Harry's "7th Year"

Chapter 1

Harry sat quietly on the couch by the fire. He was at the Burrow and everyone else was asleep. He couldn't sleep, he had too much on his mind, namely Ginny, Hogwarts, Ginny, Voldemort, and, oh yeah, Ginny. He was trying not to think of her (or anyone else for that matter) but he couldn't help himself. Just a few months ago, he held her in his arms and was perfectly happy. Now the only time he saw her was at meals and he only held polite conversations with her when he had to, (and none at all since Ginny was now angry with him).

It was the day before they were due back at Hogwarts, and Harry couldn't help dwelling on the fact that he may never see her again. Just as he shook his head to clear them of these thoughts, he heard a sound behind him, he jumped, someone was coming down the stairs, A girl by the sound of the footsteps. As he watched for that someone to make an appearance, he realized who that someone probably was, and he was right, Ginny stepped into view from behind the wall. She looked surprised by his presence, but then came to sit on the couch next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

It was Ginny who broke the ice, "I'm sorry," she said, turning to face Harry. Harry didn't look away from the fire, he didn't trust himself to look at her, "You have nothing to be sorry about, I should have warned you that I wasn't going back to Hogwarts, I just didn't know how to tell you."

"You could have said, Ginny look I'm not going to be joining you at Hogwarts this year, there is something I need to take care of and I can't return to school until it is finished," Ginny said, still not taking her eyes off of him.

"I know and I'm sorry I waited until last week to tell everyone, but can you please forgive me, I don't want you to leave tomorrow still angry with me," Harry said, finally turning to face her.

Ginny smirked at him, "I don't know, I'll really have to think about that." Harry looked at her curiously, then after a few minutes he laughed realizing that she was joking. He pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, then they both went back to bed, feeling much better than they had only a few minutes ago.

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Ginny was laying in her bed, thinking about the return journey to Hogwarts, and the boy she would be leaving behind. "I really should talk to him and forgive him before I leave tomorrow. I really should apologize; it was stupid of me to get angry with him in the first place. It's his business if he's not returning to Hogwarts, not mine."

With that she decided to go down to the living room, seeing as she couldn't sleep anyway, she could think over what she would say to him when she spoke to him in the morning. On her way down the stairs she saw that the fire was burning, this meant that someone was in the living room and by the shadow on the floor she could tell exactly who that someone was. She considered turning around and going back to bed, then she realized that she would not be able to sleep if she did not talk to him, so she continued down the stairs. When she reached the bottom and came into the living room, she saw Harry looking at her from the couch. She walked over and took a seat on the couch next to him, but they both kept their eyes in the fire and there was silence for a few minutes.

Finally she knew that she would have to break the ice, she turned to face Harry and said "I'm sorry." To her surprise Harry seemed to frown even more.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, I should have warned you that I wasn't going back to Hogwarts, I just didn't know how to tell you," he said.

Ginny became frustrated as she thought about this. "You could have said, Ginny look, I'm not going to be joining you at Hogwarts this year, there is something I need to take care of and I can't return to school until it is finished," she said looking right at him, she desperately wanted him to look at her and see that she forgave him.

"I know," he said, "and I'm sorry I waited until the last minute to tell everyone, but can you please forgive me, I don't want you to leave tomorrow still angry with me."

She could see the sorrow and eagerness for forgiveness and happiness in his eyes, yet she still decided to give him a hard time, so with a slight smirk of mischief she said," I don't know, I'll really have to think about that."

Harry was looking at her with a curious expression on his face, then a look of comprehension dawned and he laughed as he realized that she was only kidding. She smiled as he pulled her into a great big bear hug.

Then with a "Good Night" each they headed back to bed, each with their own feelings of relief and comfort.

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The next day the whole house awoke bright and early to go to King's Cross Station and say good-bye. Harry joined Mr. and Mrs. Weasley in saying good-bye to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

As they hugged good-bye Ginny kissed Harry's cheek and whispered, "I'll see you at Christmas." She, Ron and Hermione waved from their window as the train pulled out of the station.

After the train disappeared from view, Harry and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley returned to the Burrow, but only long enough for Harry to pack what few of his belongings he would take with him on his quest for the missing horauxes. He then said good- bye and after a long hug from Mrs. Weasley and a scolding that he better return for Christmas, Harry journeyed out into the unknown.

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Harry pulled on his backpack and began his journey towards Godric's Hollow, the place where he decided to begin his search. As he began to think his mind traveled back to the Hogwarts Express and to his friends, one in particular.... Harry shook his head to clear it of these thoughts; he was not exactly accomplished at Occulmency, and if Voldemort could read his thoughts that last thing he wanted was for them to be centered on Ginny.

His friends were already in trouble he did not want to add more danger by revealing that he had thought about her every waking moment of the past year. Though one thought that he gladly allowed through was that of the fact that Christmas would with any luck come quickly and he would soon be back at the Burrow enjoying the holidays with those he loved most in this world. The more he thought about it, the wider the smile became on his face......

He couldn't wait for December!