{one-shot}
Ginny Weasley sat in Number 12 Grimmauld Place pretending to read a magazine - anxiously flipping through the pages without bothering to glance at the words. Her foot shook vigorously against the plush, green lounger residing in the kitchen, while her boyfriend, Harry Potter, rummaged through cabinets, throwing seemingly random objects into a large duffle bag. Ever since breakfast, after receiving an owl from newly appointed Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt notifying the pair that the Auror's Department had located two rogue Death Eaters and were finally allowing their youngest member to accompany them, Harry had been racing around the house for the better part of an hour preparing for the trip. While he had successfully completed his fair share of missions already - tracking down several, run-away Death Eater over the course of a year - this time would be different. Normally these investigations ended with Harry home by dinner coupled with the frustratingly vauge message: More field experience was required before traveling on week-long missions. After an excruciatingly long twelve months full of practicing in the field all day and training alone all night, not to mention the previous year spent tracking down and destroying the darkest wizard of all time, Harry's moment finally arrived.
Ginny sighed, tossing her unread magazine on the kitchen table. She knew this day would inevitably arrive but optimistically clung to the hope she had another year filled with uneventful skirmishes, tremendous amounts of desk work, and the knowledge that Harry remained saftley out of harms way. Almost every week the Daily Prophet broadcasted "Missing Auror" reports describing the various highly trained, professional Auror's disappearing after receiving tips to run-away Death Eaters whereabouts. Unfortunately no wizard could figure out a system to scan the incoming tips, which usually meant sending Aurors straight into a trap. And if that wasn't enough to make Ginny want to grab hold of Harry and never let him leave the house, the fact that, as the youngest, he would most likely be used as bait definitely was. Her tense posture finally caught Harry's attention.
"You're going to burn a hole in the table if you keep staring at it so intensley," Harry joked lightheartedly, looking up from the cabinet he was currently digging through. "You put your mother's glare to shame, Gin."
Forcing a wide smile, Ginny resorted, "You would know that better than anyone."
Harry set down the muggle flashlight he'd found in the kitchen. Ginny was the best liar Harry had ever met, getting away with a variety of things from arriving home late after the two of them had been messing around during a date to who ate the last freshly baked scone. But he had always been able to see right through it - just like tonight.
Harry paused his rummaging to study his girlfriend. She was pointedly avoiding his attempt to make eye contact - a perplexing, un-Ginny like action. She usual made an effort to look people straight in the eye ("It shows them I'm not afraid"). Her fingers were tapping against her leg in an annoyingly familiar pattern. The only time she Ginny every did that was when something was seriously bugging her.
"Hey," Harry started, trying to grab her attention. "Hey, what's up?"
Still refusing to look up, Ginny picked at a piece of snagged fabric from her worn jumper. After the war, the Weasley clan received a generous amount of money to their Gringotts account, something none of them were accustomed to. They still had a hard time letting old habits die, like Molly knitting most of their winter clothes or keeping a stash of extra sickles in the cabinet by Arthur's muggle oven. Some things just never changed. Ginny still had a difficult time letting Harry pay for her things, usually putting up a fight every time they had a meal while he insisted that "boyfriends are suppose to pick up the tab." She just refused to accept that.
"Ginny?" Harry's questioning tone pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"What's bothering you?" He asked softly, kneeling down by my side.
Harry gripped her chin gently, forcing her to look him in the eyes. As Ginny stared back she couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again. Gone where the days of her mooning over famous Harry Potter's every word, gone was the inability to speak when he would walk into a room, and gone was the blush that would always paint her face when he acknowledged her presence. Ginny had come to know the real Harry Potter: a stubborn, loyal, selfless boy who wanted nothing to do with the spot light. Contrary to what everyone thought, Harry was just like any other teenage wizard - a kid who just wanted to be with his friends and play quidditch. But he didn't have that luxury because, no matter how much he wished it, he wasn't a normal boy. He was a powerful leader who inspired many to become better wizards, which unfortunately for Ginny, involved Harry entering into the Auror field immediately following the end of the war. Just when she thought he was done putting himself in harms way, he up and joins the most dangerous profession in the wizarding world. If only he'd accepted Puddlemere United offer as seeker on their international team, Ginny wouldn't be sitting here miserably thinking of all possible outcomes of Harry's first mission.
"Ginny, talk to me," Harry whispered, pushing a lock of flaming hair behind Ginny's freckled ear.
"I don't know what to say," she answered honestly. When she tries to break eye contract, Harry grips her chin tighter, making her face him.
He sighed. "This is about the assignment, isn't it?" Her lack of response was obviously enough for Harry. "It's going to be ok, Gin. I'm not actually doing anything. This is more for education purposes; I'll be on the sidelines the whole time."
"Then how is it every time something goes wrong you're in the middle of it?" Ginny's voice cracked, completely unsure of herself. This feeling of helplessness, while not foreign, was leaving a lump in the pit of her stomach.
Harry knew she had a point. Somehow anytime there was an issue, no matter how involved Harry might be, he ended up smack dab in the line of fire. He was notorious for having extremely bad luck, especially when it came to his personal safety. It wasn't completely irrational for Ginny to be worried for his life, after everything he'd been though Harry didn't blame her for being skeptical about his "minimum involvement", but this was something he needed to do. Harry had to prove to the wizarding world he was more than just a one hit wonder (although defeating Voldemorte was more than a little impressive). He wanted people to see him as something other than the Chosen One. It may not seem necessary but he needed to show everyone who he really was.
Ginny met Harry's gaze once again, surprised to see the understanding in his electric eyes. They were always good at talking things out but this was different. Ginny would only start arguments she knew she could win, and she would lose this big time. She had learned to keep her mouth shut in situations like these; Harry was so excited. She couldn't stand being the reason of his disappointment, but she couldn't keep up charade; Harry knew her too well to hide anything from him for long.
Harry ruffled up his hair. "I won't go if you really feel this strongly against it."
"I wouldn't ask you to do that," she said, shaking her head. "You've been waiting for this for far too long, Harry. You love your job too much to pass this up."
"I love you more than any job, Ginny." It was hard for him to see her this vulnerable. Ginny's normally bad-ass facade was beginning to crumble, leaving behind a eighteen year old girl who was scared to let her boyfriend go again. They haven't been separated for more than two days since the end of the war, not that anyone could blame them. After a entire year of being apart, they needed each other to survive the scarring aftermath.
"And I love you more than any stupid fear," Ginny replied, eye blazing with passion. Harry would never get over how beautiful she looked when she had something important to say. "I won't be the reason you give up on your dreams. I just need to have some indication you won't jump into the middle of a fight. Oh, don't give me that look, Harry. You know your hero complex is about the size of a Hippogriff."
Harry scoffed playfully. "I'll have you know all the girls love a big, strong, damsel in distress saving hero."
"Then why did you choose the one girl who doesn't?" Ginny laughed, running her fingers through his unruly hair.
"Because that's the girl who caught my attention."
Harry's attention dropped to her lips while his hand came around the back of her neck, drawing her into his chest. They're kissing each other breathless. Harry will never overcome the thrill of kissing Ginny. A small groan slips through his teeth as her hand comes up to fist his shirt, deepening the kiss. If anyone asked them who was the more dominate one in the relationship Ginny took the cake. Although not a surprise to anyone close to then, seeing as she initiated their first kiss, the public couldn't help but paint her a sweet, innocent Weasley, who was just lucky enough to be noticed by the a Chosen One. Harry would furiously rant about newspaper articles, mainly Rita Skeeter's, casting Ginny in a negative light, calling her a whore or a witch who is just using Harry for his fame. Harry tightened his grip on Ginny's waist. The kiss was gentle and possessive , like a first and last kiss rolled into one.
Ginny pulled back first, resting their foreheads against each other. "Just come back home, alright."
"I will always come home to you."
