Now And Forever
Chapter 19
By Abraxan
Author Notes:
Many thanks to my brilliant Brit-picker, Kelpie, and my fabulous betas, Alexander, Asad, Iris and Rich! Thanks too to Mark Anders Harrison for help with a Latin incantation, and Mike McKean for his help with a sports question!
NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM!!! "Star Sons 1 - Dawn of the Two" an original fantasy novel by Abraxan (Lynda Sappington)! Click here to order! If you want an autographed bookplate, send a business-sized SASE to:
Whimsy Hill Publishing,
15401 Eaton Pike,
West Alexandria OH 45381.
"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks called brightly. Her hair was a cheerful tangerine colour this evening. "How was class?"
"Fine." He wanted to go to bed. He wanted to pull the covers over his head and pretend . . . pretend what? He’d had a wonderfully happy life for a little while, with a girl who
loved him, godparents who truly cared about him, and a brand new baby brother. He was glad they’d caught Ginny’s stalker, but the things he’d learned in her house were horribly
disturbing. He didn’t want to think about them, but he couldn’t avoid them. They simply wouldn’t leave him alone.
Tonks came to the door, frowning in concern at Harry, who hadn’t moved and wasn’t looking at her. "You OK, luv? You’re awfully pale." She put her hand on his forehead.
"Harry, your skin’s clammy! Are you ill?"
Harry forced himself to focus on his godmother. She’d asked if he was ill, right? "A bit."
Tonks’s newly developed mothering skills took over. "What can I do for you? D’you want something to eat or drink, or do you want to go straight to bed? Have you taken anything for
it? How long have you been feeling like this? And how do you feel, anyway? What’s wrong, Harry? Talk to me!"
Harry was feeling a bit overwhelmed by Tonks’s concern. He was rescued from answering her by Remus emerging from his study.
"Did I hear Harry come in?" Remus said.
"Yes, but he’s ill," Tonks said, keeping her attention fully on Harry. She kept pressing her hand against his forehead, then each cheek in turn, as if checking his temperature
repeatedly might tell her something different. "What do you want us to do, Harry?"
"Nothing. I’ll be fine." Her loving concern touched him tremendously, but he had to think, he had to sort things out, he had to understand the things whirling through his mind at
maddening speed.
"Come and sit down," Remus said, taking Harry’s arm. "You do look a bit peaky."
Harry tried to let them fuss over him, answering their questions as well as he could, but he couldn’t take it for very long.
"Listen, thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. I’ll just go and lie down, OK?"
"Harry, I heard what happened," Remus said. "That’s why I was late coming out of my study. Ron contacted me via the Floo Network and said you’d captured Ginny’s
stalker."
"That’s fantastic news!" Tonks said.
Harry tried to smile. "Yeah."
"Ron said the things you saw in the house seemed to upset you. Do you want to talk about it?" Remus said.
"No. I—" Harry had no idea what to say. After an impatient shake of his head, Harry yanked off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, then dropped his face in his hands. He felt two arms
come round his back and heard sympathetic murmurs from both of his godparents, but he couldn’t make sense of their words. His body began to tremble. Harry tried to fight it, but things just
seemed to be spiralling out of his control.
"What is it, luv?" Tonks said, rubbing his back gently. "What happened?"
"Talk to us, Harry," Remus said. "Please. Let us help."
Remus’s calm, kind voice finally broke through the barriers Harry had put around his mind. He swallowed hard and slipped his glasses back on as he straightened up. "I . . ." He took
a deep breath and stared into his godfather’s eyes. "I, erm, I can’t . . ." Cursing himself for being such a coward, Harry shook his head hard and forced himself to say what
was necessary. "I can’t marry Ginny."
A confused look crossed Remus’s face. He held his hand up to quiet Tonks, who was bursting to say something. "Why not?"
The words exploded out of Harry. "No matter what I do, I will always be the bleedin’ Boy Who Lived!" His voice breaking, he continued. "Ginny will never be safe with me. I
can’t marry her. I can’t marry anybody." Harry bit his lip and tried to master himself, but a rebellious tear slid down his cheek. He brushed it away, his gesture full of rage.
"All I’ve ever wanted my whole life was a family of my own, someone to love who loved me too! But I can’t, I can’t! I can’t endanger her that way." He sobbed and
dropped his face in his hands again.
Remus pulled Harry against him, cradling the younger man’s head against his chest. "It’s all right, Harry. Let it out."
"It’s not fair," Harry muttered. "Voldemort killed my parents and ruined my childhood. I thought I’d have some peace once he was gone, but no! Everyone wants a piece of
me, and they don’t care if I’m enjoying my life or not!" He pulled away from Remus and slammed his fists against his knees. "It’s NOT FAIR!"
"No, lad, it isn’t." Remus’s voice was quiet and soothing as his hand gently rubbed Harry’s back.
Harry was grateful for his godfather’s comfort, but his brain was spinning in useless circles. How was he going to tell Ginny? How was he going to go on without her? Why did he have to? Did he
have to? Yes, he should break up with her. That was the right thing to do, but it was a horrible thing to contemplate. He heard the windows rattling in response to his rage and did his best to calm
down, but it was so hard, so hard.
Harry, Remus and Tonks were all startled by a heavy pounding on the door. All three of them pulled their wands and ran to the door. Remus and Harry stood on either side of the door, wands at the
ready, while Tonks moved the curtain away from the window by the door so she could see who was there.
"It’s OK," Tonks said as she relaxed and stowed her wand. The pounding continued as Harry and Remus pocketed their wands and moved back into the living room and Tonks unlocked the
door. Ginny stormed in, followed closely by Albus Dumbledore.
"Harry Potter, you are NOT going to break up with me, do you hear?" Ginny cried as she ran to him.
Harry was gobsmacked. How did she know? He hadn’t told Ron anything. He hadn’t pressed the stone on his ring and called her. Her momentum made him back up until he fell into a chair. He
sat goggling at her in disbelief as she continued to rage at him.
"No stupid fangirl is going to come between us, do you hear me? I don’t care what she had on her walls!"
Now Harry understood. "Ron told you?"
"Yes, he did, and when he said you were ill and Disapparated without telling anyone else, I knew." Her eyes flashed with fury, and her cheeks were pale with red patches so bright, her
freckles paled in comparison. Harry had never seen her so angry. "I promise you, Harry Potter, if you try to break up with me, I will hex your bits off and then we’ll both be
sorry!"
"Yeah, I agree," he said, almost smiling. Ginny in full "warrior princess" mode was a sight to behold, even if his heart was breaking. Harry hated to be the reason for her
anger, but he loved that she was fighting so hard to keep him. No. I can’t think that way. She isn’t safe around me. He swallowed hard and sighed, his whole body sagging in misery when he
tore his eyes away from hers.
Ginny’s voice was like a whip crack. "HARRY! Where’s the fighter I love? Fight for me!"
He forced himself to look up again. "Who am I supposed to fight? I can’t protect you, Ginny. I don’t know where the next threat’s coming from. She didn’t seem dangerous
when I talked to her in the stadium or on the street. A bit obsessed, yeah, but not dangerous. If I misjudged her—"
"I can take care of myself! I haven’t been hurt since that Howler gave me purple boils. I won’t get hurt that way again!"
"You were hurt when she set those wedding robes on fire," Harry reminded her.
"And you healed me right away. We can’t live our lives in fear, Harry. We can’t let other people tell us how to live, either." She knelt in front of him and took his hands in
hers. "I know you love me. You do, don’t you?"
How was he going to get through this? Harry’s heart was pounding, banging against his rib cage as if it wanted to burst free and go to Ginny. How he wanted to let it have its way! He swallowed
hard and forced himself to be calm when he replied. "I love you more than life, Ginny. You know I’d die for you. But—"
"But nothing! I don’t want you to die for me, I want you to live with me! You’re the bravest person I know. Stand up for what you believe in. Stand up for the people you love. If
you won’t stand up for yourself, at least stand up for me, Harry!" She was sobbing now. "Don’t leave me! I love you! We’ve been through so much, and waited so long to be
married. Don’t quit on me now!" She lifted his hands and kissed them over and over, then pressed her streaming eyes against his legs.
Harry pulled one of his hands free from hers and rested it on her head. He wished he knew some way to comfort her, but his mind simply wouldn’t function. He was in too much pain to think. Every
time he tried to think of some way to comfort her, the black reality of his situation hit him with the weight of one of Grawp’s fists, knocking the air out of his lungs, making any logical
thoughts he’d almost captured flee. So he stroked her hair, not knowing what else to do.
Ginny sighed and turned her head so her cheek rested against his leg. "That feels good."
"I never meant to hurt you, Ginny."
She straightened and glared at him, her fury returning in full force. "Then don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt yourself, either!" She banged her fists on his thighs. "We’re
meant to be together! You know that."
He nodded. "I know." She was right, of course, but she hadn’t seen those pictures. She hadn’t seen the madness in that woman’s eyes.
"Your parents told you we were going to have a full Quidditch team! How are we going to do that if you don’t marry me?"
"I don’t know." His voice was the merest whisper. Harry couldn’t imagine life without her, but he had no right to put her in danger, either. He dropped his eyes, unable to
look at her any longer.
Ginny gently stroked his cheek as tears streamed down her face. "You’re worried that someone will hurt me or kill me because I’m with you, right?"
He nodded.
"Then you need to know this. Are you listening?"
"Yes."
"Look at me, Harry." She lifted his chin with her finger and waited until he looked at her. "If I only have one hour, or even one minute left to live, I want to live it with you. No
matter how long or short my life is, I want us to be together."
"That’s what I want too, but I can’t endanger you that way!" It felt to Harry as if the words had been torn out of him. He felt raw and wounded and horribly empty
inside.
Ginny took a deep breath and gave him her most patient look, as if she were explaining things to a child. "What I do with my life is my own choice, right?"
He was thoroughly confused. "Yes, but—"
Ginny’s temper exploded. "No buts!" She scrubbed her tear-streaked face dry with a rough, impatient gesture. "Are you paying attention?" She leaned forward and bent at
the right angle to get into his line of sight.
He frowned. What did she mean? He’d answered everything she’d said! "Yes, of course."
"Then hear this. I love you. We need to be together. Let’s get married right here, right now. I’ll quit Hogwarts and—"
"No, I don’t want you to quit school. You’re nearly finished!"
"Then we can live in your quarters while I finish. You can flash to London for your practices and school, and come home to me every night. It will all work out. We’ll make it work!"
She did her best to smile at him.
"What about your parents?"
"They’re already married," she quipped.
Harry shook his head, the tiniest hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "You’re being silly, but I’m serious. What about them? What about the
wedding?"
"We can still have it! We’ll keep our marriage a secret!"
Harry could see excitement building in her eyes. She thought he was going along with her plan. Well, was he? It was so tempting. Get married right now, before anything else could make him change his
mind. He felt the same way she did—if he only had an hour to live, he’d want to spend that hour with her, married to her, loving her! But what about the danger to her if they were
together? How could he protect her?
Ginny took his hands in hers and leaned toward him, her eyes suddenly very serious. "I want you to promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise me that you’ll never, ever try to break up with me again. Now and forever, we’re together. Promise me that."
"Ginny—"
"Have I ever asked much of you, Harry?"
"No."
"Well, now I’m not asking—I’m demanding! Promise me, Harry! For now and forever, promise me you’ll never even think of leaving me again! If you truly love me,
you’ll promise! And you’ll mean it!"
Harry licked his lips nervously. He wanted to promise her, but if—
"And Harry, you should know this. I was serious. If you try to leave me, I’ll . . . I don’t know what I’ll do, but if I can’t have you, nobody else can
either."
Harry’s eyes widened in shock. "There’s nobody else! I love you!"
"Then prove it! Marry me! Right now! And you owe me a promise, buster!" She had her wand out in a flash, aiming it at his bits with a steady hand, reinforcing the seriousness of her
threat.
Somehow, in spite of everything he was going through, Harry felt a laugh forming inside him. "If I promise under duress, does it count?"
"Promise!"
Harry sighed, and then a slow smile crossed his face as he looked at her. What a magnificent woman she was! How could he live without her? He didn’t know how they’d do it, but with her
fiery spirit and every protective spell he could find to put around her, they’d manage.
He gently took her wand from her and grasped both of her hands in his. "I promise, Ginny, now and forever, I will never, ever even think about leaving you again."
"And you’ll marry me, right here, right now?"
He shook his head. "We don’t have rings or the licence or—"
"Not to worry, lad," Dumbledore said. "All of those things can be dealt with."
Ginny turned to him. "Will you marry us tonight, Professor? You were going to do it in a couple of months anyway."
"I think your idea may be the best solution to several problems, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said. "Harry will sleep better, and you’ll concentrate on your work better because
you’ll see him every day, so your grades will improve."
"Your grades are slipping?" Harry said in astonishment. Ginny was a top student, always had been.
"I’ve been so worried about you—"
Harry shook his head and frowned. "Me? Why? Nobody was after me."
"It’s a short step for a nutter to go from being after your girlfriend to going after you, too," Ginny said. "And Ron told me about the other couple that girl stalked. She
killed both of them! Or didn’t you hear that?"
Harry gasped. "I heard it, but I can’t believe Ron told you!"
"Don’t change the subject, Potter," Ginny said, her eyes twinkling now. "You were about to agree to marry me right this minute."
His smile broke through despite the turmoil of the dark thoughts still filling his mind. "If you’ll still have me, and if Grandfather is OK with us living in my quarters, then yes, Ginny.
I’ll marry you right here, right now."
"Yes!" Ginny said, leaping to her feet and pulling on his hands. "Come on, let’s do it before you change your mind!"
Harry stood up, surprised at the radiant joy he could feel flaring into life inside him. We ARE meant to be together. Why should I let anyone keep us apart? He turned to his godparents. "Will
you stand up with us?"
"So we’re going to have a wedding?" Tonks said, her hair suddenly changing to a bright sunshiny yellow.
Harry nodded. "Looks that way."
"Wonderful!" Tonks grabbed Harry and hugged him tightly, then pulled back and kissed him on both cheeks. "I’m so happy for you!" She turned to hug Ginny, who Remus had
just released.
Remus pulled Harry into a hug and clapped him on the back. "Best decision you ever made, lad."
Harry looked at his godfather, worry still rumbling around inside him. He knew Remus had had similar worries when he’d married Tonks. If Remus thought this was a good idea . . .
"Honestly?"
"Absolutely. I think it’s best for both of you. And I’m honoured to stand up with you."
Remus’s support made Harry feel a good deal better. He turned back to Ginny. "We should invite your family."
Ginny shook her head. "We can’t! I got Ron’s Adfero when I was studying in the library with Colin and Luna. I left my books there, and they’ll expect me back. If I don’t
return, there will be questions. But they aren’t the problem, Harry. Just think about it. Contacting my family and getting them here will take time, and calming Mum down and getting her to
understand why we’re doing this will take even longer. I need to get back to school so nobody knows what’s happened."
"But we could at least invite Ron and Hermione—"
"I’d like them to be here, too, but you know how transparent Ron’s face is. He sees Fred and George every day at lunch time, doesn’t he?" Harry nodded.
"They’ll know something’s up the first time they see him! They’ll have it out of him in no time!"
Harry sighed. "You’re right. He may still be at the crime scene with the Aurors anyway." The arrest of Nancy Warton seemed a lifetime ago, but when he glanced at his watch, he saw
it had only been about half an hour since he left the woman’s house.
"And Dad sees the twins fairly often too, so it wouldn’t take any time for everyone to know. And Mum and Dad have paid for so many things, and put so much effort into the wedding—if
they find out we married in secret, they might call it off and be out all that money. And it could take years for Mum to forgive us. It has to be a secret, Harry, just our secret. Do you
understand?"
He looked down into her earnest face. "Yeah, I do. And I agree with you." He grinned at his grandfather. "OK. What do we do now?"
"Let’s get you married!" Dumbledore said. "Merlin, old friend, may I have two of your breast feathers?"
Merlin left his perch and flew to the chair next to Dumbledore, then released two lovely scarlet feathers into the old wizard’s hand.
"Harry, Ginny, come stand before me," Dumbledore directed. "Remus, Tonks," he said, indicating where they should stand. He pulled his wand and tapped the two feathers in his
hand, which transformed into two gold rings. A feathered texture was engraved on each ring’s surface, with a hint of red showing in the carving. Dumbledore handed the larger ring to Tonks, the
smaller one to Remus.
The rings were beautiful, but Harry had a concern. "But Grandfather, if we’re wearing those rings, people will know we’re married."
"No, dear boy, they won’t. I will put an Invisibility Charm on the rings once your vows are completed. You will feel the weight of them, but no one will be able to see them. These rings
will vanish entirely when these rings are touched by your gold wedding rings when you take your vows."
Harry grinned. "You’ve done this before, then?"
"No, I haven’t, but Merlin suggested the idea to me during one of our conversations. He and I both thought we might need to prepare for such an occasion. I’m glad we
did."
"Me, too." Harry grinned at his phoenix. "Thanks, Merlin!" The bird sang a single sweet note in reply.
Harry was ready to get on with things. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was, when all he’d wanted for ages was to marry Ginny. But he wanted everything to be right, and they were
rushing into this. No, that wasn’t true. He and Ginny had been married in their hearts for a long time now. There was no rush here, simply a minimal ceremony. Maybe what he thought felt like
nerves was just excitement. He ran his hand over his hair, trying to flatten it, then blushed when Ginny pulled his hand away.
"I like it like that. Leave it alone," she said, smiling up at him.
"You both look wonderful," Dumbledore said. "Oh, Miss Weasley—and this may be the last time I call you ‘Miss Weasley’ in private, although I shall continue to do
so in school to maintain appearances," he said with a smile, "what kind of flowers would you like?"
"Roses."
"Roses it shall be, then," he said, and conjured a gorgeous nosegay of white roses, then handed it to her. "Here you go, my dear. Shall we begin?"
"Yes!" Ginny said, her face glowing with joy.
"Yes. I’m ready," Harry said, gazing down at the woman he loved.
The next few minutes passed in a blur for Harry. He said what he was supposed to, responded at the right times, and meant every word of his vows, but somehow, his grandfather’s words seemed to
be coming from a great distance. Harry could only see Ginny’s brown eyes looking up at him with trust, love and that fierce, blazing spirit he so loved. He slipped the ring on her finger, and
held his hand so she could put his ring on him, yet it seemed like a dream to him. Was this real? If it wasn’t, it felt so right to him, he fully intended to find Ginny and Dumbledore and make
it real as soon as possible!
It wasn’t until his grandfather did the spell that bonded their two wands that Harry was certain this was reality. When his wand tip touched Ginny’s, the griffins and phoenixes on his
wand handle did the dance inside his palm that they normally only did when he used full power on a spell. It didn’t last long, but it proved to him that this was no dream. He’d just taken
part in a very powerful spell.
"You may kiss your bride," Dumbledore said at last.
Harry had no trouble complying with that. As they kissed, the rings flashed with golden fire and disappeared. When he and Ginny finally parted, they stared at their ring fingers, which felt as if
they bore the weight of the gold bands, but nothing showed. Harry turned to his grandfather. "This is real? We’re legally married?"
"The Ministry likes paperwork such as marriage licences, but there are wizarding laws far more ancient than the Ministry. According to those laws, yes, my dear boy, you are married legally.
We’ll deal with the paperwork at your other wedding, shall we?"
Harry beamed. "Thank you, Grandfather!" He hugged Dumbledore, then Remus, then Tonks. "Thank you all!"
"We’ll keep your secret, ducks, don’t worry." Tonks sighed happily and leaned against her husband. "This is so romantic!"
"I will have to inform Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore said, "but she won’t be a problem."
"Why do you have to tell her?" Ginny said, looking both defiant and nervous.
"She’s your Head of House, so she needs to know why I’m putting certain spells on the Head Girl’s Suite and where you’ll be at night, since you won’t be there.
Harry or Merlin will be able to flash you to his quarters without setting off the alarms once I get the proper charms in place."
"I’ll resign as Head Girl. I don’t want to cause any problems," Ginny said.
"No, my dear, you are an excellent Head Girl. I don’t believe being secretly married will hinder you in performing your duties, and after all, your resignation would bring up questions
you won’t want to answer if you intend to keep this wedding a secret. I’ll set a spell on the Head Girl’s Suite that will alert you when someone knocks on the door needing you. You
can be flashed back to the suite and all will be well. Will that be all right with you?"
Ginny beamed. "Of course! Thank you, Professor!"
"I cannot tell you how pleased I am to have such a beautiful new granddaughter," Dumbledore said, patting her cheek fondly. "Now, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, I believe a celebration is
called for!"
Ginny turned to Harry, nearly squealing in her excitement. "He called me ‘Mrs. Potter’!"
Her obvious joy gave Harry an overwhelming sense of tenderness. She’d taken his name! She was his wife! Harry knew he’d never forget his feeling of absolute jubilation at this, the
happiest moment of his life so far.
"And so you are, Mrs. Potter," he said, enunciating every word very carefully.
Ginny sighed with happy satisfaction. "And so I am."
* * * * *
After a brief celebration, Merlin flashed Harry and Ginny to Harry’s quarters at Hogwarts. Harry would pack his things at Remus’s house in a few days and
take them to Hogwarts, as well. For now, he had enough clothes in his quarters to manage.
Merlin chirruped and ruffled Harry’s hair before going to his perch in the sitting room.
Ginny smiled at Harry’s expression. "What did he say?"
Harry blushed. "He, erm, wished us well and said congratulations and all that. He’s happy for us."
Ginny gave him a knowing look. "None of that would’ve made you blush."
"Hush, wife!" Harry said, laughing now. "Just because we’re married doesn’t mean I need to tell you all my secrets."
"Yes it does." She slid into his arms and smiled up at him, her eyes hinting at things Harry wanted to explore in more detail in the bedroom.
"Oh. I didn’t realize that was in the contract," Harry said, grinning at her. "I suppose I should’ve paid attention to the vows."
She gasped. "You didn’t pay attention?"
"All I could pay attention to was you, love. But I know the gist of it."
She playfully smacked him on the arm. "The gist of it?"
"Yeah! Let’s see, that ‘obey’ line was in there, wasn’t it?" he teased.
"No, it wasn’t!"
"Damn. I knew there was something missing." He cringed in mock horror as she smacked his arm again. "Don’t abuse me, woman!"
Ginny shook her finger under his nose in a very Molly Weasley-like gesture. "The only ‘obey’ line in there was that you had to obey me!"
"I think I would’ve remembered that." He swept her off her feet and carried her toward the bedroom. "Of course, we could negotiate."
"Negotiate, eh? Is that what they’re calling it now?"
"Mrs. Potter, are you going to give me a hard time?" he said as he plunked her on the bed, then flopped down beside her.
"For the rest of your life, Mr. Potter."
"Good! That’s exactly what I was hoping for," he said, nuzzling the ticklish spot on her neck, making her giggle. "I love you so much."
"Mmm, I love you too."
Harry raised up on one elbow and looked at her seriously. "I’m sorry I put you through such an awful time. I only wanted—"
She put her finger on his lips. "To protect me. I know. For a quiet man, you talk a lot. Shut up and kiss me!"
Harry laughed and followed her every instruction, thinking that obeying her wasn’t a bad idea after all.
* * * * *
As they cuddled together later, Harry said, "You wouldn’t really have hexed my bits off, would you?"
She laughed, a delicious sound that warmed Harry’s heart. "Not until I learned a spell to restore them."
He wrapped his arms around her more tightly. "I’ll keep that in mind in case I ever decide to cross you again."
"Good plan." She snuggled into his shoulder, but then gasped and lifted his arm so she could focus on his watch. "Oh no!"
"What?"
"Look at the time! I need to get back to the library!" She jumped out of bed and pulled her clothes on.
Harry got up on one elbow to watch her dress, something he never tired of. "Shall I go with you?"
"If you want."
* * * * *
A short time later, the two of them entered the library together and joined Colin and Luna at a work table.
"Hi, Harry!" Colin said. "I didn’t know you were here. It isn’t a Tuesday. What’s up?"
"Hello, Harry," Luna said at the same time. "Ginny, where’d you go?"
"Oh, it was just a glitch in the wedding plans," she said, improvising madly.
Harry felt her squeeze his hand, warning him to go along with her story. Since he’d had no ideas on what to say, he was glad she was taking charge of things.
"I had to talk to Hermione on the Floo Network to sort something out. And then Harry and I ran into each other, and here we are!"
"So Harry, why are you here early?" Colin said, shoving some books aside to make room for Harry to sit down at the table.
"I wanted to see Ginny. You’ll be seeing me here a lot more often with the wedding coming up soon." He looked at Ginny and they shared a smile. Well, what he’d said was the
truth, as far as it went.
"You’re both glowing," Luna said in her straightforward way. "You’ve been up to something, haven’t you?"
Ginny blushed. "We’re engaged to be married! An occasional snog should be expected!"
Harry looked at Ginny. Yes, her lips were still swollen and red from their kissing. And yes, she was glowing. He hoped Luna wouldn’t ask any more questions that could get them in trouble. He
smiled at his friends, determined to change the subject. "So what are you studying? Can I help?" He felt Ginny squeeze his knee under the table and grinned at her. The next couple of
months would be tricky to manoeuvre without slipping up, but he didn’t care. They were married. That’s all that mattered.