Chapter 6: A Face From The Past

"Harry?"

Even as she said his name out loud, she still couldn't quite believe he was really standing right before her. He smiled, that radiant, boyish smile she never forgot, and stepped inside the empty classroom.

"A little surprised to see me, I bet," he said.

"Y-yes," she said, laughing softly, hoping she hadn't just looked like a bloody fool in the last few seconds, when the sight of him absolutely threw her, "you could say that."

It had been over a year since she was last in a room with him, and even then, the moment had been brief and far too clouded with immediate worries to be a pleasant memory. They had lost touch when he finished school and joined the Cannons, not that they were ever that close to begin with, anyway; he, Ron, and Hermione had always been as close as three friends could be, and sometimes she felt there was simply no room for her as well. There were the occasional visits to The Burrow after he left Hogwarts, when he wasn't traveling all over the British Isles with the team or Quidditch wasn't in season, but they were always few and far in between--certainly not enough for her mother's liking, since she had always regarded him as another son--and only occasionally would she ever be home visiting her family at the same time that he happened to be there as well.

At times she had wondered whether the universe had been trying to tell her something.

And now here he was again, that familiar gaze was once more giving her that furious schoolgirl blush she'd always hated but could never control. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was thoroughly flustered now--that much she was aware of--and she was praying that it would somehow not show.

But she might as well have tried to keep the earth from spinning.

"Dumbledore hadn't told anyone," he said, breaking her reverie. She wondered how long they had been standing here with each other, in silence. "I suppose he first wanted to make sure my answer would be a yes."

She looked back at him in confusion. "Told anyone... what?"

"I've accepted a position as the new Defense against Dark Arts teacher." He chuckled. "Who would have thought, eh?"

"Harry, that's... that's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"Thank you," he said. "I'm still getting used to the idea a little, but... I think I made the right decision."

"I know you did," she said. "Professor Dumbledore would never have asked you to do it if he didn't believe you could do it."

He smiled, and was that a blush she saw tingeing his cheeks as well?

"And look at you, the new Charms teacher. You should have heard Ron when he told me. I swear I'd never seen him bursting with that much pride."

She laughed. "Yes, he's been quite supportive. The whole family has, really--even Percy, although I think he's still mad at me deep down for getting higher marks than he did on the N.E.W.T.s."

"Aww, I'm sure he's gotten over it."

She threw him an incredulous look.

"You're right," he said, on second thought, "it's Percy."

She couldn't remember ever being this at ease when talking with him. Come to think of it, she probably never had, and, she thought, perhaps that had been part of the problem all along. It felt good to do this, though, to be able to look in his eyes for once, and not feel the need to look away at once. It felt good to just be his friend.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Harry," she said softly, hoping she wasn't treading on unwelcome territory. She saw his shoulders tense underneath his robes. "The Cannons were lucky to have you for as long as they did..."

Pain flashed in his eyes; she caught it before he broke their gaze and looked away, his eyes fixed on something off into the distance.

"I'm sorry... You probably didn't want to talk about it-"

"No, no, it's all right," he said, though she wondered if he did so more for her reassurance than anything else. "I-"

"Ready to go, Gin-"

Both she and Harry turned around at once, startled by the sound of the voice.

"Oh, Colin," she said. "I'm sorry, I was supposed to meet you a few minutes ago, wasn't I?"

"No worries," Colin said, as he smiled and walked in, crossing the room to kiss her, until he saw who it was she had been speaking with. "H-Harry? Is that you?"

Harry looked a little taken aback; he must not have been expecting to see Colin ever again, Ginny thought.

"Colin... Creevey?"

"You remembered!" Colin said, clearly pleased that Harry had not forgotten who he was. He let out a hearty laugh and he took Harry's hand, shaking it vigorously. Harry seemed as if he neither expected, nor appreciated the gesture, but was doing his best to be polite about it.

"Yes, yes, it's me, Colin..." He looked at Ginny. "You didn't tell me Harry Potter was going to be visiting Hogwarts, Ginny! I would have come here straight away!"

She smiled, not really sure what to say. This was bizarre, to say the least, and certainly not the way she had wanted Harry to find out about her and Colin.

Not that it would have matter either way to him.

"I... I didn't know he'd be here," she told him. "I was quite surprised to see him myself..."

"Here for a visit, Harry? You've come at a perfect time, of course... It's Ginny's first year teaching here--isn't it fantastic?"

She caught Harry's quick glance at her and they exchanged smiles. "Yes, it is," he said.

"It's Harry's first year teaching, too, Colin," she told him.

"It is? Harry!! You've come back to teach at your Alma Mater! What a fabulous story... The Daily Prophet is going to love it-"

Harry seemed in dire need of rescuing. Ginny smiled to herself and gently tugged at Colin's arm. "I'm ready," she said. "Would you like to head out now?"

"Oh... yes, of course, of course..." Colin turned back to Harry. "Would you like to join us? Ginny and I were just going to head over to The Three Broomsticks for a quick bite to eat. You're welcome to come along."

"Er... that's very kind of you, Colin, but, uh... I wouldn't want to intrude. You two have fun, though."

He looked at Ginny again, his gaze as intense as ever.

"Thanks," she said. "We'll, uh... we'll see you later, then?"

"You bet."

"Smashing to see you again, Harry," Colin said, breaking the tense silence. "Welcome back!"

He nodded, then smiled at Ginny one more time as Colin led her out the door. She could still feel his eyes on her as she walked out.

"He looked well, didn't he?"

Ginny snapped out of her thoughts. "What?"

Colin paused to sip his butterbeer. "I said he looked well," he said. "I don't know what that Rita Skeeter was playing at--he didn't look suicidal to me at all..."

"Oh, Colin, you didn't actually believe that rubbish, did you?"

He shrugged. "Well... you have to admit, losing one's Quidditch career would seem like the type of thing to send someone over the edge."

"But Harry?" She let out an incredulous laugh. "Come on, you know how Skeeter likes to spin tales out of nowhere. Don't you remember a few years ago, when she said Hermione was Harry's girlfriend?"

"All I remember about that," he said, grinning, "was how steamed your brother was for days after that article came out."

"Well, it did take him a while to figure out what the rest of us could see so plainly," she said.

"Harry Potter coming to teach at Hogwarts..."

He seemed to still be utterly fascinated with the idea, which didn't really surprise Ginny. If there was one person at school who seemed just as in awe of Harry as she was, it was most definitely Colin Creevey.

"Can you imagine," he was saying, "not only can we tell our children and grandchildren that we went to school with the famous Harry Potter, but he could end up teaching them as well!"

She smiled, but said nothing. Talking about Harry, after all this time, seemed so strange to her now, though there was a time when she would have easily thrived in such a conversation.

You're with Colin, now, she told herself. He's the one who loves you... You've moved on...

Still, she there was no use denying it. Seeing Harry again today had affected her in such a way that she never thought possible ever again.

And she couldn't deny that part of her--a piece of her that would probably never die, no matter how much time passed, or how much she changed--still loved him.

And probably always would.

It was ridiculous, of course. She was older now, wiser, or at least she had thought that she was. Hoped, anyway. It had been two years. Two years since she finally came to understand the message that the universe had been trying to give her all along: Harry Potter would never love her.

At least, not the way she had so desperately wanted or needed him to.

The time away from him had been agonizing at first. In the beginning, she would live for those letters from Ron that would occasionally throw in a casual mention of Harry and what he was up to. But deep down she knew that if she was ever to live the life she wanted to, she couldn't keep holding on to a fantasy. She couldn't keep closing the door on everything else while she waited and hoped that things would change. And so eventually, she learned to let go.

She had just never been put to the test until now.

"You're awfully quiet, Ginny," Colin said.

Ginny realized he had been looking at her while she was lost in her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking his hand. He interlaced their fingers. "I reckon I've been more nervous about teaching than I thought I was..."

"You?" he said. "Gin, come on, you're the smartest witch to come out of Hogwarts since Hermione Granger."

She chuckled. "Do me a favor, and don't remind Percy, lest he grow even more bitter."

"You have nothing to be nervous about, I promise. I can't imagine anyone doing as good a job as I know you will. Don't forget, Professor Dumbledore would have never offered you the job if he didn't think you could do it." He must have noticed her smile, because he said, "What?"

"Nothing," she said. "It's just that that's what I was telling Harry earlier."

"See?" he said. "You're one helluva smart witch, as I told you..."

"Thank you, Colin."

"You're welcome..." He smiled, then reached over and kissed her unexpectedly. "I don't know what I did to end up with such an amazing woman," he said, "but I am grateful, let me tell you..."

She blushed, realizing that some of the patrons had been watching them and murmuring amongst themselves about the young, lovely couple in the corner booth.

"I must confess, I did have an ulterior motive in asking you to come here today," he said.

"Oh?"

"Well..." He smiled, and she realized he looked a little nervous about whatever it was he was about to say. "I know this is more than two months away," he said, "but I thought it would be best to ask you early, in case you've already made plans."

"What is it?"

"We've been together for over a year now," he said, "and... I was thinking... I was thinking it was time I brought you home to meet my parents. I'd love for you to come home with me for the Christmas holidays..."

Ginny didn't quite know what to say. She had known for some time now that she and Colin were getting serious; in the last few months, in fact, he hadn't even shied away from talking about marriage. Still, she had not been expecting this.

"Oh, Colin... I don't know that I can..."

His face fell.

"It's just that this Christmas is the first Christmas in years that the entire family will be together," she explained. "Even Bill and his wife, and Charlie and his new wife are coming. Bill's bringing his daughter. The first grandchild, you know... It's really important that I be there..."

He tried to smile, but Ginny could tell he was hurt. She wished she didn't have to be the one to hurt him.

"You could come, if you wanted," she said, hoping the gesture would at least be appreciated. "You could bring Dennis, and your parents... Mum and Dad would love to meet you and your family, I'm sure, and if they can stand spending Christmas with a houseful of wizards, we'd love to have you..."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yes, really. Will you come then?"

"Of course... You know I'd do anything for you, Gin..." He kissed her again, then pulled away. "I'm really sorry, I need to be getting back to the paper--the editor'll have my hide if I don't develop those pictures in time for the evening edition..."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow."

They got up and walked to the door, and as he readied to disapparate, he said, "Say hi to Harry again for me, will you? Bloody wonderful he's back!"

She watched him vanish, and it was only then that she realized how heavy her heart was at that moment.