One Step Behind You

By cleojan5

A/N: This is a one-shot Harry/Ginny fic. Minor HBP spoilers.

I have always been a step behind you. Just behind you, so you never saw me, and covering my tracks so that when you turned around, you could never tell that I had been there. Letting you stride ahead while I walked silently behind, ready to catch you if you fell.

Rarely did you turn around, but when you did, you took a second look at the emptiness, as though you knew someone had been there just a second before.

The atmosphere always seemed to change when I saw you, even from the very beginning. Even from the very first time I saw you, before I even knew who you were, there was something about you that I couldn’t put my thumb on, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you.

And I know what it is, I found out a long time ago. It is complex, yet simple, and when I realized what it was I was surprised I had not realized it sooner.

I love you.

It is that simple. It shocked me, but I knew it was true. And I knew that forever more, no matter where I was, I would be there for you.

Thousands of tears I have cried, wanting you to notice me. Wanting you to love me.

And now you do.

But we are being torn apart, and the sorrowful feeling of longing returns. I am afraid. Afraid that the bond that we have worked so hard to build will crumble. Afraid that I might never see you again.

But I realize that no matter where you go, no matter what happens, I’ll always be there, just one step behind you.