Nobility's Fool

His eyes gleamed in happiness. His face shone and his lips seemed to be permanently curved upwards. Smiling had lately seemed foreign to him, but sitting across from the woman one loved made one do crazy things.

Like wanting to cheat on one's wife.

The server disappeared after taking their orders, leaving two mugs of butterbeer on the wooden table.

"It's good to see you, Harry." She placed her hand over his; a simple gesture, but it meant the world to him.

"I missed you," he replied honestly. "I'm happy you're here."

Her smile seemed to falter but she remained cheerful. "I'm happy to be here too, Harry. It's been so long."

He nodded and subconsciously entwined his fingers with hers. "Three years, two months and eight days."

They laughed awkwardly, knowing they both kept track of the time they had been apart. He didn't add that it was three years, two months, eight days, three hours and forty-nine minutes since she had left him. He didn't want to think about their unhappy past, just the present.

"So, how's work?" she asked gently.

He shared his latest adventures, alternately making her laugh and then frown with concern. When he asked about her job, she told him how challenging but completely rewarding it was. As she spoke about her projects and her brown eyes lit up, his heart lightened to know that she was happy. As long as she was happy, he could endure life.

"How are the kids, Harry?" He saw her cautiously look up at him, knowing that the question was an entrance to a dangerous topic.

"They're good," he replied, removing his fingers from her grasp and taking a drink of his butterbeer to avoid the topic.

"Harry..."

He looked at her, wanting to lash out, but he saw her eyes, her lips, her face... She cared about him and he didn't want to do anything to hurt her.

He nodded. "They're good. They're in Muggle primary school now. Chris is seven and he's really good at football. And Michelle... she's no longer getting into fights at school. Can you believe that? A five year old girl fighting with boys?" He laughed at the image and then noticed her big smile and shaking head.

"Harry, I know all about little girls fighting with boys. Especially older boys." She grinned and he remembered all those times he spent with her family.

"You always bested them with your charm and cunningness," he stated proudly. "You could have been a Slytherin, you know."

She laughed again. "I could have, but I still would've hexed Malfoy, the git."

They shared a sad smile, remembering the times they had fought together for good and the sacrifices they had made, all for the sake of defeating evil. It hadn't been easy, but they had done it.

Their food arrived moments later and they ate in comfortable silence. Words didn't need to be exchanged; their faces and bodies glowed with familiarity and affection. After their plates were taken away, she continued to nurse her butterbeer, playing with the handle of the mug.

He saw her take a deep breath, and then she spoke. "I still have some pictures that I never showed you from your wedding."

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, holding back his disappointment and growing temper.

"Harry, we can't avoid this topic any longer."

"Yes, we can," he answered back. "We're doing a great job of avoiding it."

His heart cracked at the sight of her frown. But he didn't know what to do.

"How is she doing?" He saw her lift her chin, knowing she wasn't afraid to face difficult problems and his temper. She could always fight back and counter his temper with hers.

His Adam's apple rose against his throat and he took a deep breath. He needed all the courage he could muster when discussing this topic with her. "She's good, I suppose." Her gaze was courageously fixed on his and he placed his hand back in hers. "We do it for the children, of course. They needed protection, and I promised him that I would take care of them," he explained as if reciting a written statement.

"I know, Harry," she acknowledged, smiling softly. "You've been a very good father to them."

He returned her smile, then looked down at their hands. "I don't love her, you know." He looked back up into her glistening eyes. Her eyes, oh, her eyes. He knew if she revealed any more emotion, she would have both of them crying at their hopeless situation.

"Harry -"

"I thought I did." With more confidence he repeated, "I don't love her, Ginny." He raised his voice, grateful that they were in a private corner of the pub. His breathing faltered as he looked straight into her eyes. "I love you."

Tears spilled over her eyes and she looked away. "Don't make this harder than it already is," she said, facing the wall. She tried to remove her hands from his grip, but he held on tightly.

"It's true. I can't stop feeling this way. I miss you so much and I regret so many things, but you're here, Ginny. You're right here in front of me and I don't want to not tell you how much I love you. Don't... you're all I have left, I thought I lost you once...." He took a deep breath as he held her hands in a tighter grip. He didn't do anything to stop the tears he felt welling up in his eyes.

"Oh, Harry," she whispered, turning back to face him.

He lifted his hand to her face. His thumb rubbed her cheek, wiping away the tears that graced it, and she laughed. He looked at her with concern, beginning to question their sanity.

"Isn't it ironic," she said with a hiccup, "that we love each other so much, but we can't be together?" He watched her laugh as her hiccups subsided.

This time it was he who turned his face, ashamed to look at her.

"Harry?" He stayed silent as he let her place both of his hands in her own. "What is it?"

He shook his head, not sure if he wanted to tell her. He faced her again and saw her pleading eyes. That was all it took. "I'm leaving her."

In shock, she winced, holding his callused hands tightly as if to steady herself. Then she carefully repeated his words. "You're leaving her?" He nodded. "What about your children?"

"I'll still take care of them. They'll never have any hardships." He would always protect them from the Uncle Vernons and Aunt Petunias and Dudleys of the world.

"I'm sorry--"

"Don't be," he interrupted. "This isn't your fault. I should have never married her, but I promised him and he was a good friend. And... and you were gone, hidden and protected... And my feelings for her at the time...."

"It's okay, Harry," she said, sadly smiling. "You don't need to explain it to me."

"You have to understand, Ginny: I never loved her." He paused, thinking and remembering. "I may have thought I was in love with her at one time, but it was never..."

"True love," she finished.

He nodded in agreement. Who would have thought that either of them would believe in true love? It was for Muggle children's fairytales, not witches and wizards, and especially not for a sad hero like Harry Potter.

Silence followed before Harry finally found the courage to say what he had wanted to say all afternoon. "Ginny, I want to be with you."

Suddenly, her hands left his grasp and he felt her distance herself as she sat back in her chair. "What are you saying?"

"I'm leaving her f-for you," he stuttered, not understanding why she wasn't overjoyed.

"You can't, Harry. You just can't leave them for me," she said forcefully. "Don't be foolish."

"I'm not being a fool!" The words left his mouth with a surprising force of passion. "I love you. I want to be with you." He shook his head in utter amazement and looked up to the ceiling, raising his arms. "Dear Merlin, I confess my heart to the only woman I've ever loved and she doesn't want me!"

"You can't do this to me, Harry."

"Why not?" he asked angrily. "Why can't I spend the rest of my life with you? Tell me, Ginny. Why not?" He pounded his fist on the table and saw her jump at his action.

"Don't raise your voice at me, Harry." Her glare bore through him.

Oddly, her counter-challenge calmed him. He took a deep breath before addressing her. "I married her to protect her and her children, and I left you to protect you. Hermione always said I had a nobility complex. What was I supposed to do, Ginny?" He didn't wait for her answer. "The Order hid you the past three years to protect you from Lucius Malfoy. The moment I found out--I was heartbroken. But then... he... he was my friend and he was injured on my watch." A sad look crossed his face but just as quickly as it arrived, he instantly brushed it away. "I made him a promise as he lay on his deathbed. You were leaving me... and I thought that they could become the family that I lost."

Her eyes were closed as if replaying the past. He leaned over the table and kissed her. He felt her breath shake, and then suddenly her hands were cupping his face and her lips were enticing him to kiss more than her lips.

"Oh, Ginny." He heard her sniff and brushed another tear away with his thumb.

Whispering, she told him, "I have another business meeting so I'm staying for two more days." She paused and his heart was afraid of what she might say next. Her hands still framed his face and he felt a gentle kiss across his lips. "I love you, Harry."

Dazed, he didn't notice she was gathering her things. As she stood up, he looked up to her smiling face and received a chaste kiss on his cheek, then watched her head out the door towards Muggle London, leaving him confused but light-hearted. He felt happier than he had in years, knowing he had finally made his decision, difficult and complicated as it was. His so-called nobility complex made him put others before himself, but harsh reality taught him today that his happiness and Ginny's happiness meant more to him than a dying man's wish.

He looked down at the table and saw she'd left him with the check. He laughed to himself, knowing that if the other patrons looked at him, they would think him mad. And it was true, he was mad - madly in love. And she loved him madly in return. He knew he would have to eventually face another woman, a woman with whom he no longer shared any affection. But knowing that Ginny Weasley loved him, he knew he could right the wrongs of the past.

He didn't have to protect the whole world anymore. Just his heart.