A Weasley Obligation

"And remember to ward the windows at night, dear," Molly Weasley was saying as she took her hat from Colin.

"Mum-" Ginny protested. "I'm not six years old."

"Well London is a much different place than Ottery St. Catchpole," Mrs. Weasley said. "You never know who- or what- might be skulking about."

"Dennis and I have been living here for nearly two years now, Mrs. Weasley," Colin supplied helpfully. "We've never had any problems. Ginny will be perfectly safe."

"I just worry," Molly said, hugging Ginny and then hugging Colin as well for good measure. She wiped at her eyes. "Your father and I are just a Floor call away, dear, and you know how to get a hold of your brothers, should you need them."

"I know, Mum."

"Oh, I can't believe my baby has finally left home!" Molly hugged her again. "Whatever will I do without you?" She laughed thickly and clutched her daughter tightly. "Your father will drive me mad in no time, mark my words."

"Bye, Mum," Ginny said into her mother's hair.

"Goodbye, dear," the older woman said, tearfully extracting herself and taking a pinch of powder from the bowl Colin offered.

When Mrs. Weasley had finally disappeared in a burst of green flames, Colin sat down on the couch. "Goodness," he said. "My mum has nothing on yours. I rather think mine was actually happy to see me go- kept going on about how she could finally redecorate my room now and what have you. "

Ginny groaned and flopped down next to Colin on his couch. "You'd think I was leaving the country. She wasn't nearly this bad when I went away to school."

"But you had three brothers already there to protect you," Colin pointed out as he threw a friendly arm around her shoulders.

She smiled up at him gratefully. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come to my rescue," she said. "I'd probably be stuck living with Ron and Hermione." She made a face and Colin laughed.

"What are friends for?" he asked with a grin. "Besides, I don't think you should be thanking me just yet. You'll change your tune once you try sleeping on the fold-away." He looked apologetic. "I'm sorry I don't have a proper room to put you up in."

She shrugged indifferently. "It's only until I can find a place of my own."

"What I don't understand is why you wanted to move to London. Doesn't Harry live in town as well?"

Ginny shot him a pointed look. "Yes, but you don't have Harry over twice a week for dinner."

His eyebrows shot up. "Twice a week? Merlin, Ginny. I didn't know it was that bad."

She looked abashed. "Well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration," she amended, "but certainly at least twice a month."

"Still," he said, "that's a lot- especially considering that he's your ex-boyfriend. No sane person sees their ex on such a regular basis."

She sighed and rested head against his arm. "I still can't decide if I like hearing that."

"What? Ex-boyfriend?"

"Mmhmm."

"Well, it's certainly loads better than 'the guy who strung me along for two years', isn't it?"

Her lip curled. "He didn't string me on."

Colin frowned in annoyance. "Come on Ginny," he said, "he did too. He might not have come out and said that it was over between the two of you, but he didn't exactly refute the opposite either, now did he?"

She scowled. "You didn't see his face, Colin. He honestly didn't know that I still felt that way about him."

Colin snorted. "Please. You know I love you, Ginny, but you're not that good of an actress. Anyone with eyes could see that you were head over heels for him. Even Harry Potter isn't dense enough to completely miss the obvious. Besides, you know Harry- he hates confrontation, especially when it might upset his happy home life. He just didn't want to face you- therefore," he concluded, "he led you on. His fault- not yours."

"Ugh," Ginny groaned, dropping her head into her hand. "Was I really that transparent?" She groaned again. "Just the idea of being that obvious is embarrassing."

Colin chuckled. "Ginny, you've always worn your heart on your sleeve. It's part of your charm."

She peeked at him through her fingers. "I hardly think showing the world what a stupid idiot I am could be counted as a charm."

He laughed and stood to his feet, holding out one hand for her. "Come on," he said, changing the subject, "I'm of a mind to eat out tonight."

"Shouldn't we wait for Dennis?" she asked, taking his hand and allowing herself to be pulled to her feet.

Colin shook his head. "He's working the evening shift tonight." He summoned his trainers and sat down again to pull them on.

Ginny examined herself in the wide mirror that hung above the mantel, smoothing down her hair. "Do I look alright?" she asked.

He glanced up and grinned at her in the mirror. "You look fine. Besides," he said, standing, "I was only planning on heading down to the pub. No one there will care what we look like."

Ginny was surprised. "A Muggle pub?" she asked, turning to him. When Colin nodded affirmatively, she clapped her hands and squealed with glee. "I've never been to Muggle pub!"

Colin laughed. "They're just like wizarding pubs, just less... wizard-y."

She turned back to the mirror and ran her fingers through her hair. "Are you sure I look ok?" she asked, looking at her reflection skeptically. "I want make a good impression on my first time out to a Muggle pub." She turned to him with an anxious expression. "I don't look too witchy, do I?"

He rolled his eyes and summoned his keys before pocketing his wand. "You look fine. As long as you don't stare at everything and ask lots of questions, no one will suspect- I promise."

She snorted and tried to look insulted as she followed him to the door. "I'm not Ron, you know. I do know how to behave around Muggles."

He shot her a grin from over his shoulder and stuck out his tongue. "Could've fooled me."

She gasped in mock-indignation and pushed him. "Is this how you treat your best friend?"

"Funny, I thought that was Dennis."

"Dennis is your brother and siblings do not count."

He only laughed and ushered her outside before closing and locking the door. Dusk was falling and Ginny hummed happily to herself as she followed Colin down the street and around the corner to his neighborhood pub.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked, his expression bemused.

"Stop," she said, halting suddenly and putting a restraining hand on his arm. "Did you hear that?"

He cocked his head. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly," she said with a smirk. "That's the sound of Ron not whining about Hermione every time he stops by for dinner and Mum not complaining about the gnomes in the garden." She grinned triumphantly. "That, my darling Colin, is the sound of my complete and total independence."

"You're cracked," he said affectionately.

"But you love me anyways," she said in a sing-song voice, linking her arm through his own.

Colin sighed dramatically. "Merlin help me."

---

The pub was not what Ginny expected at all. For one, it was rather small and dark. The weak overhead lights did nothing for illumination and only made the patrons' faces look sickly- which brought about another point: it was really crowded. Ginny found herself clutching Colin's arm tightly as he forcefully made his way through the throng. He shot her a strained smile from over his shoulder after barely avoiding an unfortunate collision with a small Indian man carrying several steins of lager.

"Sorry," he said, elbowing his way past a doe-eyed couple. "I don't know where all these people came from. It's not usually like this." Ginny had to make an effort not to stare at the two love-struck Muggles.

"It's alright," she said, forcing herself to look in another direction.

"I really have no idea what's going on," Colin said. "On a normal day, there's barely three people in here, besides myself. We certainly chose the wrong night to- Ginny?"

She wasn't listening to Colin. She was too busy staring incredulously at a man with a shock of unruly black hair and bright green eyes not two meters from her. For a brief moment, Ginny's heart seized painfully in her chest before plummeting to her stomach.

"Ginny?" Harry asked in disbelief as he turned from the bar counter, a tall glass of lager in hand.

She smiled weakly in response and her grip on Colin's arm tightened. "Hi, Harry. Fancy meeting you here."

He elbowed his way past several patrons. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes wide behind his trademark black frames.

"We were coming for a bite to eat," Colin supplied, shaking Ginny's hand from his arm and sliding it protectively around her waist instead. Harry did not miss the movement and he stared at Colin's hand where it rested upon Ginny's hip for a long moment. "What brings you here?" Colin prompted, giving Harry a hard look. If Ginny hadn't been drowning in her own self-pity at that moment, she would've been proud of Colin. He had never really grown out of his idolization of The Boy Who Lived and to hear him speak so coldly to Harry would have undoubtedly cheered her.

Harry seemed to snap from his trance at Colin's question. "I just moved around the corner," he said.

Ginny's brow furrowed. "I didn't know you were moving."

"I had to," Harry explained, turning to her. "When Ron moved out, I couldn't afford the rent by myself."

"Bad luck that," Colin commented.

Harry's eyes never left Ginny's own. "So you're here together?" he asked, pointedly stressing the last word. Despite his friendly tone, there was an unmistakable glint of jealousy in his gaze which made Ginny stiffen as an unexplained wash of fear slipped down her spine. Curious reaction, her brain noted.

She tried to smile. "Something like that," she managed to say.

"Have you just arrived?" Harry asked, finally returning his attention to Colin.

Colin nodded and then looked around them with amazement. "I have no idea what going on tonight. Like I was telling Ginny, it's not usually like this."

Harry shrugged. "You're welcome to eat with me," he offered. "I managed to snag a table near the back." He grimaced. "That is, if no one else has stolen it."

Colin looked torn and Ginny suddenly felt very selfish. There was obviously a lack of available tables and she didn't want to inconvenience Colin just because she wasn't mature enough to share a meal with Harry. "We'd love to," she answered for both of them, her stomach rolling sickly as the words left her mouth.

I can do this, she told herself, flashing a strained smile at Colin's incredulous expression and trying to ignore the brief gleam of triumph that flared in Harry's eyes.

"Great." Harry beamed. "It's just this way." He gestured for the pair to follow him.

Ginny suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to sprint for the door, but she steeled herself and allowed Colin to drag her further into the crowd.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"No," she replied truthfully, "but we'll never find a free table on our own."

Colin looked concerned. "We could just order takeaway," he suggested. "It's not too late." Ginny considered this before nodding her agreement. It really was the best option: they wouldn't have to sit with Harry for the entire night and they also wouldn't appear rude for abandoning him so quickly.

Harry led them to a smallish table situated against the back wall and near the door to the toilets. Lucky for them, it had three chairs, with one facing the wall. Ginny sat in the chair Harry held out for her, opposite his own, while Colin sank into the middle seat.

"I didn't know you lived so close," Harry began, taking a drink from his beer.

Ginny shifted uncomfortably under his intense gaze and was relieved when Colin answered for her.

"Dennis and I took the flat after he graduated from Hogwarts," he said, snatching the lone menu from behind the napkin stand. "Neither of us could stand living at home anymore- Mum was driving us batty."

Harry looked back and forth between them. "The three of you are roommates then?"

Colin shot Ginny a covert glance. "Just until Ginny can find her own feet," he said casually.

She kicked him under the table.

He winced and sat up straighter in his chair, handing the menu to Ginny. "I don't know why I bother," he said, "I always get the same thing."

Ginny glanced at the food list. "I want something with chips," she declared, "but not fish." She wrinkled her nose. "And not beef either." Harry laughed.

"I forgot how much you don't like fish," he said, taking another drink from his glass.

"They make a decent chicken sandwich," Colin said, taking the menu from her. "Ah, here," he said, pointing and showing it to Ginny. She contemplated it for a moment before nodding her head in approval.

"I'll order that than?" Colin asked, standing.

She nodded again. "To go," she clarified.

"You're not staying?" Harry asked, clearly disappointed after Colin had disappeared into the crowd.

She shook her head and fiddled with the packets of mayonnaise, avoiding Harry's gaze. "I only just arrived today. I still have a lot of unpacking to do."

"Imagine the odds of us practically moving to the street."

He had said it so casually and with such false cheer that Ginny was caught by surprise. She looked up sharply and eyed him warily. "What do you mean?"

He only shrugged. "We both moved within the same week and we're only a couple of blocks away from each other." He bit his lip, a motion that might have been endearing had Ginny still cared for him. Oh hell, who was she kidding? It was endearing and she hated that she thought it was cute. Harry Potter wasn't cute. He was a jerk. He was more than a jerk. He was... well, she couldn't actually think of a suitable bad name. Ginny hated him- or at least, she told herself that she did often enough.

"So," he said when the silence between them grew into the awkward, uncomfortable type. "You and Colin?"

Ginny was so caught up in her own turbulent emotions that she nearly missed his question. "Huh?" she asked tactlessly. Then realization. "What? No!" She shook her head adamantly. "We're just friends."

Harry snorted and reached for his drink. "Didn't look like it to me," he muttered into the frothy beer.

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Pardon?"

He looked like he hadn't meant to say that aloud. "Nothing," he said, quickly taking another swallow.

"No," she persisted stubbornly. "Why did you say that? You know Colin and I have only ever been just friends."

She could see the moment he made the decision to talk to her. Harry set down his drink, a stiff set to his shoulders. "Well it looks rather suspicious, doesn't it?" he asked, all cheerfulness gone from his voice and his green eyes gleaming with jealousy. "Two weeks ago you're proclaiming your undying love for me" --he looked as if he had just eaten something sour-- "and now you're shacked up with Creevey."

If Ginny had had a drink, she would have tossed it into his face. As it were, she was seriously contemplating reaching over to commandeer his own glass for the purpose. She stared at him, outraged, while her mouth opened and closed several times before she mastered the use of her vocal cords. "How dare you," she breathed at last. She had to close her eyes after that and get her temper under control. She kept telling herself that she couldn't just hex his bollocks off in the middle of Muggle pub. That would be wrong.

"It doesn't exactly give a bloke a lot of confidence in your word," Harry said.

She wanted to hit him. "First of all," she snapped, opening her eyes, "I never proclaimed anything." He opened his mouth, as if to retort, but she cut him off, fire flashing in her eyes. "Secondly, how dare you! I have the right to 'shack up' with anyone I care to!" She shoved back her chair angrily. "You gave up the right to be jealous a long time ago, Harry."

"Ginny, wait," he said when she turned to leave, his tone instantly apologetic. "I didn't mean it."

Her eyes roamed the room, searching desperately for Colin's mousey brown hair. She wanted to leave- badly, desperately. "Let me go, Harry," she said, finally turning back to him. He hadn't touched her and his brow furrowed. Seeing that he was confused, she clarified. "Do for me what I've already done for you- let me go. I can't live like this. I need..." she trailed off and shook her head. The tears were coming in hard and fast behind her eyes and she blinked rapidly to push them back. "Actually, I don't know what I need yet- but I do know that I need to be away from you."

"Ginny, I-"

She didn't let him finish before she gave into the urge to flee, through the crowd, out the door, onto the street. From the street, she ran home to Colin's flat as fast as her kitten heels would carry her, remembering too late that she didn't have a key and discovering too quickly that the flat was warded. With a wail of frustration and leftover heartache that only Harry Potter could cause, she kicked the heavy door before turning and allowing herself to slump to the doorstep.

She ground at her eyes roughly, not caring that she was mussing up her mascara.

"Ginny?"

She looked up at Colin's tentative tone and managed a watery smile. His hair was windblown and he was carrying two containers. He smiled tenderly at her and joined her on the stoop. "That bad, eh?" he asked, handing her the top container. It smelled delicious.

She shrugged and opened the lid, snatching a chip from the inside.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Colin prodded.

She shook her head mutely and crunched on her chip.

Colin sighed. "I'm being perfectly serious, Ginny. It's obvious that Harry did something, or said something to set you off."

"I just don't understand him. What is his problem?" she fumed. "He doesn't want me, but gets his knickers in a twist when there's even a suggestion of someone else wanting me."

Colin looked sympathetic. "Think about it Ginny. Up until two weeks ago, you were mad about the boy- had been for bloody years- and I imagine he got used to that, liked it even. So when you suddenly up and decided that you can't be bothered with him anymore, he was probably hurt. He might not have wanted to be with you, but he liked having the adoration all the same."

She scowled. "How utterly selfish."

"He's a Gryffindor, Ginny, not a Hufflepuff. There's nothing in the Gryffindor code that says anything about being selfless."

She looked skeptical. "But he's Harry."

Colin rolled his eyes. "Even Harry Potter is human."

She sighed and leaned her head against Colin's shoulder, hating the tell-tale prick of tears in her eyes. She closed her eyes, concentrating on Colin's warmth and the spicy notes of his aftershave. Perhaps moving to London had been the wrong decision. What good was uprooting your life to escape someone if you still saw them in the pub around the corner? She sniffed back her tears. Life wasn't fair. She was only trying to do what any normal girl would do and move on with her life.

"Alright, Ginny?" Colin asked.

She meant to answer him, but found that she had allowed the tears to gather for too long. "I-" she began, her voice wavering. The tears slipped from the confines of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as Colin's arm tightened around her, drawing Ginny closer to him. She scrubbed at her eyes, desperately trying to push back her emotions. She had promised herself that she wouldn't cry. What good were promises if she couldn't even keep one to herself?

"Shh," Colin whispered, his hand drawing warm, comforting circles on her back.

His tenderness and concern were Ginny's undoing and she promptly burst into tears. They weren't the nice, silent tears that made pretty girls' eyes gleam brightly. No, they were loud, wild tears that instantly made her eyes red and cheeks blotchy while she sobbed into Colin's worn polo shirt.

"It's okay," Colin said softly, his voice slow and gentle. "Everything's going to be fine- you'll see, Ginny."

That only made her cry harder.

What was wrong with her, why didn't he want her? She was smart enough, pretty enough, nice enough. Why didn't he want her? What was so despicable about Ginny that Harry Potter couldn't love her anymore? Okay, so she wasn't as beautiful as Lavender Brown, or as smart as Hermione, or as sweet as Hannah Abbot, but she wasn't a hag. She had redeeming qualities too. Or maybe.... A sickening thought hit Ginny. Maybe Harry had never really loved her at all. Maybe he was just taking pity on poor, crush-ridden Ginny. Maybe she would always be Ron's little sister to Harry. Maybe that's all she had ever been.

Ginny wanted to throw up.

Instead, she cried harder into Colin's shirt and let the scent of his detergent and aftershave soothe her. Though it took several minutes, eventually her sobs digressed into occasional hiccups.

"All better?" Colin asked at length.

She nodded, her head still buried in his shirt.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked.

She shook her head mutely.

"You can't hide like that forever, you know."

"Yes I can," she said, her voice muffled.

"Ginny," Colin warned.

"Oh, fine," she grumbled, drawing in a deep breath and turning to face him.

"Now what was going through your pretty head to make you go all girly like that?" he asked lightly, shooting her a silly smile.

She returned the gesture half-heartedly. "I thought I could come to London and escape him," she explained.

"But?" he prompted. "There was a 'but' in there, I can feel it."

She nodded. "But now, I don't think London was far enough." Ginny paused, wiping at her tears. "I think I need to go further."

Colin tensed and, when he spoke, his voice belied his underlying irritation. "Hiding isn't the answer, Ginny," he said sternly. "Don't let him control you life."

But Ginny didn't heed his warning; after all, she was a runner. She liked to pretend her pain didn't exist.

Of course, had she thought about it, she would have undoubtedly found her instinctive urge to run odd. When people thought about Ginny Weasley, they pictured a wild-tempered girl whose personality was as bright and distinctive as her hair. To them, Ginny was the sort of girl who stood her ground and never bowed to an adversary. She was proud, willful and independent. That Ginny retreated in the face of Harry Potter was something of a phenomenon. The assertive, confident woman vanished when in the presence of the slight, quiet mannered man.

So, true to her word, Ginny went further. First to Paris, then to Madrid until finally settling in Rome. In all truthfulness, Ginny didn't much care where she ended up, as long as Harry was blessedly absent. She meticulously picked up the pieces of her broken heart and created new memories of Pierre, Antonio, and Marco. Ginny built a quirky, upside down little life for herself and vowed never to pine for another man. She decided that love was for naïve little girls and the emotion had little to do with the affairs of adults. Adults were wise. Adults were too smart to get wrapped up in the fairytale that love promised. Ginny was an adult.

So there she was: three years, three countries, three cities, and three memorable men later. All of that and still her world was blown wide open upon the arrival of a single letter. A letter that brooked no excuses and no opposition: Ron and Hermione's wedding invitation.

Next Time On A Weasley Obligation:

"I can't believe that you never told me that you dated Harry Potter," Georgiana groused as she wound her way through the throng of tourists at the PortKey station, her eyes bright with anticipation as she readjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder.

Ginny followed with less enthusiasm, her own eyes hidden beneath dark sunglasses and her mouth set in a bland line. She yawned tiredly. "It's too early to be having this conversation," she complained.

Georgiana paid her friend no heed. "I mean, Harry Potter!" Behind her glasses, Ginny noted with wry amusement that several nearby tourists perked up at The Boy Who Lived's name. "He's only the most eligible bachelor in the entire wizarding world- and you dated him!"

"I didn't think it was important," Ginny said, forcing back anther yawn. "It was ages ago. I barely think about him."

Liar, the voice in the back of her head countered.