I wrote this story well over a year ago, it was my first foray into fanfiction. With the hope that my writing has improved since then, I cleaned up all the original chapters. Feeling that there was a little more left to be said I added this final footnote.

Agreeing to see come back for the summer term, Harry and Ginny left the office. Hand in hand they walked slowly down the corridor. There were crews of wizards working on repairs and they meandered carefully past them, heading for the front steps.

Sitting down they looked out towards the lake. Ginny rested her head on Harry's shoulder. Harry kissed the top of her head, smiling to himself as he remembered all the times that they had done this the year before. He didn't want to think about her having to leave to go back to the Burrow.

As if summoned by his thoughts, he saw Arthur and Molly Weasley walking towards them, coming from the direction of the burial grounds. Arthur had his arm tightly around his wife. Molly clutched a handkerchief but had her face set, as if determined not to cry.

"Here you both are, we knew if we found one of you we would find the other," Arthur Weasley said. Harry flushed but didn't drop this arm from around Ginny's shoulders.

"Did Professor McGonagall talk to you, dear?" Molly asked, looking at Harry.

"Yes, I told her that I would come back for the summer session."

"I'm so glad. I think it will be good for all of you. To be back at Hogwarts without…" Molly's voice faded, and she looked helplessly at her husband.

"Without having to be afraid," Arthur said firmly. Harry felt the shudder that ran through Ginny's body. He hadn't talked to her about what had happened at the school while he was gone. Remembering what Neville has said about the Carrows, Harry was suddenly scared about what Ginny had been through. He knew she was never one to back down from a fight. And he hadn't been there for her, he realized with dread.

Ginny's parents looked at each other as if double-checking before speaking again. "Harry, have you thought about what you are going to do before the summer term begins?"

"Oh, erm, no. Stay here, I suppose. Or maybe at the Hog's Head if Aberforth will let me," Harry shrugged, he couldn't tell her parents that all he wanted was to be with Ginny. "I can help with the repairs, I guess."

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Ginny looked at him with exasperation. She turned to look at him, her eyes glinting with a flash of anger, "If you think that you need to stay here-"

"Ginny," Molly said with a shake of her head, "I think that Harry just meant that he wasn't sure where he should go. Of course, Harry isn't going to stay here. He is going to come home to the Burrow with us."

Harry felt a flood of relief come over him, and he squeezed Ginny's hand. "Are you sure? I don't want to im-"

"Our home is yours, Harry. Always. No matter what happens," Molly looked pointedly at Ginny's and Harry's clasped hands. "We may never have said it out loud but it needs to be said, we love you," her voice trembled, "life is too short to not to tell the ones you love that they are important to you."

Harry stood up and came down the steps and hugged her, "Thank you, for everything. For being there for me. For always taking me in when I needed you," They stood there for a long minute with Arthur patting Harry on the back. Stepping back, Harry nodded brusquely, afraid that after so much happening so quickly that he might break down, "I'd love to come to the Burrow."

"Well, that is settled." Arthur said, a hint of a tremble in his own voice, "We are going to go back now. You two follow when you are ready, just don't be too long."

Ginny hugged her parents good-bye and together they watched the couple walk down the path towards Hogsmeade. When they weren't visible anymore Harry turned to Ginny, "I suppose we should find Ron and Hermione."

"Why?" Harry looked at her in surprise, "They have had you for the nine months, I think they can make it a few hours without you," She took his hand and they started walking towards the lake.

Wordlessly, they headed down the path that would lead them around to the far side of the lake. Harry didn't think he'd ever been more conscious of a person walking next to him before. Her fingers were holding his so tightly that he could hardly tell where her hand ended and his began. Looking over at her, the profile of her face that he'd dreamed about at night was as perfect as he remembered it. The faint dusting of freckles across her nose, the way her hair brushed against her shoulders.

There was something new though, a faint scar that ran along her jaw, healed but still faintly pink.

Stopping, Harry reached up and ran his finger along the scar. "How did that happen?"

Ginny reached up and put her hand over his, "Just before Easter holidays, I was going to meet Neville in his hideaway. He had gotten supplies we needed from Aberforth," she shrugged, "Carrow, Alecto Carrow, caught a glimpse of me and cast a blasting hex as I was running away, it shattered a statue and I got cut by the stone. It wasn't anything."

"Didn't Pomfrey-"

"We couldn't go to her for anything. If we went to her for healing the Carrows would know about it. They had a monitoring spell on the Hospital Wing," Ginny smiled faintly, "She would slip me salve and potions in the corridor, though."

"Merlin, Ginny. You should have gone back to the Burrow-"

"And leave everyone else to fight without me? To give up?" Ginny lifted her chin stubbornly, "Never."

"No, I don't suppose you could have, but I didn't know it was so bad. What else happened? Neville told me a little but…"

Ginny shrugged as she looked over the lake, "It was pretty bad most of the time. Everyone was frightened. Then Luna was taken from the train at Christmas…and I didn't know what was happening with you. That was the worst feeling of all, not knowing what was happening."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you," Harry swallowed hard, "If there had been any other way-"

"I know, I don't blame you. I blame Voldemort, and the Carrows and all the other Death Eaters." Ginny's voice sounded bitter. "But they are gone and I have you back and that is all that matters."

Walking over to one of the benches that were along the path, they sat down. "Can you tell me everything that happened? I want to know."

"Are you going to tell me what happened to you? What happened in the Forest?"

"I need time to think about it. I will tell you, I promise," Harry turned so he could put his arms around her. "It just is too much right now." He was afraid that Ginny would be mad that he didn't want to tell her yet. But it was too raw. He could still smell the smoke and dust of the battle, hear the cries of the fallen as he walked across the grass to the forest, feel the brush of the tree branches against his body as he followed the Death Eaters to Voldemort.

Right now he just needed to know that Ginny was safe, find out what had happened to her while he was gone. Fill in all the missing pieces.

Ginny seemed to understand, she started telling him what it was like at Hogwarts when she had returned without him. How the Carrows had set student against student and how she had banded together with Luna and Neville to restart Dumbledore's Army.

Her voice trembled sometimes as she shared the worst of what had happened, but she went on steadily until she looked at him and smiled. "Then three days ago I felt the DA coin in my pocket and I realized that it was finally here. The time to fight. Not that you were going to let me," giving him a sour look.

Harry nodded and couldn't get the nerve up to laugh at her expression, the sight of Ginny coming through the tunnel had filled him with equal amounts of joy and terror. "I didn't want to risk you. I didn't know what was going to happen and I wanted you safe."

"After all this time, don't you realize that it was going to take all of us. You had the hardest part, but-"

"I know, it never would have worked. I couldn't have won alone, but I didn't want to be responsible for more people dying because of me."

Ginny reared back and stared at him, an angry flush staining her cheeks, "You are not responsible for people dying. What kind of nonsense is that? Fred didn't die because of you he died because of Voldemort, a Death Eater killed him."

"But if Voldemort hadn't believed the prophecy he wouldn't have-"

"Of all the silly things you've said over the years that has to be the silliest," Ginny put her hands on his cheeks, "You did not make that madman do all those things. He became fixated on you when you were a baby, for Merlin's sake. You really think that baby-Harry was responsible for this all happening." She nodded towards the damaged castle.

Harry nodded and bit back his response, he knew that in theory she was right but it didn't make the burden on his heart any easier. The sun had started to sink towards the west and Harry knew that as understanding her parents were, they should be heading to the Burrow. "Let's go home."