Disclaimer: I Do NOT own Harry Potter nor any related characters. They are all from the genius of J.K. Rowling.

Summary: It's after the battle and Harry and Ginny decide to get back together. The question is, how long can they keep it quiet from her family and how will they take the news?

Chapter 1: Back Together

Ginny was sitting by her favorite tree in the back yard of the Burrow wearing her black dress. They had just buried Fred and now all the funerals were done. It was now time to start moving on.

She then felt a presence next to her, but she didn't turn to see who it was. She KNEW it was her ex-boyfriend Harry Potter.

"Where are Ron and Hermione?" she asked the ground

"Snogging" Harry answered. "Can I join you?"

She shrugged

"You're Harry Potter. You don't need permission for anything" she told him

Harry sighed as he sat down to join her

"I really missed you" he told her

"I missed you too" she admitted "Hogwarts wasn't the same without you"

"It had to be done Ginny. He made horcruxes that NEEDED to be destroyed before he was" Harry told her

"What the bloody hell is a horcrux?" she asked

"Anything that harbors a piece of the soul of another" Harry said

The two sat under the tree for about three hours as Harry told Ginny EVERYTHING.

By the time he was done, tears were coursing down her face

"Why didn't you say goodbye?" she asked

"Because if I did, I wouldn't be able to go face him" Harry told her. "It was the hardest thing I had to do next to breaking up with you. But it's over now. I'm my own person and he can't harm anyone else"

"When Hagrid emerged from that forest…I didn't want to survive this war" Ginny admitted. "My life means nothing without you Harry. Don't EVER do that to me again"

"I have no intention of doing that" Harry said "We should head back inside. Dinner should be ready"

The two went inside the Burrow where the Weasleys were sitting down.

"Are you okay Ginny?" Charlie asked his little sister

Ginny nodded as she and Harry walked over to join Hermione and Ron. As she passed Ron, she smacked him upside the head.

"What was that for?" Ron demanded

"For that stunt you pulled on Harry and Hermione. And unlike Harry, I don't care if you DID save his life"

"You told her?" Ron asked Harry

Harry nodded

"Did we miss something?" Arthur asked his two youngest

"It's a long story Mr. Weasley" Harry said

"And Ginny knows it why?" Percy asked

"Because what happened her first year got her involved" Harry informed the once-outcast Weasley. "And she deserved to know what was going on as she had been possessed by the type of object we were hunting"

"Anyways," Hermione said changing the subject. "I need to go to Australia as soon as possible to fetch my parents."

"And I'm going too" Ron said in a defiant tone that told everyone that he was going no matter what kind of a tantrum his mother or girlfriend threw

Harry gave Ginny a small knowing smile. They both knew that both Ron and Hermione had trouble sleeping if they weren't within 3 feet of each other. Mainly due to what happened at Malfoy Manor.

"Are you going with them Harry?" Molly asked not really feeling up to arguing with Ron as she was still upset about Fred

"Actually, I have a few things to do here" Harry said. "I need to talk to Andromeda about custody rights, make good with the goblins which reminds me, Bill. I'm going to need your help. I also need to talk to Shaklebolt about a few things and I just don't have time to leave the country.

"You're letting Ron and Hermione go….by Themselves!" George asked pausing as if expecting Fred to chime in but then realized he would need to complete his own sentences

"I'm sure they'll behave" Harry said. "But if it means that much that they're chaperoned, I can always have Kreacher tag along"

"That won't be necessary" Ron playfully glared at his best friend

0000

Later that night,

Harry was laying awake in his bed. Ron had snuck out of bed and was currently snogging Hermione on the porch.

"Harry?" A quiet voice came from the door

Harry looked up and saw Ginny in her nightdress entering the room looking as scared as she had been in the Chamber.

"Ginny? You okay?" he asked as he sat up and put his glasses on.

"Can't sleep" she admitted "Can I…?"

She pointed to his bed

Giving her a reassuring smile, Harry scooted over and allowed her to climb into bed with him

"Nightmare?" he asked

She nodded.

"May I?" she asked as she held out her hand just above his chest

Harry nodded knowing that she just wanted closure that he did survive.

Ginny pressed her hand to his chest over his heart and a sharp pain coursed through his body.

"Harry?" she asked at his hiss of pain.

"It's okay" Harry told her before taking off the undershirt. It wasn't the first time he felt pain there since the battle. When he washed, it was sore, but he never really thought to check it out. He figured it was probably just a bruise from the curse.

Ginny gasped as Harry looked down at his bare chest to see yet another scar. But this one was a bit more complicated than the one on his forehead.

"Well…" Harry said with a half-hearted laugh. "Not quite a horntail."

"It looks more like….a flame I think" Ginny said. "is that where…?"

Harry nodded before climbing out of bed and going to the mirror to get a better look.

"Looks a bit like the Order's symbol…a phoenix rising from the ashes" he mused

"So I guess I can contact Romilda and tell her that I was mistaken. You have a phoenix on your chest. Not a dragon"

"But Ron still has that pygmy puff on his arse?" Harry joked

"I think it MIGHT be a house-elf" Ginny said

The two laughed

"Fred would be so proud of us" she sighed

"Why do you think I'm joking around more?" Harry asked her seriously. "I believe that not only he, but my father, Sirius, and Remus, would want us to live our lives with smiles. It's why they died"

"You're right." She said. "They died so we can live"

Harry sat back on his bed and gripped her hand

"So what do we do now?" he asked her "I mean…before, my life was to fulfill that prophesy. Now that it's over,…"

"It's like you said at dinner Harry" she told him. "Make good with the goblins, talk to Mrs. Tonks, and talk to Kingsley"

"Well…I'm not going to be doing that ALL the time." Harry told her.

"Harry?" she asked with a small smile. "Are you asking me to take you back?"

"I know I don't deserve you…especially after what I did to you. But I only did it because I didn't want to see you killed and I knew that Voldemort would target you even worse if we were a couple and now that he's gone…"

Harry's mouth was shut by Ginny's lips on his

"In my mind Harry, we were never broken up" she told him. "You confirmed it when you responded to my birthday gift to you"

Harry smiled before initiating another kiss.

TBC

A/N: Merry Christmas (or whatever Winter Holiday you celebrate be it Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or Yule)