She disregarded this too.

"I didn't know what would be useful. Nothing too big, because you wouldn't be

able to take it with you."

He chanced a glance at her. She was not tearful; that was one of the many

Wonderful things about Ginny, she was rarely weepy. He had sometimes thought that

Having six brothers must have toughened her up.

She took a step closer to him.

"So then I thought, I'd like you to have something to remember me by, you know,

if you meet some veela when you're off doing whatever you're doing."

"I think dating opportunities are going to be pretty thin on the ground, to be

honest."

"There's the silver lining I've been looking for," she whispered, and then she was

Kissing him as she had never kissed him before, and Harry was kissing her back, and it

Was blissful oblivion better than firewhisky; she was the only real thing in the world,

Ginny, the feel of her, one hand at her back and one in her long, sweet-smelling hair--

The door banged open behind them and they jumped apart.

"Oh," said Ron pointedly. "Sorry."

"Ron!" Hermione was just behind him, slight out of breath. There was a strained

Silence, then Ginny had said in a flat little voice,

"Well, happy birthday anyway, Harry."

Ron's ears were scarlet; Hermione looked nervous. Harry wanted to slam the door

In their faces, but it felt as though a cold draft had entered the room when the door

Opened, and his shining moment had popped like a soap bubble. All the reasons for

Ending his relationship with Ginny, for staying well away from her, seemed to have slunk

Inside the room with Ron, and all happy forgetfulness was gone.

He looked at Ginny, wanting to say something, though he hardly knew what, but

She had turned her back on him. He thought that she might have succumbed, for once, to

Tears. He could not do anything to comfort her in front of Ron.

"I'll see you later," he said, and followed the other two out of the bedroom.

Ron marched downstairs, though the still-crowded kitchen and into the yard, and

Harry kept pace with him all the way, Hermione trotting along behind them looking

Scared.

Once he reached the seclusion of the freshly mown lawn, Ron rounded on Harry.

"You ditched her. What are you doing now, messing her around?"

"I'm not messing her around," said Harry, as Hermione caught up with them.

"Ron--"

But Ron held up a hand to silence her.

"She was really cut up when you ended it--"

"So was I. You know why I stopped it, and it wasn't because I wanted to."

"Yeah, but you go snogging her now and she's just going to get her hopes up

again--"

"She's not an idiot, she knows it can't happen, she's not expecting us to--to end up

married, or--"

As he said it, a vivid picture formed in Harry's mind of Ginny in a white dress,

Marrying a tall, faceless, and unpleasant stranger.

In one spiraling moment it seemed to hit him: Her future was free and

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 580