Evermore

Chapter Nine: The Trials of Love

Ginny took the news that Snape had been injured in her own way, although when she heard that Professor McGonagall had sent for Kingsley Shacklebolt in the wake of Madam Pomfrey delivering their headmaster to the hospital wing, she began to grow concerned. Not only that, she had been with Ron and Hermione—after yelling at them for not coming to find her when they'd first arrived at the castle—when Harry's Patronus came galloping into the Gryffindor common room, and her jaw nearly hit the floor at his addressing them.

"I'm going to You-Know-Who," came Harry's voice, gentle, just as Ginny had remembered it, from betwixt the lips of the glowing stag. "I've got a few ideas of where he could be. I'm going alone. I know how to handle him now. Keep Hogwarts and each other safe."

"He's got to be gone already," Hermione wailed, putting her face into her hands, and Ron seemingly automatically put his arm around her shoulders as she sobbed.

"Really?!" Ginny demanded, throwing herself to her feet and pacing around the room. "That's just brilliant, now isn't it?! The bloody Chosen One choosing to go gallivanting off to find the darkest wizard of them all, alone—!"

Dean, who had heard Harry's voice as he came down the stairs, stepped at last into the common room, surprised to see Ron comforting Hermione in front of the couch before the fireplace, and then turned to see Ginny walking back and forth. "Gin?" he asked, stepping forward, and she whirled around to face him, her great mane of red hair pluming around her beautiful face. "It's going to be all right," he assured her. "Harry knows what he's doing."

"All right?! All right?!" Ginny thundered out, throwing her hands up into the air. "You may as well say that he's walked off to his death, Dean!"

"Oh, no!" Hermione cried out then, fresh sobs wracking her body, and Ron kissed her temple, before glaring at his only sister.

"Ginny, really, could you be a little more considerate?" he hissed, wrapping himself like a security blanket around Hermione.

"Gin, come on," Dean said, his voice coaxing as he stepped towards her and gently took ahold of her shoulders. "Breathe," he told her, and kissed her forehead, which made Ron look away from the pair of them. "It's all right."

Ginny sighed, placated by the words of her boyfriend at last, and slumped in his arms. "I'm sorry, Dean," she said softly to him. "It's not because I'm in love with Harry anymore or anything like that..."

"He was your friend first," Dean said gently to her. "I do understand."

Ginny pulled back then and gazed into his dark eyes, before she smiled up at him. "You were always so considerate and understanding," she said, and it pleased her to be filled with warmth whenever she looked at him, and he looked at her. "Thank you for being the perfect boyfriend for me, Dean Thomas."

"Careful, Dean," Ron warned with a smirk as Hermione dried her eyes and composed herself, and Dean turned to look at Ron. "You haven't seen anything of the Prewitt temper yet. Gin inherited it from our mum's side."

"Why, you!" Ginny yelled, and moved towards Ron, but Dean held her back.

"It's all right," Dean said, kissing Ginny's temple, which made her mutter for a moment before she calmed herself. "I've grown used to it, and I'll have to for the time being."

Ginny whipped around then, facing Dean, and shook her head. "Dean, we said that we weren't going to tell anyone just yet..."

"Tell anyone what?!" Ron demanded then, getting the gist of what was going on as he flew to his feet, and Hermione quickly moved between them. "Dean? What did you do to my sister?!"

"Ronald, honestly!" Hermione cried out. "It's nothing to—"

"Wait," Ron said, his eyes darting to Hermione's. "You know?"