In the Broomshed

Ginny Weasley was popular amongst the boys. She was only fifteen and she had already had more boyfriends than most of her brothers had had girlfriends. But there was only one that she regretted losing.

'Harry will be here tomorrow morning,' her mother said, reading a letter from Hedwig. 'He plans on taking the Knight Bus. Oh, no, that won't do. Arthur, would you have time to pick him up tomorrow after work?'

'I'm working late, dear,' her father responded. 'Those lousy scumbags are everywhere, selling those amulets, trying to make up some cock-and-bull story about how they'll keep you from being killed by the Killing Curse, repel Inferi, and block unfriendly spells.'

Ginny sat on the floor with Ron and Hermione. Ron was trying to teach Hermione how to play chess, but Hermione seemed less than interested.

Ginny looked out the window to look like she wasn't eavesdropping on her parents.

'Well, I think someone should pick him up rather than make him ride that crazy Knight Bus,' her mother went on.

'Harry will be fine,' her father reassured her mother. 'He's been through worse than a ride on the Knight Bus: dementors, the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Sirius' death, then Dumbledore... Harry will be just fine, Molly.'

'I just worry about him,' her mother sighed. 'He's so young and he's been through so much. He never seems happy anymore. I mean, look at him letter. I've been doing a lot of thinking here. I can't believe some of the stupid things I did last year. It's like he's blaming himself for Dumbledore's death.'

Tears burned in Ginny's eyes. She couldn't stand hearing about Harry being in so much pain. It was too much for her.

'And look at this, Molly,' her father said, pointing at something in the letter. 'I read in the paper that Hogwarts was reopening with McGonagall as Headmistress. I thought I should let you know that I won't be going back. There are things, more important things, that I need to take care of. What on earth could be more important than him finishing school?'

'Mum, I meant to talk to you about that,' Ron said suddenly. Ginny's attention moved from the window to Ron. She no longer needed to look like she wasn't eavesdropping if it was known that Ron had been eavesdropping as well.

'You knew Harry didn't plan on going back to school?' her mother snapped.

'Well, yes,' Ron said nervously. 'Harry only told Hermione and I. But I need to tell you something else. I'm not going back to school either.'

'What?' Ginny and her parents said in unison.

'We need to be with Harry,' Ron explained. 'Hermione and I are dropping out of school to help him.'

'Help him with what?' Ginny piped up before her parents could yell at him.

'None of your business, Ginny,' Ron sneered. 'If Harry wanted you to know, he would have told you himself.'

'Ron!' Hermione said sharply.

'What?' Ron said confusedly. 'Harry and Ginny were all over each other at school. I would have thought that he would have mentioned it between snog sessions.'

Tears fells from Ginny's eyes as her mother said, 'Ginny and Harry? Really?'

'No,' Hermione said quickly. 'It's - They -'

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to block out the yelling and confusion. Hermione was the only one Ginny had told after Harry broke up with her. She couldn't bring herself to tell Ron. She may have hated Harry, but she didn't want Ron to hurt him, which she knew he would do.

'Ginny? What's going on?'

'Why didn't you tell us?'

'What's wrong?'

Suddenly, Ginny tensed and everyone went horribly silent as a window shattered. 'HE BROKE UP WITH ME, OKAY?' she yelled, her eyes snapping open.

'Oh, Ginny,' her mother said quietly, moving forward.

'No!' Ginny said sharply, jerking out of her mother's reach. 'Leave me alone.'

And without any sense of where she was going or what she was doing, Ginny ran from the house. She could hear her parents yelling after her something about not leaving the house alone after dark. But Ginny didn't care. She kept running until she reached the broomshed. She could hear her parents, Ron, and Hermione calling after her as they dashed out of the house after her.

Ginny ducked inside the broomshed and locked the door behind her. She collapsed onto the cold dirt ground that was covered with little bugs. The ends of battered brooms and splintered wood scraped against her bare arms. A black spider made its way up her leg tickling it as he went, but Ginny didn't laugh; she cried.

All of the pain Ginny had kept locked away in the back of her mind was pouring out with each tear.

'Ginny! Ginny!' She could hear the faint calls of her mother and Hermione. But Ginny didn't move. The calls began to grow faint until she couldn't hear them at all.

The spider that had been crawling up her leg reached her knee, which was pulled up to her chest. Ginny flicked the spider off her knee and watched as it flew through the air, landing on one of the various brooms in the shed.

All of a sudden, the door to the shed opened and Ginny gasped with fear.

'Ginny? Is that you?' a familiar voice, the very voice that gave her goosebumps, said in a low whisper.

'Hello, Harry,' Ginny said meekly.

'What are you doing in here?' Harry asked.

'Close the door,' Ginny said, peering out into the night. 'I don't want Mum and Dad to find me.'

Harry, much to Ginny's relief, didn't ask any questions. He closed the door and crouched down on the floor beside her. 'What brings you to this broomshed tonight?' Harry asked, managing to make it casual enough for Ginny to stand answering.

'I just needed to think,' Ginny muttered, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

'And cry,' Harry added in a smart aleck tone.

'I wouldn't be crying if it weren't for -' Ginny cut her sentence short and stared at him with a look of pure hatred.

'If it weren't for me,' Harry said seriously.

'Why did you have to do it, Harry?' Ginny said with a forced calmness. 'Everything was going great. Why did it have to end?'

'Ginny,' Harry said, shaking his head, 'it's more complicated than you think.'

'Just tell me, Harry!' Ginny sobbed.

'Don't you think I want to?!' Harry yelled, rising to his feet. 'I would give anything to tell you exactly why I had to do it, but I can't explain it.'

'Why not?' Ginny said, getting to her feet to see him properly. 'Why can't you tell me what's on your mind? Why can't you tell me why we couldn't keep going on like we were? Why couldn't we have had years together?'

Harry took a deep breath, trying to keep his temper under control. He looked into her eyes and Ginny suddenly felt embarrassed for acting so childish.

'Do you really think I wanted it to stop, Ginny?' Harry asked in a voice just above a whisper. 'Do you think that even if I had wanted it to stop, I would have ended it the way I did?'

Ginny stared intently at the dirty ground, watching a beetle climb onto her shoe.

Harry lifted her face to look at her. 'Ginny, everything that has happened with you has been amazing. And I would give anything to keep that going forever,' he said, taking her hand in his. 'But I - I'm scared, Ginny. I don't want to see you get hurt. I can't risk it.'

Ginny sighed. 'Harry, you say that you don't want me to get hurt, but can't you see?' she said, blinking terribly to fight back tears. 'You're hurting more than you can imagine.'

A single tear slid down Ginny's cheek. Harry swiftly reached up and wiped it away. Ginny back away from him, knocking into the many brooms packed in the corner. 'Harry, I don't want you to do this,' she said, her voice cracking. 'I don't want you to sit here and act like you love me when I know that it will never turn out the way I want it to.'

'Ginny -'

'No, Harry,' Ginny said quietly, shaking her head. 'Don't hurt me anymore. I can't take anymore pain.'

Ginny watched him, hoping that there was still a chance of rekindling their relationship. But Harry just closed his eyes and bowed his head.

Ginny nodded to herself. It was over. There was no hope of starting over. And there was no hope of them ever being together again.

Harry looked up and Ginny expected him to explain himself. She was surprised when he merely said, 'Let's go inside. It's getting late.'

Ginny shook her head. 'I still need to think,' she said, looking at the ground, avoiding his gaze with all her might.

'Ginny -'

'I'll only be out here a bit more,' she added, looking at him briefly.

Harry finally gave in and nodded. He turned for the door and Ginny called after him, 'Harry!'

He turned back to her curiously.

'Why aren't you going back to school?' Ginny managed to say. She really hadn't planned on saying that, but she couldn't think of the exact words to say to him at that moment.

'I need to take care of something,' Harry said plainly.

'Please,' Ginny begged, 'tell me.'

Harry stared at her. He wanted to tell her. Ginny could tell that much. But he shook his head. 'I can't, Ginny. Just believe me that I cannot tell you, no matter how much I want to.'

'Is there anything you can tell me?' Ginny said, hoping to get something from him, some hint of what was going on in his life.

Harry stared at her, lost in thought. 'Yes, there is,' he responded. He stepped closer and took her hand again. Ginny froze. She considered pulling away but decided against it. 'I can tell you that if there was one thing I could go back and change, that would be kissing you in the common room after Gryffindor won the House Cup.'

Ginny stared at him, giving him the look Ron gave people when he was confused.

'Because I know that if that didn't happen then you wouldn't be hurting so much right now,' Harry explained.

Ginny shook her head. 'No,' she said. 'If anything, that moment made my life worthwhile. I wouldn't change that for the world.'

Harry gave her a sad smile. 'It was worthwhile,' he agreed. 'But I wish it didn't happen because I know that without it I wouldn't be here regretting the day that I broke your heart.'

'You know that it doesn't have to be like that, Harry,' Ginny said, her eyes locked on their hands.

'Yes it does, Ginny,' Harry said, closing his eyes peacefully. 'Because I can't be exactly what you need right now. I can't be the kind of boyfriend you deserve. My life is too unpredictable. I can't be at Hogwarts with you. And my life is almost guaranteed to be much shorter than planned.'

'I don't care how unpredictable your life is, Harry,' Ginny cried. 'I can go with you, wherever you're going. And you don't know that your life will be shorter than anyone's will. Look at Dumbledore, or Sirius; no one knows when they're going to die, and neither do you.'

'You can't come with me, Ginny,' Harry said forcefully. 'I won't let you. I can't stand the fact that even now you're in danger, but if you were with me and something happened, I would never be able to forgive myself.'

'Harry, no matter how much you believe it, it is not your responsibility to keep me out of harm's way,' Ginny said, her hands shaking beneath his. 'The only responsibility you have to me is to give me another chance, to give us another chance.'

'Ginny -'

'That's your sole responsibility, Harry,' Ginny forced upon him. 'Please... can you do that?'

Harry and Ginny stared at each other for a good long while. They spoke not a single word. They didn't need to. Ginny could see the answer in Harry's eyes, glistening amongst tears. And Ginny cried.

Not a single word was spoken until they left the broomshed. 'If I come back, after the war, will you -'

Ginny instantly knew what he was asking of her. 'I'll be here, Harry,' she replied before he could finish. 'I'll wait for you, as long as it takes.'