Keep Her

"Ahem," Ron said, rising to his feet. "I've an announcement to make."

They were all grouped around the table at the Burrow, having dinner as they did at least once a month. The Weasleys, Hermione and Harry, like it was before...before everything.

Before the war, before the fighting, before Charlie died, and before Ron and Hermione discovered that their love/hate relationship had leaned a bit far to the love side.

Now they all looked at Ron expectantly. He grinned at Hermione, then around the table at the rest of them.

"Hermione and I are getting married," he said hurriedly, as if afraid that if he said it any slower he'd lose his nerve in the middle of the sentence.

"Ron, that's great!" Fred roared, and he and George rushed to hug the couple.

While the rest of the Weasleys crowded around Ron and Hermione, Ginny did what she always did, out of habit, in the most important moments. She looked at Harry.

Harry bit his lip, looking at his two friends with a look Ginny couldn't decipher. That was saying something, as Ginny had gotten to be an expert at people reading, and specifically Harry reading.

"Congratulations," he said in a monotone, and then went quietly out to the garden, leaving a surprised and gaping crowd of people behind him.

"What's the matter with him?" Ron asked.

Then, as was their wont when something was the matter with Harry, everyone looked to Ginny. She shook her head and shrugged.

"I dunno," she said. "I'll find out."

No one batted an eyelash at this statement. Ginny always knew what was going through Harry's head, and if she didn't, she'd find out. Hermione and Ron were just as good of friends to Harry as she was, but Ginny and Harry were on a level no one could comprehend. They were kindred spirits.

Ginny fixed Harry's face in her mind as she went to look for him. It wasn't so much as looking for him as predicting where he was going and following him. Sure enough, she found him beside the pond with his back against the tall willow tree that grew there.

By that time, she'd thought about it and figured out exactly what was wrong with Harry.

"They'll be fine," she said, sitting beside him. "Don't worry."

"I still can't get used to them dating," Harry said.

"And now they're getting married," Ginny added.

"I mean, they're going to draw closer together," Harry explained.

"And push you further away," Ginny said with a nod.

They finished each other's sentences. Neither of them thought anything of this. After all, they did it all the time. It was perfectly normal.

"I'm afraid that they'll break up," Harry said.

"They won't," Ginny said. "I know that they fight a lot, but it's just how they relate. I bet once they're married they'll settle down a bit. They just can't deal with the fact that their fates were tied together since the age of eleven, and they cope by fighting."

"But how do you know?" Harry said. "I mean, what if he says something, and she says something, and they're both too stubborn to apologize, and then they get a divorce?"

"I'll just tell Hermione," Ginny shrugged, "'If you hurt him, I'll break your teeth.' And you can tell Ron, 'If you hurt her, I'll break your kneecaps.'"

"What if they aren't meant for each other?" Harry asked.

"They're perfect together," Ginny said. "They compliment each other."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"You and Ron have been best mates for years, right?" Ginny said.

Harry nodded.

"And Hermione and I have been friends for years, too," Ginny said.

Harry nodded again.

"Well, you're like Hermione, and I'm like Ron," Ginny said. "If they can get along with us, they can get along with each other."

Harry nodded for the third time. But Ginny understood that he just couldn't find the words. He wasn't as talkative as she was, and he didn't express himself well. But she knew what he meant by that nod.

"Ron's head is in the clouds, and her feet are on the ground," Ginny continued. "They balance out in the middle. A relationship is a balance, like puzzle pieces fitting together. His lightheartedness compliments her seriousness. She holds him down to earth, and he lets her fly."

Harry stared at her. "How do you find the words?"

Ginny shrugged. "I dunno. I've always had them."

Harry nodded again, this one a simple acknowledgement of his understanding. She continued.

"They'll be fine," she said. "They fit together. Once they lock into place, it'll take a hell of a storm to pull them apart."

"Kind of like you and me, right?" Harry asked. "Friends until death do us part?"

"Even after that," Ginny said, reaching out her hand. He shook it solemnly.

He met her eyes, and that look she knew so well was evident in them again. That look that said he wanted to kiss her. She'd seen it often enough to recognize the particular flicker of his eyelids, and the singular way his lips twitched.

But she couldn't possibly kiss him. Not in a million years. He was her brother's friend first and foremost, and she couldn't kiss him. It would be all kinds of complicated, and it was easier to just ignore the strange instinct tugging at her heart, telling her that this was it. He was the one. It was simpler that way.

He was still looking at her.

"Harry, I..." she said. "I have to go inside."

"Okay," Harry said. He was unaware that his feelings were written all over his face. She wondered if he knew that he had those feelings. Did he still see her as simply a friend, simply a dear kindred spirit?

She walked quickly towards the Burrow, hearing him sigh behind her. Maybe he did know that his feelings were all over his face. Maybe he wanted her to see.

She wasn't ready yet. Not for the kind of deathless love she knew he could bring to her. The kind of love that never dies. She wasn't sure she could handle it. But there was one thing she couldn't ignore, and it stood out like a beacon in the night.

Kind of like you and me, right?

They fit. Like the pieces of a puzzle. Like the steps of a complicated dance. Like a bit of music performed perfectly for the first time.

He kept her grounded, and she let him fly.