I'm not as think as you drunk I am.

Dear Ginny,

I wanted to thank you for the kind letter you wrote me the other day. I appreciate it, I really do. I'm not being sarcastic whatsoever. It's so nice to know you have to get totally pissed in order to start opening up to me. Nice to know you're so brave and courageous that you're at peace with your emotions and can express them so freely. Just so you know, I was cold sober when I read your letter. And I'm cold sober now.

You want me to let you in? You want me to let you into my life? If that isn't a laugh I don't know what is. You'll forgive me if I laugh at that Ginny. Opening up to girls who go around behaving like drunken tarts isn't exactly high on my To Do list. I did that with Cho for the last six months or had you forgotten? And while we're on the subject of opening up, exactly when were you planning on telling Ron, or me, or anyone other then Hermione you were going out with Michael Conner? Or is that 'classified Ministry information to be released at the appropriate time'?

Get over yourself Ginny if you think I'm the only one keeping things to myself. Trust me, when the people in your life start dropping like flies, you won't feel like talking either. And you should be ashamed of yourself for talking back to your mother like that. At least you have the luxury of having someone in your life who actually cares about you. At least you have a brother whose face you can throw Dean Thomas' name in if you think they're imposing too much on your precious little life. Heaven forbid you keep in mind the fact you have the luxury of a life.

If you don't know what I mean Harry, then this is what I mean,

I'd die for you. Just as surely as Sirius did. Just as surely as your

parents did.

Wow, and I thought you said you loved me. You love me so much you want push me over from being an emotional wreck to being totally certifiable. Instead of being trapped here with my aunt and uncle, you want to trap me in St.Mungos. Thank you Ginny, I feel so much better about my prospects now. Before now all I had to deal with were Voldemort trying to kill me, Voldemort trying to possess me, Snape trying to poison me, Malfoy trying into insult me and my family trying to eliminate whatever sense of self-worth I have left. But you, you're a genius, you've given me a much better option. You're going to DIE for me. Thank you so much. That's brilliant! Not only would I feel horrible for what happened to you, I'd also feel horrible for what each and every one of your brothers would feel, and lets not forget your mother and father who for some reason seem to think of me as a member of your family.

Don't you get it? Don't you see it? Or is it so blaringly obvious that what's staring you right in the face is too complicated for you to see? It's your family, it's Ron's family, it's Fred's family, it's George's family, and so on and so on through that encyclopedic list of family members you possess. Yes, you dying for me is a marvelous option. Lets get right on it! Better yet, lets ask McGonagall to get us a time turner so we can go back to the Chamber of Secrets. We'll waylay my younger self so it's impossible for me to come along and rescue you from Tom Riddle's diary. That'll solve all our mutual problems. You'll be dead, Tom Riddle's memory will escape the diary, I'll be too weak to stop him and die right along side you and then Dumbledore will be left to pick up the pieces. Only he can't.

That's what you want to hear don't you? Why Dumbledore can't pick up the pieces? Why it's always famous Harry Potter who saves the day? Well here it is Ginny. Here's the secret you so vehemently badgered me into telling you. And if you tell a soul what it is, it'll mean more then just your life and mine, so keep that on your lovely little conscience. The reason he wants me dead, the reason he killed my parents is because Sybil Trelawney, great bogus fraud that she is, made a prophecy that said neither he or I could live while the other one was alive.

Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that marvelous? For one of us to live, the other one has to die. How's that for the kicker? So instead of getting to do all the interesting and wonderful things you and your brothers get to do, like be prefect, or open a joke shop, or play with dragons, I get to risk my life for a group of people who look at me as some kind of flake. They can't decide if I'm coming or going. They can't decide if I'm hopelessly brave or incurably insane. That's when they aren't trying to decide if I should be expelled, arrested, imprisoned or committed for things I'd just assume I never ever had to deal with at any point in my entire life!

Oh and lets not forget your brother Percy who not only helped get Dumbledore sacked when we got caught in DA but also tried to get me expelled last summer when I saved my fat cousin from the dementors and then proceeds to write your brother a letter telling him I'm unstable and unsafe and should be kept away from.

Oh yes, lets put everything in a letter to Ginny so she can run off and share it with her family and then maybe she can leave it around for Percy to find on the off chance he comes round for a visit. You'll excuse me but as people have told me, I have enough on my plate right now, I don't need to add fuel to the fire called "Everyone in the world against Harry Potter."

I'm writing all this to you Ginny because YOU asked for it. So don't start bawling your eyes out now because I'm doing what you asked. I've only seen you cry twice Ginny, once in the chamber and once when the dementors stopped us on the train, so I have to ask myself why you appear to be crying yourself into a frenzy now when there's almost nothing in your life that compares to mine. Don't imagine for a second there more to you and me then being possessed by Voldemort. You didn't have a big red X painted on your back when you were born. You don't have to question if your parents had a clue what they were doing when they brought you into the world. You don't have to question their every decision wondering if they really were the best things to do at the time.

You don't have to go through the selfish guilt of wondering how many more lives would be violated, broken and destroyed if your parents had chosen differently and were still alive. Can you imagine not growing up with a big brother to steal your booze from? Can you imagine growing up without a mother to sew you a new sweater every Christmas? Can you imagine not having a father to visit in the hospital when he gets hurt? What can you imagine? You can imagine being the youngest and being treated like the baby of the family because everyone's older. I can't imagine being the youngest. I can't imagine being the oldest. I don't have to imagine being alone because that's the only thing I know.

You think it's fun going to school every year wondering what new way someone's come up with to try and kill you? You think it's fun walking through the corridors at school and have people see you and stop their inane whisperings about you? Even Lavender and Parvati were gossiping about me when we got to school last year. So don't think Gryffindor is immune to rumormongers. Oh wait; you know that, I already reminded you about your brother.

Do you think this is all some sort of romantic game Ginny? You scold me into feeling guilty for keeping everything inside, I blow up at you and you comfort me for feeling miserable and then what? We fall hopelessly, madly in love? Wow, that's brilliant, that way I can destroy yet another person's life when I die. Or I can destroy yours when Voldemort and his followers go after you because of our 'relationship.' Maybe I can get Bellatrix Lestrange to blast you into the veil in the Department of Mysteries just like she did to Sirius. Would you like that kind of noble death Ginny? The kind where you get your lifelong dream of Harry Potter falling madly in love with you only to witness your death at the hands of, and pay attention because I'm giving you a choice here, either the person who killed his parents, or the person who killed his godfather? Or perhaps we can just tempt Harry with the prospect of loosing you and convince him to kick his 'hero complex' into overdrive and send him off to his own death at the hands of Voldemort himself. But first he has to be tormented by dreams of seeing himself kill the people in his life one by one.

That's right Ginny, I figure it won't be long before Voldemort starts going after my friends one by one. He's gotten to me that way before, how hard would it be to do that again? He got in my head and got me to go after Sirius, so what would stop him from putting your death in my dreams? Or Ron's? Or Hermione? How about Neville? Or Luna? Or better yet, Fred and George? Oh wait, there's also Bill, and Charlie, and lets not forget your parents. Do you remember the boggart in the desk Ginny? The one your mother went to get rid of? Do you know what she saw? She saw your death. She saw her entire family dead, each and every one of them. It nearly destroyed her, and having seen your mum in action, that's saying something.

You keep telling me you love me. You keep begging me to let you love me. You know what Ginny? I haven't got the faintest idea what the word means. It's not a word that comes into play in my life, or hadn't you noticed that. I don't know what it means to love Ginny because I've honestly never felt a trace of it for anyone. I've never honestly felt it from anyone. And no, I'm not accusing you of being dishonest, but can you look yourself in the eye and convince yourself you were in control of yourself when you wrote me that letter? Can you tell yourself you were being honest when you said you were over me? I don't know the meaning of love. I don't know what it feels like, I don't know what it looks like, I don't know how it tastes, smells or sounds like. Don't tell me you love me Ginny, because I can honestly say I have absolutely no frame of reference for the word.

I can't beat him Ginny. I don't have it in me. I didn't start DA last year because I wanted to. I joined because Ron and Hermione goaded me into doing it. I didn't go to the Department of Mysteries because I wanted to. I went because I thought Sirius was in trouble. Boy was I ever wrong. Couldn't even see it might possibly be a trap. Didn't even stop to consider going to Snape for help, I got everyone roughed up by that fat cow Umbridge and Malfoy's cronies because I was too blinded by panic and fear. Do you know what Sirius gave me for Christmas last year? It was a mirror, a two way mirror in case I ever needed to talk to him. I never realized that until I was packing at the end of term.

So you're in love with me. Congratulations, you're in love with a colossal dunce who's too dense to tie his own shoes. You're in love with someone who's alone because he doesn't know what it's like not to be alone. You're in love with someone so angry at the world, he honestly doesn't give a damn if it burns up in flames tomorrow, just give me five minutes to get one last insult in at my fat oaf of a cousin.

You want me to let you into my life? Fine. Prove you deserve to be let in. And don't start sniffing about the department of mysteries. I can't stand it when people start holding the same thing over me again and again and again. You want me to let you in? Prove to me you should be let in. Surprise me with something I could never expect from anyone in a thousand years. You want me to let you in? All you have to do is open up the door. You want to love me? Show me what love is Ginny. I dare you to do this. I'm giving you your own mini Tri-Wizard tournament to compete in. I'm the prize if you can win. I'm what you get if you can get past all the obstacles.

Up to the challenge? Think you can do it all? Or am I being so incredibly unfair you'll resort to hurling obscenities at me while you stare at your ceiling while you try to sleep. Don't forget include Ron and Hermione in this. I know they'll enjoy helping you along. They seem to take great enjoyment in running my life. Everyone else does, why shouldn't they?

I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer Ginny. Someone should.

With all the best possible regards,

Harry

And with that, Harry Potter folded the letter into an envelope and tied it to Hedwig's leg for delivery to the Burrow.

"There you go girl. Take your time, once again it looks like I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." Harry murmured as he watched his owl fly off into the distance. He didn't know what possessed him to issue his challenge to Ginny Weasley, but he figured that given his current living arrangements, it would be near impossible for her to accomplish any of it until September at the earliest, and even then he didn't have to lift a finger to help or hinder her. Soon enough he reasoned, she'd be back to watching him from around corners, or stammering a quiet word or two to him whenever he came in the room. And that was perfectly fine as far as he was concerned. If she wasn't going to be honest with herself, he certainly wasn't going to help her be honest with him.

As he could no longer make out Hedwig's distinct form against the night sky, he allowed himself a stretch which turned into a rather exhausting yawn. He turned out the light, rolled into bed and went to sleep, not caring in the slightest if Ginny Weasley wrote back or not.