Come Back to Me

A/N: Harry Potter and his whole world belong to J. K. Rowling. I'm just playing with her characters for a while.

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III. Comfort from the Chill

The atmosphere in Hogsmeade was strained, to say the least. Ginny wasn't quite sure why she'd bothered to come to the village at all, seeing as most of her friends had chosen to stay at the castle, claiming that Hogsmeade just didn't hold the same thrill for them anymore. She understood why they felt that way as she pulled her cloak closed and wrapped her arms around herself tightly, trying to keep out some of the late autumn chill. Hogsmeade was a warm butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks with Ron, Hermione and Harry. It was comparing Zonko's products to those of her brothers'. It was laughter and music and colorful window displays.

Or, rather, it had been.

Now Zonko's was closed, the street musicians had long abandoned their corners, and people didn't laugh as they walked up and down the remarkably cheerless streets. And Ron, Hermione and Harry hadn't been heard from in months.

She pushed that thought out of her head as she stood outside Honeydukes, looking at the uncharacteristically empty shop. She could go for some Chocolate Frogs, she decided.

But just as she turned for the door, she sensed the presence of someone behind her. She glanced at her reflection in the window, seeing nobody standing over her shoulder. Her fingers closed around her wand as she felt hot breath on her neck.

"Hello, Ginny," Harry whispered.

Ginny didn't move to acknowledge his presence. Instead, she dropped her hand to her side and extended her fingers, searching, waiting. After a moment, his hand slipped into hers, and she felt tears spring to her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and she nearly sobbed when she said quietly, "Hello, Harry."

He squeezed her hand and stepped closer, pressing himself against her back. "Why are you here alone?" he asked gruffly. "There's a war going on, you know."

"You're alone," she said pointedly. "Aren't you?"

After a moment of silence, Harry sighed. Ginny shivered as his breath blew across the back of her neck, stirring the tiny hairs there. "No," he said at last. "Ron and Hermione are at the Hog's Head."

"Colin is at the Three Broomsticks," she responded.

"Fine," he breathed, moving closer still.

Ginny's breath caught in her throat again, and she felt lightheaded. She lifted a shaking hand to the amulet around her neck, feeling it heat against her skin. She leaned against him slightly, the heat spreading across her chest and down her abdomen.

"This way," he whispered, and Ginny caught the urgency in his voice. She felt his hand tug hers gently and she glanced around quickly before following him into the narrow space between Honeydukes and the building next to it. Once they were far removed from the street, and comfortably shadowed, Harry pinned her against Honeydukes, grabbing her thighs and lifting her. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he opened the Invisibility Cloak and draped it around them both.

"Harry," she exhaled, and he quickly waved his wand, casting a Silencing Charm. He leaned back for a moment, searching her face. She looked back in the soft light bleeding through the cloak, noticing a freshly healed gash across his left cheek. She reached up and touched it lightly, tracing her fingers along the jagged, pink mark.

"What happened?" she asked, her fingers trembling.

"Doesn't matter," he answered honestly. "I'm alright."

Ginny paused, wanting to argue, but decided it wasn't worth it, and nodded her head.

"Are you staying safe?" she asked, knowing he wasn't but wanting to hear the lie.

Harry didn't lie, though. He gave her a quirked half-smile. "As safe as one can be while trying to kill a Dark wizard."

Ginny let out a strangled laugh, continuing her exploration of his face. She ran her finger across his lips, feeling the slightly chapped roughness of them. Harry closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. Her fingers danced up his unblemished cheek, brushing against his glasses. She paused and pressed her fingers to his famous lightning bolt scar.

"Has it been hurting?" she asked.

"Not a twitch," Harry answered without opening his eyes. Ginny sighed, relieved that at least he was free of that burden for the time being. She brought her fingers back down to his lips, which parted slightly. As she rubbed her thumb across them, he kissed it tenderly.

"I've missed you," she whispered, closing her eyes against the renewed burn of tears. When she opened them again, she found Harry gazing at her intently.

"Me, too," he said, his eyes roving across her face. He stopped and focused on her jaw. "What's this bruise from?" he growled, touching it lightly.

Ginny wrinkled her brow for a moment, unable to think of anything that had happened before Harry, and this instant in time. A hundred years could have passed and she wouldn't have known. Vaguely, she recalled the shaft of a broom colliding with her face.

"Quidditch against Slytherin," she answered, a smirk on her lips.

Harry leaned forward. He rubbed his nose against hers and whispered, "I heard you were brilliant."

Ginny smiled and remembered the shocked expression on the face of the new Slytherin Seeker when she'd plucked the Snitch seemingly out of thin air as she lazily flew between the Gryffindor goals.

"Child's play," she murmured, leaning forward and at last capturing his lips hungrily. Harry let out a little pleased whimper and pressed her back until she was firmly pinned between the wall and his body. His hands now free, he parted her robes and lifted her skirt, which was trapped between them. "Right here?" she asked, somewhat shocked.

She felt rather than saw Harry blush. "Well, not that," he said somewhat reproachfully. "You know I wouldn't do that to you like this."

Feeling a little silly for even thinking it, Ginny struggled with his shirt, managing to untuck it and slip her hands up his bare back. She traced her fingernails lightly across his shoulders, which had seemed to have grown broader since she'd last seen him, and felt him shudder against her.

Harry pressed his hips into her and Ginny felt his reaction to her touch. She gasped slightly and dug her fingers into his back.

"Oh, you like that, did you?" he asked saucily.

Rendered speechless, Ginny made an affirmative noise in her throat. She smiled as he brought his lips down on hers again and parted her lips with his tongue. He continued to move against her in a way that made her whimper against his lips as he devoured her mouth. She felt lightheaded again. Every inch of her skin was tingling as Harry slowly undid the buttons to her top and let it fall open. His hands, hesitant at first, quickly remembered the touches that left her breathless. The combination of what he was doing with his hands, and the increasingly fabulous thing he was doing with his hips, was driving her out of her mind.

Suddenly Harry stopped, pulling back from her so quickly that she nearly fell. Panting, she wobbled on her legs, and asked plaintively, "Why'd you stop?"

Harry's face flushed flame red beneath the cloak. He quietly pointed his wand at himself and whispered, "Scourgify."

Ginny bit her lip, a smile quivering on her lips. "My turn, next time?" she said in a sultry tone.

Harry looked up, embarrassed, but Ginny didn't allow him to apologize before she attacked his lips again. Just as he leaned in against her, she heard Colin calling her name, sounding somewhat frightened.

"Damnit!" she swore, wanting to hex Colin into a thousand little bits. He called for her again, and Ginny looked out into the street, seeing him hurry by.

"I should go," she said mournfully. She saw the disappointment on Harry's face.

"I really just wanted to talk to you," he confessed, quietly buttoning her shirt. "I miss you." He finished buttoning and reached down to straighten her rumpled skirt. "I hate this," he whispered fiercely, almost to himself.

"I know," Ginny empathized. "Could you send me a bloody owl now and again? Just so I know...you know."

Harry frowned. "I'll try. We don't normally keep an owl with us, and sending and receiving messages with them could draw attention to us."

Unable to help herself, Ginny blurted out, "What is it you are doing out there, where ever you are?" Then she stopped him before he even started. "No, I know you can't tell me. Never mind."

Harry looked troubled. "I wish I could tell you," he sighed. "I hate not being able to talk to you about it."

"Yeah, well..." Ginny trailed off, not knowing what to tell him.

Colin's voice echoed down between the buildings.

"Just tell the whole village I'm missing, why don't you?" she grumbled. "I'd better..."

"I know," Harry sighed. "Be safe." He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, and then kissed her tenderly.

"And you..." she whispered. "Come back to me in one piece."

"I will," he promised, grimacing as they heard Colin asking other students if they'd seen Ginny.

Ginny gave Harry one more kiss and then ducked out from under the cloak. With a sigh, she began to walk back to the street, shivering as the cold air hit her. She felt Harry's hand press against her back.

"I love you," he whispered.

Ginny threw a longing glance over her shoulder. "I love you, too," she whispered, blinking her eyes rapidly. "Don't disappear on me, please."

Harry didn't respond but she knew he was still there.

Colin saw her as she stood outside the door to Honeydukes. "Where did you go?" he said, exasperated. "I thought you got grabbed."

"Never mind," Ginny sighed. "I'm here now. Are you ready to go back?"

As they trudged back to the castle, leaning into the gusting winds, Ginny knew that Harry was following behind, just out of reach. When they reached the gates, she paused for just a moment with her hand hanging at her side. She felt his fingers, ever so lightly, brush against hers. With a sigh, she passed the gates, looking back only twice at the now empty space behind her.