Song to play: Fix You — Coldplay

Even less than an hour later, Harry found that his memory came in snippets. Ginny counter-charming the staircase to the girls' dormitory to avoid Harry turning it into a slide. Ginny's eyes. The sunlight on the freckles of her shoulder. The little gasps she made that almost made him feverish. The things that made her bite her lip. Her soft fingers clawing at him like he was saving her from drowning. Wrong, of course. She was saving him. Or maybe they had saved each other. All he knew was that wherever she went, he would follow, if she let him. Nothing else was even a possibility.

They made it back to the common room at the same time, seemingly as Hermione and Ron did. The presence of their friends was announced by the sounds of an argument at the other side of the door.

"Well, bust through it!"

"Ronald Weasley! Obviously if it's sealed, it's sealed for a reason. I'm not just going to 'bust through it'!"

"Well?" demanded Ron of an unseen someone.

"I'm sorry, dear," came the voice of the Fat Lady. "My portrait has been sealed from the inside, I can't do anything about it." Ron roared with frustration, and Ginny and Harry began to laugh.

"I'm going to MURDER Harry when i get through this door!" shouted Ron. That stopped Harry laughing. Ginny patted his arm.

"Don't worry, he won't touch you if I threaten him with the Bat-Bogey hex." Outside the argument continued.

"—being a hypocrite, Ronald," Hermione was saying.

"We'd better let them in," said Ginny. "Before Ron destroys something."

"Speak for yourself, said Harry, moving behind a nearby armchair. Ginny laughed and aimed her wand at the portrait hole, which burst open. The Fat Lady yelled "Now, really!" as Ron charged into the room, looking around wildly. Ginny crossed her arms. Ron looked from Harry to Ginny. Harry grinned sheepishly. That seemed to be all Ron needed to know, and he spluttered, turning a funny mix of red and purple. Hermione put her hand on his arm. Harry had time to be thankful that Ginny had the clarity of mind to move them upstairs and seal the door, that Hermione was a decent person, and that they were wearing clothes before Ron regained his voice.

"What exactly are your intentions?" he blurted loudly. Harry gaped. Hermione and Ginny both raised their eyebrows.

"Really, Ron?" said Ginny, infuriated. "You are actually asking your best friend what his 'intentions' are with me?" She snorted angrily. "I may as well ask you the same! What are your intentions with Hermione?" Both Harry and Hermione suddenly became very interested in random objects across the room or out the window as the siblings continued to shout. After about five minutes, both Weasleys sat down in a huff. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other nervously and then sat down as well. Ron looked at Harry with a mix of incredulity and irritation.

"I can't believe…you didn't really…my sister…it's only been hours since you killed you-know-who. ("Honestly Ron, he's dead! Use his name," interjected Hermione.) I mean…yesterday at this time we were still on the run in Aberforth's. This is….completely mental!" Ginny flared up again with derisive laughter.

"And what were you two doing outside, then? Admiring the scenery?" Ron stared at her.

"We…that's completely….that's not even…completely besides…that's off the point!" he yelled. Harry had a flashback to the Yule Ball, and he could tell that Hermione was thinking the same thing. Ron changed his defensive.

"We just walked! That's all!" Hermione glanced sideways at him. Harry chuckled against his will, and Ron looked murderous.

"What, Harry?" demanded Ron. Ginny started to speak, but Ron flapped his hand at her. "Shut up, Ginny." She pulled out her wand threateningly, but Harry lowered her arm back to her side and held her hand. There would be no civil talk if Ron had giant flapping bogeys on his face.

"We…er…well we saw you two accidentally through the window…kind of….er…snogging…very er…passionately against a tree." He avoided looking at Hermione as he said this, but he saw her bury her face in her hands. The color drained from Ron's face, a considerable feat, as he had achieved an alarming shade of red.

"Oh." he said defeatedly.

"Yes, 'oh' said Ginny darkly. So you can come off your high virginal horse now and simmer down." Hermione still hadn't emerged from her hands. Harry was sure that this was the most awkward he had ever felt in his life. Ginny seemed to be the only one who wasn't feeling the embarrassment of the situation. She simply looked smug. After a full minute of silence, Ron spoke again, and Hermione lifted her head.

"Remember when all we did was ride broomsticks and play exploding snap…" They all stared at him. He looked so woeful that Harry began to laugh, which caused Hermione and Ginny to laugh too.

"Would you like a gravestone for your virginity, Ronald?" asked Ginny between laughs. "I'm sure that George would make you one happily." The loss of Fred hung in the air for a second, but it seemed to Harry that what Fred would have hated more than anything would be for someone to stop laughing because of him. Ron and Hermione both looked bewildered, however.

"Virginity?" asked Hermione. "Oh honestly. We just snogged for a while, there was none of that!" For the first time, Ginny blanched.

"Damn…" she whispered. Realization was slowly dawning on Ron's face. Hermione's comprehension started later but arrived more quickly.

"Oh. Oh! Ron! Let's take another walk." She jumped up, looking desperate. Harry realized that he was completely wrong about thirty seconds ago being the most awkward moment of his life. He would have given anything to sink through the floor. In fact, several floors would have been even better. Ron was completely silent for a moment, and Hermione quickly grabbed his wand from beside him in the armchair. He didn't seem to notice.

"Harry…" said Ron slowly.

"Er…yes?" answered Harry, wondering if he should grab a cushion or a blunt object to defend himself.

"I know I'm your best friend, mate, but if you ever tell me one single bloody detail of the past two hours I will strangle you while you sleep." Harry's breath left him in a whoosh.

"Deal," he said, still wanting to disappear. Ron turned to Ginny.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Ginny snorted with disdain.

"Of course I'm okay, Ron. For goodness' sake, I'm barely a year younger that you are! You were chased by spiders, attacked by a plant and a giant chess set, dragged into a tree by a convicted murderer, cursed by death eaters, poisoned, and snogged by Lavender Brown by the time you were my age. I'm not going to be squished to death between Harry and a wall." She realized she had said too much the moment the words left her mouth. Hermione blinked but recovered quickly. Ginny looked panicked at the expression on Ron's face.

"Run," advised Hermione simply. Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him quickly to the portrait hole. Before the portrait closed Harry could yell Ron's bellow of "Between Harry and A WALL?" They only stopped running when they were three corridors away.

"We should probably keep going," said Harry, nervously.

"We'll hear him coming if he gets past Hermione," said Ginny. "When he runs he sounds like a bull elephant." Harry laughed.

"He's actually going to murder me, you know," he said. "You should have explained that we were actually on a bed for a good portion of it." Ginny grimaced.

"Fine. You go back and explain it to him, then." They leaned against the stone wall and laughed. After a while. Ginny smiled broadly. "You know what?"

"What?" asked Harry, leaning sideways on the wall to look at her.

"I was just thinking…if Ronald is the only one with murderous intentions towards you at the moment, life should be fairly good from now on, comparatively." Harry laughed and nodded in agreement.

"If I start having funny dreams about him running around with hooded blokes, or if his nose starts disappearing, I'll inform you immediately," he said with mock seriousness. She laughed and turned so that he was between her and the wall. She kissed him briefly, and then stood on her tiptoes to brush her lips past his painless scar before returning to his lips. They carried on happily, Harry still keeping one part of his hearing tuned to hear a rampaging Ron.

"Harry?" said Ginny against his lips.

"Yeah?" he smiled.

"Tell me if I'm squishing you in advance, alright? I'd hate to have to tell Ron that you're not okay."

"Deal," he said, as he continued to kiss her, happier than he'd been in seven years.

AN: Yes, it is finished now. Thanks for reading! I'd still really appreciate reviews; I'll be doing a lot more Harry Potter fics over the next few weeks, and I'd like to know what you think!