34Merry Christmas! I saw you wearing the necklace, it looked beautiful on you. You're beautiful.
I know we have become really good friends, and I really enjoy your letters. I was wondering if we could meet sometime. Say, after lunch in Hogsmede this weekend. I'll be in the 3 Broomsticks. Since you don't know who I am, I'll come up to you.
Love,
Anonymous.
Ginny was absolutely blown away by the news. Meet? Finally after all this time! Ginny was sitting up in her bed, going through all her Christmas presents.
Anon's letter came in her present pile as well as some chocolate frogs. She got a jumper from her mum, and tonnes of sweets from her friends (including Harry, who got her some bertie botts).
She wasn't even going to touch what Fred and George gave her, those multi-coloured lolly pops didn't look quite right…
Ginny headed downstairs to the common room, with a big smile on her face. "What are you so happy about?" said Hermione, who also had a Weasley jumper on, scarlet, with an "H".
"Anonymous! We're finally going to meet!" Hermione looked a little uneasy.
"Gin, don't get your hopes up, this could be headed straight for disaster." Ginny just stared blankly at her.
"C'mon Hermione, take a chance, you did with Ron!" and her smile became suggestive.
"Hey, that's totally different, at least I know Ron." Said Hermione indignantly. "It is not," said Ginny, "I do know him, and he's a very sweet guy."
"What's all the commotion?" said Harry, who wandered over from his lost chess match.
"Nothing, someone is just getting her hopes up, that's all," said Hermione with a cool gaze.
"Hogsmede weekend is this week! I'll see you later guys," and Ginny ran up to her room. Hermione just shook her head and stared into the fire.
Ginny was ready, even before breakfast. She was wearing flared jeans and a dark blue turtleneck knitted top.
She was also wearing her star-shaped locket. Ginny was pacing the common room, annoying a fair few in the process.
Ginny decided to go down to the Quidditch pitch to eat away some time. After that terrible loss to Slytherin, Fred and George (who were in joint captaincy together), had been working them as hard as Oliver Wood used to.
He would have been proud.
Ginny couldn't see anyone flying at the moment. "Must be in for tactics," thought Ginny. She walked along the side of the stands but stopped when she heard Hermione's voice.
"But it's so wrong!" she said.
Ginny crept closer to her voice as two more became apparent.
"It is not!" said the voices as one. "He's giving her support, god knows she needs it," said Ron's voice.
"But your leading her on, and that can't be and that can't be good for her. How do you think she's going to react when she finds out what you're doing?" continued Hermione.
"I'm going to tell her, but you really think I should tell her something so important in a letter? Yeah, I can see it now 'Dear Ginny, I've liked you for a while now, but was too afraid to tell you, Love Anonymous. P.S. By the way it's me Harry? No I really can't see that going down so well…"
Ginny's heart plummeted, her excitement became sadness, then anger. How can she have been so stupid?
"I should have known it would all be a big sham. Hermione was right, but of course, Hermione was in on it. Ginny's eyes welled with tears.
"I feel so betrayed, how could they lie to me like that?" Ginny's tears spilled down her cheeks.
Anger overtook her once again. She grabbed the silver locket and ripped it from her neck.
Ginny threw it into the snow. A sob escaped as she ran towards the forbidden forest.
"Did you hear something?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione.
"No" they said as they shook their heads.
Harry got off the bench and went around to the side of the stands. He looked around; Harry thought he saw a flash of red hair… Then he looked down and saw footprints in the snow.
His heart plummeted.
Half hidden in the snow was Ginny's locket. He picked up the broken chain and locket and clasped it tightly in his hand.
"Oh, Ginny," sighed Harry.
"Harry?" said Hermione.
He turned around. "She knows. I'm going to go find her."
"Harry!" Ron called, but Harry was already running towards the forest.
Harry searched the outskirts of the forbidden forest, but not finding her anywhere, decided to grab the marauders map from his room.
He found Ginny's dot down by the lake. He took his invisibility cloak with him as well.
As Harry left the castle, his body disappeared as well.
He made his way down to the rocky shores of the lake. Harry found Ginny sitting with her back to him, looking towards the frosty lake. Harry took his cloak off.
"You dropped this," said Harry quietly.
"I don't want it thank you," said Ginny evenly.
"But it has your name on it," said Harry as he stood behind her.
"Why would I want something that's built on a lie?" she said, never taking her eyes off the lake.
"But it's not a lie, I do like you Ginny." Ginny turned her head slightly.
"Yeah, only because you feel sorry for me," she said coldly.
Harry sat down next to her and stared out into the lake.
He sighed. "You know Ginny, ever since I replied to your diary entry, you have made me feel a whole lot better. I told you how I feel and my thoughts, I'm still anonymous, it's just the side not many people see. In fact you're the only person to have seen it. I do admit at the start, it was just to make you feel better, but it means so much more to me than that now, and you mean so much more to me Ginny. I love the way we joke and laugh with each other. I Love being with you and seeing you smile. You make me feel special. You don't seem to care that I'm the boy-who-lived, you just see me as Harry Potter, the boy who adores you and cares for you and who would do anything for you. Nobody has made me feel like this before, you make me feel like I belong and that I truly can be me."
Harry's speech surprised him, and from the look on Ginny's face, it surprised her too.
"Oh Harry, I care about you too, but can't you see how I feel? I mean, the letters were so beautiful, and to know that someone was looking out for me. But how many people have read my letters, just so they can laugh at me behind my back? I mean apart from Ron and Hermione…"
"What? Ginny nobody has seen your letters part from me. Hermione and Ron only know because Hermione caught me writing to you, so naturally, she told Ron. Ginny you mean more to me than that. I would never tell them anything. The only things they knew were that I was you anonymous writer and I was writing encouraging things to you. I would never purposely hurt you, and I know that this letter thing should have stopped ages ago, but I enjoyed it too much, and I dug myself and even deeper hold, as you know…" She giggled.
"Ginny, will you please forgive me?"
Ginny then had mock seriousness in her voice. "Well…"
Harry then got down on his knees and begged. "Please! Please! Please!" Ginny laughed.
"Oh ok, I forgive you, how could I not? You beg really well. But please no more letter writing."
Harry just smiled at her, and for the first time, she realised that that smile was hers.
"Harry! Ginny! Where are you?" called a familiar set of voices.
"Oh I don't want to talk to them now," said Ginny, crouching low to the ground.
"Here," said Harry as he swung the invisibility cloak around them both. Ginny giggled.
"Shh," said Harry as he covered her mouth with his hand.
"I swear, I thought I saw them down here," said Ron. "Maybe they've gone somewhere else", suggested Hermione.
Harry pulled out the marauders map, to see the two go back to the castle. Harry pulled the cloak off them.
"Where did you get these?" said Ginny.
"This was my fathers and this was given to me by your twin brothers."
"Wow!" exclaimed Ginny as she watched the dots on the map.
"Why," said Ginny, " are Fred and Angelina almost one dot, and I might add, in Fred's dormitory?"
Harry stared at the 'dot' amazed. "Oh, well, they have been going out for a while…"
Ginny shivered. Harry wrapped his arms around her.
Of course she'd be shivering, they were sitting on a rocky beach, in the middle of winter.
Harry turned his head to face Ginny. He traced his fingers down the side of her face, holding her cheek.
"Harry…" but Ginny didn't get to finish as he lifted her face to his and leant down to share their first kiss. His warm lips met hers as he wrapped his fingers through her auburn hair, and Ginny putting her arms around his neck.
When they broke off, Harry smiled at Ginny.
"So does this mean I still have to ask you out?" Ginny just rolled her eyes and laughed.
"Come here you," and Ginny pulled Harry over for another session of long kisses.