visibly swallowed before continuing, "Well, is it true that he has a Hippogriff tattooed on his chest then?"

Ginny fought back a sudden urge to laugh. It seemed Romilda had in fact meant a different kind of "broomstick" other than the Firebolt Harry rode for Quidditch... Where did this girl get these stupid ideas? Ginny wasn't about to admit that she had never actually seen Harry without his shirt on, "Nope, it's a Hungarian Horntail. And believe you me, it's gorgeous. The dragon is breathing fire that laces all the way up his shoulder and onto his rippling bicep. Really, it's divine. Now please, leave me alone. I have to go meet Harry. We're going to the Room of Requirement for a little...alone time. I need to investigate this tattoo, and everything that comes with it, further."

Ginny could swear she heard a growl and a stomping of a foot come from behind her as she turned on the livid girl. She tightened her hold around her wand in her pocket just in case she was cursed and she quickly made her way up to Gryffindor Tower.

She really should just get used to it. She was dating the Boy who Lived, after all. It was almost like she asked for it. Though Romilda was probably the most crass, she had certainly not been the first person to approach Ginny about the new 'developments' in her life. Jealous scowls and whispers from pockets of girls mixed with an odd smattering of random impromptu high fives in the corridors from random people, many of whom she wasn't sure she'd ever even met, were still occurring weeks after she had become a 'hot news' item. It was odd, and frankly Ginny didn't enjoy the attention. The school at large really should have had much bigger things to talk about...

How the collective school could be gossiping about such stupid things when the news poring in from outside the castle was growing darker and darker every day, Ginny could hardly understand. She didn't know what to attribute it to, it could have been the extra time she had been spending with Harry, Ron and Hermione, or the fact that terrible things were happening with such intensity that she couldn't block it out of her head, but frankly, she was growing more nervous by the day about the reality of what was going on both outside and inside the walls of Hogwarts. Each morning the Daily Prophet would be delivered to Hermione and Ginny couldn't help but peer over her shoulder with a sudden knot in her stomach, surveying quickly, hoping that she didn't see any names that she knew. So far, she'd been pretty lucky...

"I hate to think like this, but it can't be much longer," Ginny muttered, pulling at the grass as she sat beneath a tree on the far edge of the lake alone with Harry in a rare hour they had between classes. Two Hufflepuff girls had been pulled out earlier in the morning to find out their parents had disappeared, "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm saying this, you know this better than anyone."

"Yeah, I do," Harry replied, looking out over the lake as his arms tightened around her waist, pulling her back close to his chest, his chin resting on the top of her head. The couple sat in a silence.

Harry was calming. Leaning against him under such a secluded tree, she felt more at ease than she had in days.

"Thestral," Harry muttered, pointing to what simply looked like a small flock of birds erupting from the tops of the trees on the edge of the forest.

"It's so weird to think that there is a massive animal where you're pointing," Ginny replied.

"Was it weird to ride one without being able to see it? I never asked you that." Harry said after a moment.

Ginny turned to face Harry, "Oh yeah, that was definitely weird. I wasn't nearly as much of a pansy about it as Ron. He was unbearable during that whole flight. 'It's going to disappear! It's going to drop me! I'm going to kill Harry if this thing doesn't kill me!' He was a big baby about it, really."

Harry laughed, "Sounds like Ron."

"Yeah, I reallllly can't understand why you're friends with him," Ginny chided jokingly.

Harry laughed and replied, "I know what you mean, I realllllly can't understand why you'd choose to be his sister."

"Well, I could only disown one of them, and the obvious choice was Percy, so I guess I'm stuck with ickle Ronniekins."

Ginny gasped suddenly, causing Harry's face to twist in alarm.

"What?" Harry asked suddenly.

Ginny pointed, biting her lip to stop from laughing, to the tree trunk that Harry was leaned against. Generations of wand etched graffiti traced through the bark, but one mark was clean and fresh. It couldn't be more than a few months old.

The etching, done in perfect big loopy cursive said, "WonWon, my love forever - - LavLav." Ginny could hardly contain her laughter as she read the inscription aloud.

"I am so glad he escaped that plague," Harry said.

"Oh believe me, me too. If she had turned out to be my sister-in-law along with Pleghm, I think I'd have to disown my whole family. I don't know what he was doing up in his room alone with Hermione that night, but I'm so glad that happened."

Harry's face clouded guiltily and his eyes averted to the lake.

"What?" Ginny asked, skeptically.

Harry stalled for a moment by brushing a lock of Ginny's hair out of her face, "Erm...I know what they were doing up there."

"Is it something scandalous, because Hermione hasn't told me anything!" Ginny asked, excited for some news.

"Oh, no no no, nothing like that," Harry replied, avoiding her eye contact.

"What is it then?"

"Well...I was actually with them, just underneath the Invisibility Cloak. So she just saw the two of them coming down alone."

"Oh," Ginny replied, shaking it off, "Well, that's not so bad. I thought you were going to say something completely damning. What were you doing under the Cloak?"

"Just, erm, I had to run an errand that I didn't really want anyone to see..." Harry said with a quick shifting, causing Ginny's eyes to narrow, "Lavender wasn't the only person affected by my invisible exit."

"Okay..."

"You were too."

"Erm...what are you talking about?"

Ginny was suddenly thoroughly confused. Harry hesitated for a moment.

"Well, it worked in my favor so I guess I don't really regret it, and it was an accident, but erm...it wasn't Dean that pushed you in the portrait hole that night. It was me. I squeezed in past you when I was going out of the door."

Pieces thudded in place in Ginny's mind. She was silent for a moment, "So...it's your fault I broke up with Dean?"

"Yes?" Harry said.

Ginny sat for a moment, remembering with a fresh pang of guilt her one final blow up at Dean. Dean who had always seen what she denied to everyone, even herself. Who had been the one to awaken her to her admission of feelings for Harry. She felt a trill of ironic laughter bust from her, "Well...I broke up with Dean because of you anyway, so the fact that it was your physical catalyst that made me do it right then was just weirdly poetic."

"You broke up with Dean for me?" Harry asked suddenly.

"It wasn't obvious?" Ginny replied, taken aback by his ignorance to her side of the story.

Harry burst into a sudden smile and pulled her in, "I've never been happier to bump into anyone in my life."

He didn't give her the chance to respond.

His kiss elicited a light headed giddiness and a mind clearing that was close to being Obliviated. Wrapped in his arms, the couple eased to the ground, never breaking the contact of their lips. Ginny found herself beneath Harry. His fingers traced her jaw as she ran her hands into his unruly mop of hair.

Harry shifted his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. His finger slipped onto a small patch of Ginny's bare skin where her shirt had untucked and ridden up ever so slightly, instantly causing her to twitch and giggle despite herself.

"What?" Harry asked, pulling away in surprise..

"Nothing," Ginny said quickly, frozen in his arms. A light of understanding flickered in his eyes. Ginny bit back a groan of loathing. If there was one thing that she did not want Harry to know about her, it was what, as she could see from the recognition in his eyes, he had just discovered.

"Ginny?" Harry whispered in a dangerous voice, "...are you...ticklish?"

"No!" Ginny said, affronted. Harry tightened his grip on her.

"You are, aren't you!" he said in a delightfully evil whisper.

"Harry I'm not-AH!"

Harry redoubled his hold on her, slipping his full hand on her waist and digging in.

Ginny shrieked with laughter and writhed, attempting to pull herself of out Harry's grip. Her entire body went into escape mode. If there was one thing she hated most in this world, it was being tickled. Of all of the occupational hazards of being the youngest of seven children, it was this she hated the most. Ginny had spent most of her childhood attempting to escape this position.

"Merlin's beard you ARE ticklish!" Harry exclaimed as she squirmed and attempted to bat him off.

"Stop! - Not - Nice - Potter!" Ginny wailed, pulling from him with all of her might but constantly being encumbered by her twitching torso.

"Don't know what you're talking about Gin, this is brilliant!"

"You're - Going - To - Pay!" She screeched.

Harry laughed loudly as the two toppled sideways and Harry continued his assault.

Ginny's hand brushed Harry's wand sticking out of his pocket and she pulled it instantly. "Rictumsempra!" Ginny wailed as she jabbed into Harry's ribs.

Harry let go immediately in a buckle of laughter.

"You! Gin! You! - You!- Jinxed! - me!" Harry sputtered between giggles as the tickling spell took over his body.

Ginny rolled back on top of him, propped herself up on her elbow and muttered the counter curse. Harry stopped writhing at once, his eyes wide with surprise. Ginny smirked down at him. "Not so fun, is it?"

"You jinxed me! With my own wand!" Harry said in surprise between gasps.

"At least I didn't bat bogey hex you. That's what I usually do to my brothers if they do something as stupid as tickle me," she said with a cold smile as she handed Harry his wand back. Harry took the wand slowly with a surprised smirk on his face. "What?" she asked inquisitively.

Harry was silent for a moment, "You play dirty Weasley."

"Surely you aren't dense enough to have missed this about me," Ginny replied, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, I know it," Harry said, "It's one of the reasons I like you so much."

Ginny felt her face betray her at his words in the intervening silence.

"You are so cute when you blush like that," Harry said softly.

Ginny rolled her eyes, her cheeks becoming tangibly warm. Harry held up his hands visibly to her in surrender, eyes wide with innocence, "Permission to engage the enemy?" he asked. When she didn't respond he ever so slowly returned his arms around her waist, making it quite clear that he was only going in to hold her there.

Pulling her in ever so slightly, Harry's lips trailed to her ear and Ginny's eyes fluttered shut as Harry placed a light kiss there, her heart rate riveting, "I'm sorry I tickled you," he breathed directly into her ear. His free hand slowly came up and swept her hair over her shoulder. She felt herself take a quick intake of breath as Harry touched a nerve with a kiss on her neck. His lips felt divine as he pulled her ever closer into him, continuing his incredible light assault on her neck. A light moan escaped her mouth. Harry replied by burying his face deeper into her neck.

Gasping, she turned in his grasp and her lips found his. A new, unbridled feeling coursed through her as she kissed him hard, fingers deep in his hair. She felt his hands race up under the back of her shirt, making her breathless with the direct contact of skin on skin.

The minutes went on unknown to them. Harry's mouth left hers and buried hotly into her collar bone. She arched in surprise of the feeling of his lips. Her hold on him became stronger, more intense, and she felt his body give his full weight over to her. His lips returned to hers with a moan.

The things she wanted to do came rushing to her in a tidal wave of surprise. Limbs were becoming confused, tangled, frenzied. A completely unknown part of her was starting to take over. It was too much.

Ginny pulled her lips away from Harry's. Her eyes shot open. A look of surprise matching her own was on Harry's face. They didn't speak for a moment, both breathing quickly as they stared at each other. Harry smiled, a hint of embarrassment in his flushed red cheeks, "Hi," he whispered breathlessly.

"Hi," Ginny replied.

"You are...incredible," Harry said in a slightly stumbling voice.

"Likewise," Ginny whispered.

They stared silently at each other for some time. Harry's green eyes alight with a spark she had never seen there before. She couldn't have looked away if she tried. It made every corner of her body warm with vulnerable longing.

"I don't know how you do it, but you make me forget everything, Ginny," Harry said quietly.

"Is that a good thing?" she breathed.

Harry nodded, "It's amazing." His lips found her forehead lightly.

Harry rolled off of Ginny and to her side, pulling her into him on the early summer grass.

What was it about this boy? What made him so different? What made every piece of her crave him in ways that she not only didn't understand, but had never even felt before? Harry's arms wrapped tighter around her and she buried her head into his chest, taking in a fresh mix of Harry and the scent of grass. She never wanted to leave this spot. It was all too good...Too good to be true...Too good to last...

Author's Note January 2nd 2018:

You guys, it's been forever. Life... like, a lot of life, happened. It's hard to believe that I'm writing this note ten whole years after starting this fic. But I just re-read this myself and I am officially committing to finishing it.

So, if you are here at the end and want more PLEASE follow/favorite this story and write me a review telling me you want to see more! I have a different story I have committed to finishing first in the Stranger Things fandom, but after that I promise I am coming over here, re-reading the series to refresh myself on my favorite fantasy universe, and finishing this accidental magnum opus I got so close to completing so many years ago.

I love all of you, and I humbly accept all of the annoyed 'finish this or else' reviews you hit me with.

-L-