I own nothing other than the plot, everything else is JKR's.

A big Thank you to my Beta Jenny for the work she did on this chapter.

Nervous, happy, excited, scared, curious, he was feeling so many emotions at once that he felt completely as sea. He had been distracted for most of the day at work and hadn't been able to concentrate on anything. If one owl could affect him like that, he wondered what

finally talking to her would do!

He had stopped trying to convince himself that he'd ever be able to completely give up the hope of her, a long time back. But he had learnt to suppress his desires and wants for most part; it was the only way he could function normally. Now, this one owl had re-ignited that little hope he had tucked away in a corner of his heart.

He knew he was probably setting himself up for disappointment, after all, the only thing the letter said that she missed him and wanted to see if they could salvage even a bit of friendship that they had destroyed. But, he had reached a point, where he knew he'd be happy to take whatever she was willing to give.

Perhaps if they could become friends again, he would finally learn to live with the fact that's all they'd ever be. He knew, she didn't have to reciprocate his feelings for him to love her, he had loved her with everything he had in her and he knew he always would.

Yet, this one gesture from her had also brought up some of the initial anger he had felt towards her. She had never replied to any of his letters, had made no attempt to respond to his efforts of reaching out to her and now suddenly she wanted to talk! For a moment, he had actually thought about not replying, but he had known even for those fleeting seconds that he wouldn't be able to that. She was Ginny and he was Harry and there was no way he would let go of the smallest chance of having her back in his life in whatever way it was possible.

He wasn't pathetic; he had spent the first few months feeling angrier with her than he had with anyone else in his life. Angry for not listening, angry for not understanding why he couldn't put her in danger, angry for not trusting him, angry for giving up on him and the love they had.

He had even tried to forget her for a while and move on, tried too hard in fact. He had gone on a few dates, had tried hard to have a good time, but had always come back home feeling empty and lonely. Last year he had even gone home with two of his dates hoping he'd feel something other than lust, but he had failed again. For some inexplicable reason, the strongest emotion he had felt even in the most heated moments was guilt.

He realized after those two miserable nights that he couldn't force himself to move past what he felt for her. It would happen if and when it was supposed to. If not, he'd learn to find happiness in the life he had created for himself.

Now, it looked like finding that happiness would be easier. At the very least, he hoped he would get some answers and find closure.

He read parchment for the nth time before folding it up carefully and putting it back on the bedside table he had picked it up from. One week and he would see her again, one week and for the first time in two years she wouldn't runaway when they were in the same room.

As he closed his eyes, his mind conjured up various images of the burrow. He loved the place, always would, but he couldn't deny it hurt every time he visited only home other than Hogwarts was no longer as cheerful as it was in the pre-war days. How could it be, there was no Arthur pottering about with his Muggle objects, no Ron always whining about being hungry and no Ginny to take the mickey out of Ron and whoever else she and George would drop in sometimes when he was there, but their jokes just never seemed as funny as they did when they teamed up with Ginny or ganged up against Ron.

Molly as strong as she had tried to be after Arthur's death, had lost a lot of her spirit and it hurt Harry every time he saw how much she had changed, but like most other things in his life, he had learned to live with it. It hadn't been easy at first, he had avoided going to Burrow completely, but Molly was not a woman you could avoid. He had learned that the hard way. In truth, he knew if it wasn't for her and Hermione, he would have completely fallen apart after the war.

Another part that always hurt whenever he visited Molly was the loss of Ron's friendship. He missed Ron a lot, sometimes almost as much as he missed Ginny, but that too was a part of his life that the war seemed to have snatched away from him. He didn't know why or what had changed Ron. He had figured that Ron probably blamed him for crushing his dreams. Not that he could find fault with that reasoning. Despite, how much work his therapist had done with him after the war, he couldn't help but blame himself for Ron's condition. Thankfully, he was getting better, last he heard he was walking normally again and was contemplating accepting an American club's offer to play Quidditch. He had already known about the latter though, the club owner had assured him that they would send someone to watch Ron play.

He wouldn't say he wasn't angry with Ron though; they had been like brothers and yet he had left him too, just like others in his life had. Maybe he was a fool, but like with Ginny, he hadn't ever completely lost the hope of someday having Ron back in his life either.

He stood at the apparating point, staring at the crooked house he had always loved. He wanted to bring some semblance of control back to his emotions before he saw her. He had been a mess since the morning.

He wasn't vain, what skinny specky git would be? But, he hadn't been able to stop himself from checking his reflection in the mirror and flattening his hair repeatedly. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been so concerned about his appearance and for all he knew the person who had inspired this desire may not even notice!

He took a few deep calming breaths, warned himself one last time to act cool and friendly and began taking long quick strides towards the burrow.

Even though he knew Ginny was at home, he hadn't expected to see her setting the table instead of the familiar sight of Molly. His first reaction was surprise, which was quickly followed by such a rapid increase in heart rate that he thought his chest would explode. He didn't know how she did it, but every time he saw her she looked more beautiful. Perhaps this time the fact that she was smiling at him made her look even more stunning. He wasn't sure how to greet her. Say "Hi" like he had done in the past only see a curt nod before she ran away or shake her hand because she had sent him a 'friendly' owl after all, or maybe hug her, but he wasn't sure how she'd react to it. So he stood there with a nervous grin and thankfully Ginny took the decision and for a glorious few seconds, she was in his arms again.

A moment ago he had been wondering how she would react to the hug and now he was overwhelmed himself. It didn't last long, but it was enough to give him a whiff of her intoxicating scent. He inhaled deeply willing his senses to remember this feeling and wondered yet again if he would ever be able to see her as just a friend, if he would ever stop wanting her in this lifetime.

AN- I know I took forever to upload this. I have no excuse other than a huge writer's block. Anyhow, I am back now and hopefully won't take such a long break again. The next chapter is Ginny's POV btw. As usual would love to hear what you have to say.