Life and Love After Voldemort

The time between Ron's letter and the Quidditch charity exhibition match flew by for Harry. Prepping for the N.E.W.T.s was as nasty and exhausting as advertised. On top of that, Harry had his Ministry of Magic recruiting duties to attend to, which included special assembly speeches and personal meetings with interested students. There was also guest-lecturing in one Defense Against the Dark Arts class a week and Quidditch training with the Hogwarts All-Stars squad. At least the DADA class features dueling, Harry thought.

When he had informed the Minister of Magic about the match while training in the Minister's office, Harry was pleased that Kingsley welcomed the news. "The event will help assure parents and the public at large that the turmoil which has surrounded Hogwarts in recent years is no more."

It was certainly true in Harry's case that his personal turmoil had ceased. The most peaceful nights in years that Harry had experienced in Hogwarts' walls helped make his busy schedule bearable. This peace was a result not only of the cessation of his nightmares and the connection to Voldemort but also the presence of Ginny in his life. Harry felt that peace as well as an energy surge when he was near her, and he was grateful that she felt the same. However, Ginny was energized even more than Harry by something else entirely every time they practiced Quidditch. Ginny's eyes blazed with fire above the training pitch whenever her brother's name was mentioned, and her level of play and concentration seemed to double. Whenever Harry saw her like this, her wind-swept hair and robes rippling as she sped with determination towards the helpless Keeper, he was sure glad to have Ginny on his side.

Harry delighted in fueling the fire as much as possible. "King Weasley just said his baby sister will NEVER get a Quaffle past him," he screamed as Ginny led an attack formation. "Whatcha gonna do about it!" A dazzling juke froze the Keeper, and Ginny sailed the Quaffle through the goal.

As they trudged back to the castle after a rain-soaked practice, Ginny continued having a go at her brother. "Wonder how his royal highness intends to "give back" to the Hogwarts community besides showing up and getting creamed. Maybe he's going to start the King Weasley Scholarship Fund for Slug Spitters," recalling one of Ron's most inglorious dueling causalities. Harry smirked and wondered where the time had gone since then.

"I hope for his sake that he gives back by apologizing for being such a prat, though I'd prefer he did it after the match so we don't lose the advantage of your rage," Harry kidded. "Let's find Hermione and get some dinner."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione had been a closed book about Ron for much of the semester, pouring herself into her studies and corresponding with the Ministry of Magic about her career goals and even some new legislative initiatives. Once Harry and Ginny had realized to leave Ron out of their conversations with Hermione, she had grown more at ease and was much more pleasant to be around. However, she had a decidedly serious expression on her face when Harry and Ginny found her alone in the Gryffindor Common Room. "Ready for dinner?" Harry asked when she didn't look up.

"Oh hi guys, didn't hear you come in. I don't know if I'm hungry right now, actually, and I've got so much to do..."

"None of that, girl; get a move on," Ginny said. "There's nothing so important that you can't fit in a dinner break and... wait, what's that you've got?" Hermione handed her two pieces of parchment.

Ginny and Harry immediately recognized the first piece as an enchanted invitation, one of the fanciest either had ever seen. At the top, the golden silhouettes of two Quidditch players sped towards each other. The figures stopped short of a collision and shook hands as their brooms turned into a ladder and a shovel, whereupon the figures joined a construction project at what appeared to be the base of Hogwarts' Astronomy Tower . Down the left edge of the parchment, orange and black-clad wizards and witches with regal horns dotted the margins and played the Cannons fight song, while the same effect was mirrored on the right side as persons in teaching robes played the Hogwarts Alma Mater once the Cannons section had finished. The letter invited Hermione to be Ron's guest at a formal gathering of Cannons players and Hogwarts VIPs after the match, and asked her to R.S.V.P. by owl as soon as possible.

"It just came; I'm surprised you two didn't get yours yet." Harry and Ginny read the second piece, which was clearly Ron's version of a personal touch.

Hey there Hermione!

Bet you thought I forgot about you with all that's happened to me. Truth is I've got a lot to talk to you about, and I wanted to wait until we could be face to face again, though it's taken longer than I wanted it to. I can't wait for you to see me do my thing on the pitch; I think you'll be really impressed, and we're being charitable to boot! Can't wait to see you!

Ronald "King" Weasley

P.S. You really ought to save this; my signature is bringing in 20 Galleons a pop!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry and Ginny stifled their groans as best they could. "I know you have a tough decision whether to be his guest," Ginny said, "but why are you going to miss a meal over it at this point when you've been so capable of getting on with life in the meantime?"

"Tough decision, Ginny? Not about the invite. I'm definitely going to the dinner with Ron, and I just sent back my acceptance."

"Then why do you look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders?" asked Harry.

"Well, it's really about to happen now, isn't it!" sputtered Hermione. "He's going to be here in a handful of days, and I'm going to know by the end of the night whether or not I'm going to spend the rest of my life with the man I love with all my heart."

Hermione's friends were jarred by her words. Despite the fireworks that Ron and Hermione could kick up between them and the fact of their current estrangement, it still hadn't registered with Harry and Ginny that the two might choose to completely remove themselves from each other's lives.

Hermione composed herself and continued. "The night of the other letter, I realized that I couldn't go on pining for the hope of a life with Ron, at least the wonderful man that I know is deep inside the shell of confusion and ego and hurt. Harry, your words really made an impact. We can't go on the way we have, always on the brink of a meltdown. And I'm not going to allow it to continue, for my sake as well as Ron's. I'm going to lay things out as plainly and as calmly as I can. If I still can't make him see what I need him to see, then it will have to end."

Harry felt horrible for Hermione as he remembered how hard it had been to walk away from Ginny to fight Voldemort. Even though Harry couldn't get Ginny out of his mind and was overwhelmed for the only time in his life by true love for someone, especially one who returned his love so truly and deeply, he made the agonizing choice to leave her and move on, as he'd convinced himself at the time that it was best for all involved. Harry doubted that any of them would manage to get much sleep before the big day arrived.