19 Years and Counting (DISCONTINUED)

Episode 4: Making Up Isn't Easy

Dinner was silent. With Molly and George at the shop and Arthur off at the Ministry, the house contained only Ginny, Harry, Ron and Hermione all of whom were tense for the remainder of the day. After the morning's episode, Ron had done well to avoid the piercing glares that Ginny sent him every time he entered the room she was in. She was a stubborn and relentless girl which had often lead her to all sorts of situations, but in this case, it led her to hold her ground fiercely. Though, Harry was still a little wary of Ron.

"I will get an apology and so will you," she had said to him, "Hermione deserves one, too I think. He doesn't need sympathy, he needs to grow up."

Harry's face drooped for most of the day, still cautious of the fact Ron might attack him if he so much as breathed around Ginny, while Hermione stayed relatively distant from everyone, locking herself in Ginny's room where she, unsurprisingly, read for hours.

The day hadn't gone smoothly to put it lightly. Ginny hardly imagined her kissing Harry again would result in her brother attacking them. But at dinner, Ginny's mind was occupied, not necessarily by her anger at Ron, but the cause: simply a kiss. She knew she loved Harry and after their moment together, what would happen if it were to go further than just them kissing? She tried to banish the thought from her mind, which wasn't too hard due to a healthy serving of Fred-related memories that arrived about midday, but it wouldn't quite go away completely.  Like a nagging itch... always looming and spreading no matter how preoccupied you were.

Harry and Ginny hadn't kept their distance over the day, that's for sure, but they didn't kiss or do anything else while Ron was cooling off. Still, she had hope that Ron would come around and see that Harry meant well and he was his best friend after all.

Preferably sooner rather than later - it was tiring to be the only thing holding the house together.

In an attempt to break the cold silence looming ominously over the table, Ginny started to speak. "Listen, Ron. I know it's dinner and truthfully, I don't want to have to talk about this at all but I can't avoid the inevitable so, I'm going to face it like the grown woman I am and attempt to get this over with."

She sighed as Ron looked up slowly from his plate. He sat across the table from Harry and Ginny who sat next to each other. Hermione had turned up to dinner late and even now was reading a book as she ate, refusing to speak. She looked up briefly to Ginny and her eyes moved over to Ron, who was sitting a few chairs down from her before returning to her novel.

"I know you don't like us together because you don't want me to get hurt or whatnot, but you don't even know what I went through the first time we broke up; let alone can comprehend that being away from Harry is what made me upset. The prospect of breaking up, not as much, I can deal with a breakup but coming to terms with the time away, especially when I had no clue what was happening... that's what hurt. But I don't blame him; you all didn't let me come because you wanted to protect me which, may I add worked because I'm sitting here and not in a grave..." a pang of guilt struck her. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that... my point still stands though."

"Well, I don't know... you were hurting, Ginny," Ron looked across the table, his eye flicking between her and Harry, "I didn't mind when Harry had done that the first time or if it had been anyone else but I wasn't going to let it happen again. You literally skipped whole meals and didn't talk to anyone for weeks on end and everyone assumed it must have been the whole thing with Voldemort and the war but I could see there was something else. Harry seemed like the only reason for me. Turns out I was right." He shot a glance at Harry for a second but his gaze just as quickly turned back to Ginny.

"Ron," Ginny began slowly, "I know how I feel may be hard to understand, but I love him. I've told Harry before and it isn't any less true now. While he was away I always felt like something wasn't right and I just never sat with myself because I didn't know what was happening with him and Hermione and you when you left. Coming to terms with the thought that Harry had moved on... it took a lot out of me. But I have him now, and I didn't have him then. That's the difference... This is going to sound really quite corny but," she laughed gravely, "his presence is having an effect on me."