Stay With Me

Chapter 1 Realization

Ginny POV

I stood breathing heavily behind the door of my flat. I pressed my hand to my chest trying to still my heartbeat which threatened to give me away. With my eyes closed I concentrated on keeping my breathing slow and steady and most of all, quiet.

"Ginny! Are you home?" My mother's voice traveled easily through the door. I clenched my hands tightly and slid my body slowly lower so I could move from behind the door to the hallway without her seeing through the window. I could have cursed myself for not closing the shade when I ventured out of my flat that morning.

"What are you doing?" My roommate's voice asked, sounding rather amused.

"Saranna!" I whispered quickly, "It's my Mum. Can you get rid of her?"

Saranna rolled her eyes but quickly waved me behind the door. Making sure I was out of sight, she opened the door and greeted my mum.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley."

"I've told you before, call me Molly dear." My mother's voice admonished teasingly through the door. Sure, she could joke around and have fun with my friends.

"Alright Molly-Dear. Are you looking for Ginny?" Saranna replied completely straight faced.

I could hear Mum laugh loudly. I cringed back against the door. "Yes. Have you seen her today?"

"She left this morning for a walk. I think she said something about visiting Harry." Saranna lied easily. I glared up at her. That was a lie that Mum might want to hear, but it would make her very suspicious and nosey about it later.

"Oh!"

Yes, she was defiantly going to ask me about that later.

"Well, I'll let them be."

"Good idea, " Saranna agreed. "Perhaps Ginny will come around soon."

I didn't hear the rest of the conversation. I just sat back on the floor glaring at the pattern in the tiles. Having Saranna as a room mate sounded like a good idea back when I was getting out of St. Mungo's. It was an easy way to keep Mum from moving in here or forcing me to move home. I hadn't needed a lot of help, but with the help of a few healers Mum was convinced I needed to have someone with me.

Saranna had been a logical choice at the time. She was single, her flat contract was up in a few weeks and she needed a place in Diagon Ally that was close to her job at Flourish and Blotts. The only problem was her constant badgering about Harry and I.

Despite that, we had become fast friends. She was sarcastic and adventurous, and didn't take crap from anyone. I heard the door shut and raised my eyes from the floor to focus my glare on her face.

"Hey!" She raised her hands up in front of her. "You asked for my help. I was merely helping a friend out. You don't have to come with me to the guy's place."

"Well now I bloody well do!" I stood slowly, wincing as my sore body was still healing from the few days I had spent in the Malfoy Manor. It had been three weeks and I was still healing. I knew it would take time to fully get over the entire ordeal, but I was still frustrated at my slow progress.

Saranna just grinned. "I'll floo Draco and let them know we are on our way over." She turned and practically pranced from the room.

I stomped back to my room and slammed the door. I had been avoiding Harry since he came soaring back into my life. But that didn't mean I hadn't seen him practically every day. He somehow found a way to run into me while I went about my life. If it wasn't accidently running into me on the street as I took my daily walk, it was constantly appearing at the Burrow every evening at dinner when mum forced me to eat with the family.

I was cordial. I was nice. I answered all of his direct questions and smiled at the correct times. But I was not going to go falling back into his arms the moment he came back into my life. I loved him, and he had left me for five years. FIVE YEARS. A girl doesn't just go crawling back to that. No. I wouldn't. I couldn't.

Even if every part of me yearned to do just that.

I sighed and threw my damp clothes into the basket by my door and pulled on some comfortable muggle clothes. I wasn't going to try to impress anyone with my attire.

"Are you ready in there?" Saranna asked as the door to my room creaked open. Her head popped in and looked around my tidy room. "You need to get a hobby or something. It doesn't look like anyone lives in here. "

"I start work again tomorrow." I reminded her. "It will be a mess again before you know it."

"Enough procrastination. Let's go." She announced, grabbing my hand and dragging me to the fireplace in the living room.

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I grunted as I landed clumsily on my bum in an unfamiliar room. The first thing I noticed was a large bed and a wardrobe. I had landed in someone's bedroom. Suddenly, I felt a hand wrap around my upper arm and I looked up startled. Standing above me was a half-naked Harry Potter.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he helped me stand up. It took quite a large amount of effort for me to rip my eyes off his well-formed chest. It took me a half a second to realize the other reason I couldn't rip my eyes off his chest, the dragon tattoo.

"I- uh, yeah." I managed to utter as he stared at me in concern. Slowly, his concerned look morphed into an amused look. "You have a fireplace in your bedroom?" I asked suddenly, trying to keep my eyes on his face and not the horntail on his chest.

He shrugged, still looking amused. "It's new."

"Oh THERE you are!" Saranna exclaimed, walking into Harry's room. Draco was close behind her. Each had a curious expression on their face. I had lived with Saranna long enough to recognize that the innocent look on her face was a mask.

"Sar-"

"Harry!" Saranna exclaimed, cutting over me. She took a few steps and gave him a quick hug. He glanced at her, obviously understanding the set-up. He raised an eyebrow at her.

Not wanting to look anymore like an idiot, I brushed the soot off of my backside and strode from the room. Draco and Saranna followed me. I glanced around and took in the décor. I had never been in Harry and Draco's flat before. There was a lot more to it than most guy's flats. It had a strange mix of both their tastes and yet it flowed cohesively.

"Do you like his new addition?" Draco asked quietly from behind me.

I spun and glared at him. "Whatever possessed him to tattoo a dragon on his chest?"

Draco looked stunned for a moment, but a sly grin slowly came to his face. "I was talking about the fireplace, but you're the reason he got the tattoo."

"Me?" I asked loudly.

"You're pretty much the driving force behind all my decisions." Harry answered quietly from behind Draco. He was still buttoning his shirt as he walked towards me.

"I need something from the store." Saranna suddenly declared. I watched her as she grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him out the front door. Quite suddenly, we were alone in private for the first time since our confrontation at St. Mungo's.

I shuffled my feet uncomfortably. This wasn't a good idea.

Harry motioned for me to sit down on the sofa. I slowly sat down and he settled himself in the large chair across from me.

"I got it a year after I left. I went to the bars with Draco and got extremely pissed. I thought I saw you, and well, for some reason thought it was a good idea to get a tattoo." He watched me warily.

Memories flooded my mind. I remembered that night. Exactly one year after he left, going to the bars with George, overhearing the girls in the bathroom. Harry and Draco were there.

"I-it was me. I never saw you, but I overheard a few girls talking about two guys. I knew they were talking about you. I took off…" I trailed off, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I know," he whispered quietly.

My head snapped up. "You know?" I asked loudly. "What do you know?" I looked up at him confused. Hadn't he said he thought he saw me, not that he knew he saw me?

All the color drained from his face and he looked down at his hands. "Nothing. Forget it."

Now I knew he was lying or hiding something from me. "I've known you for long enough to know that it is not nothing." I snapped.

He raised his head and locked my angry gaze with his. I couldn't understand the emotions flowing from his gaze, but I could see the resolution building behind them all.

"Fine. At first I thought it was you, but I knew it was you that next night."

I stared at him. I remembered what I had done that next night. I had written the first letter and sent it off into oblivion. Or so I thought. I wasn't so sure now.

"Yes," He answered the expression on my face. "I got your letters."

The first emotion I felt was embarrassment. I had spilled every single feeling and thought into those letters. I had told him things that no one else had ever heard. And then anger flared up in me, a hot white anger that consumed every part of me.

"YOU GOT MY LETTERS?" I screamed. I quickly stood up and stared down at Harry. My hands were clenched into fists and they were shaking with my suppressed rage. I could hear clattering as the pictures on the wall began to vibrate with me.

Harry jumped to his feet, his hands outstretched towards me. "Calm down Ginny." He tried to sooth me with his voice. I was not having it.

"YOU GOT ALL MY LETTERS? AND YOU NEVER RESPONDED? I POURED MY HEART OUT IN THOSE LETTERS!"

"WHAT WAS I SUPPSOED TO DO?" Harry asked, now equally angry. His fists were also clenched at his sides. I could see the veins on his arms protruding. "I WASN'T ABOUT TO COME HOME! I COULDN'T LET MYSELF! I WAS TRYING TO KEEP YOU SAFE AND TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO DO WITH MY LIFE!"

I swayed on my feet. I suddenly felt extremely exhausted and light headed. My eyes fluttered shut and I felt my legs give out. The last thing I heard was Harry yelling my name and his strong arms catching me before I fell.

A/N- HI GUYS! So, I promised a sequel and here it is. FYI it will be a lot less angsty than the last one and a lot more fluff. It's probably not going to be as long... but anyway enjoy. And follow my updates on twitter! hptwifanficer I update where I am in the story, when stuf will be updated and all that fun stuff. :-)

props to my beta for getting this back to me within a few minutes of sending it to her. :-) Guess it helps that she is sitting across the table from me :-)

Oye! Review, or I'll send the swine flu to you. Just ask Rupert Grint, not a good thing!