Chapter Ten - Ginny Learns What Happened/Harry Proposes

It was two hours later that Ginny finally, fully awakened, her brother, friend and main squeeze still sitting a vigil with her. She smiled at them all upon realizing they were still there, happy and grateful for their devotion to her. "Welcome back, luv. How do you feel?" Harry smiled at her, squeezing her hand before raising it to his lips for a brief kiss.

"Still tired, but calmer than I was. I seem to have had a nightmare."

"You did...and we know why. It's your subconscious memories of your ordeal that have manifested themselves and we have avoided dealing with up to this point. However, it is necessary that we do so now so that you'll be able to achieve closure and put the incident behind you. You remember that I promised to tell you at the proper time?"

She nodded.

"Well, I think that time has come. But before we start, I must urge you to do your best to keep in mind that we did it because we love you, in order to keep you from dwelling on what had happened to you, not trying to keep anything from you. Just the same, I feel it best that the ones closest to you, the ones who rescued you, should be the ones to tell you. I have also been the one to cover your medical bills, so please don't tell your mum or dad about that because they'd feel obligated to repay me, and I don't want repayment. I just want you to get well, both physically and emotionally. That's what matters most to me."

For a long moment Ginny was silent, just allowing Harry and Hermione to hold her hands, then said, "All right, I'm waiting to hear the details."

"Well ... here goes." Harry and his friends exchanged glances in order to ensure that they would each have the other's support when they needed it. "Do you remember June 18th, the day we had Quidditch practice, the last one of the year before summer break?"

"Yes. I remember heading there ... then nothing before waking up in St. Mungo's with the three of you sitting with me."

"It's now July 24th. But to get back to the subject, Neville saw who had kidnapped you. He said your ... abductors Apparated in, waited for you to show up, then knocked you out with a nonverbal spell, tied you up and Disapparated out. Ordinarily, that would be impossible, as you know, but the inability had been lifted temporarily so that those who recently turned seventeen could practice Apparition."

"Okay, I understand that much. Where was I taken?"

"Malfoy Manor," Harry made himself say.

Ginny went white. "You mean ..."

"Yes. Draco kidnapped you. But he wasn't alone."

"Who was with him?"

"It turns out that he had checked into my ... background and discovered where my relatives lived, learning of their animosity against me and going there with the intention of meeting them with the hope of ... inducing them to join forces with him against me."

"Did ... he succeed?"

"To a degree. He ... met my cousin Dudley. I once told you about him."

"That porky, obnoxious git?" she questioned with a mixture of hatred and contempt. "He was Draco's accomplice?"

"I'm afraid so. And they didn't just kidnap you. They ..." Harry's voice trailed off, and he found he needed Hermione's touch and encouraging smile in order to have the strength to continue. " ... raped you." Harry bowed his head, both in pain and unwillingness to meet Ginny's eyes.

"Dear gods. No wonder I was so sore. But if they were the ones who did it, why was I made to think that it was ... you who had done it?"

"They were trying to use you against me ... trying to implicate me in your assault. They also used a love potion, so you would be less likely to fight them. I think they figured it would be easier to take you if you thought it was ... me doing it. But fortunately it didn't take. If it had, we would not be together now."

"Have you any idea why they did it, other than getting revenge on you?"

"I can only surmise that Draco told Dudley about you ... and our involvement. He is having his own bouts with hormones, so he decided to use you to satisfy himself, just as Draco did. I think he wanted a chance to use someone I ... loved, if only to have something to ... throw in my face." Again, Harry needed help in order to be able to continue. This time it was Ron who helped him, with both a reassuring smile and squeeze of the shoulder.

"I didn't realise you had been abducted until Neville ran onto the pitch and told me about half an hour after the fact. Once I knew, however, I took off after you."

"You ... weren't playing?"

"No. I saw no sense in trying if I was worrying about you. I put someone else in my place."

"I can imagine what happened when you finally confronted Draco."

"I had expected him to brag about it, even seem pleased with himself ... which he did. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was when he brought you back out and handed you to me after he and Dudley had ... used you. He hadn't bothered to dress you, simply wrapped you in a blanket."

Ginny knew how hard that must have hit Harry – and in the most vulnerable spot he had ... his heart. "I'm ... so sorry, luv. I can imagine how that must have hurt."

"It's not your fault, Gin. I fully expected him to pull something like that. I ... just wish that Ron and Hermione hadn't had to see it too. They had arrived shortly after I did." Harry kept his head bowed, still unable to meet his beloved's eyes. "We then took you to St. Mungo's and made sure you were looked after. You know the rest."

That was when she looked at her brother and his own main squeeze, who did their best to smile reassuringly at her, making a mental note to find out what she could from them at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile, she had to do all she could to make Harry feel better. Telling her the things he had could not have been easy for him, to put it mildly, considering how he felt about her ... not to mention the perpetrators of the crime against her.

He finally managed to lift his eyes, still apprehensive about what he would see in hers. To his happiness and relief, he saw only love and compassion there, not to mention her holding out her arms to him. "Thank you, Gin ... thank you for not hating me for being unable to prevent your assault. And for not being able to tell you about it until now."

He rested his head on her shoulder, and she stroked his hair as he held her tightly; she even felt his body shaking with soft sobs of anguish and self-hatred.

"Hate you? I have nothing to hate you for. It is Draco and your lowlife cousin who deserve my hate. Just the thought of their ... laying hands upon me, much less anything else, is nauseating."

"Which makes it ... all the more a miracle that you would ever allow me to touch you again," he all but mumbled into her shoulder.

"Why shouldn't I? Who has ... more right? Besides, it was the perfect way to obliterate the bad memories and ... replace them with happy ones." That was all she could say without delving into private matters in front of Ron and Hermione, having promised Harry to keep such things just between the two of them.

It was then that Ginny locked gazes with her brother and his girlfriend, which was their cue to leave. In order to be able to settle matters between them regarding what had happened to her and how it had affected them both once and for all, they needed to be alone. They gave her reassuring smiles and left. Once the door had closed behind them, Harry lifted his head and gazed deeply into her eyes with a mixture of love and gratitude. She smiled sympathetically upon seeing that his eyes were wet.

She gently removed his glasses and brushed his tears away after he reluctantly released her. "Don't cry, my love. None of this was your fault."

"It wasn't yours, either," he reminded her. "Just the same, I was ... so sure they'd destroy everything we had, and that I'd ... lose you forever. That is something I could never forgive them for, not for as long as I live."

"Well, that didn't happen, luckily for you. Besides, you should know that you're not going to get rid of me that easily." He again went into her arms, tears again filling his eyes, but this time they were tears of happiness and relief.

"I ... never want to be rid of you. Not for as long as I live."

"Glad to hear it. Now let's kiss and make up and move on." Harry lifted his head, met her eyes and gladly complied with her request. The kiss was long and sweet, and they separated only reluctantly.

"One last thing." His tone made her ears perk up, knowing whatever he intended to say was very important. "I ... have taken steps to make sure that Draco and my cousin will be punished for what they've done to you. Just the same, I was told that conviction is more likely if the victim is willing to testify against her attackers. Do you think you could do that if called upon to do so?"

"If you are there with me," she assured him.

"I'll be there, I assure you, if only to see that Draco and Dudley get what they deserve. And guess what I found out about Dudley from the authorities in my ... former neighbourhood?"

"What did you find out?"

"That your attack was only the latest in a string of attacks over the last year. The authorities even obtained a search warrant and went through his room. They found several pairs of torn knickers and a ... large box of condoms. It would seem that my dear cousin is embarking on a career as a serial rapist."

"I can imagine how your ... aunt and uncle reacted to this."

"Oh, I'm sure they think I'm behind it...and this time they're right. I'm ... also sure that they're still trying to deny everything, probably accusing the authorities, if not me, of planting evidence or something. I assure you, though, it was there to begin with. Neither of us had anything to do with it."

"I'm sure you didn't," Ginny assured him with a smile, raising his hand to her cheek and holding it there, then kissing it as their eyes met and locked. "And no matter what happens during the trial, I want you to know that nothing anyone says or does, then or ever, will stop me from loving you, Harry."

"Just as nothing will ever stop me from loving you, Gin. Nothing but ... perhaps ... death. Maybe not even then, if I can think of a way around it."

"It's kind of hard to 'get around' death, Harry," Ginny reminded him.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," he insisted. "And I have the will, so there must be a way. After all, I'm a wizard."

"Not even a wizard can cheat death, luv ... but in the meantime, let's put it out of our minds. We still have far too much living to do before that point is reached. And I found something for your birthday that I can guarantee you're going to love." She put a finger on his lips to stop him from speaking further. "Don't ask. I can't tell you. It would spoil the surprise."

He smiled and kissed her finger. "I wasn't going to ask that."

"No? Then what were you going to ask?"

"After all this ... rape trial business is over with, would you do me the honour of consenting to be my wife? That way I would have something to throw in Draco and Dudley's faces."

"Harry, are you proposing to me? We're still pretty young, you know...and besides, we're still in school."

"I'm in my final year, and you only have one year to go after that. Besides, I wasn't expecting it right away. As soon as you graduate will be fine."

"We're going to continue the status quo until then, I assume."

"You assume correctly. Just one last question ..."

"Yes?"

"May I give you a promise ring, to remind you of our promise to each other to marry at the proper time? Just I intend to give you an ... engagement ring as a graduation present. We can discuss the particulars after our official engagement."

"I would be honoured," she smiled. "When can we do it?"

"As soon as you feel up to it," he promised. "Maybe sometime in the next few days. But we won't tell anyone until say, next week ... maybe at some point during my birthday party."

"That would be a perfect time. Until then, it'll be our secret." After their kiss to seal the promise of a future marriage, Ginny was unable to help trying her potential new name on for size. Ginny Potter. I like the sound of that! Or maybe even Ginevra Weasley-Potter ...

Harry's sharp eyes couldn't help but notice the enigmatic smile on her face. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just trying the name on for size. Haven't decided yet just how I want to be addressed when the time comes, though."

"Plenty of time for that," he pointed out. "Between now and your graduation, I'm sure you'll figure something."

"If I don't, I'm sure you'll be willing to help me. Which reminds me ... what time is it?"

"About midnight, I think. Why?"

"Don't you think you should go to your room and get some sleep?"

"I don't sleep well without you any more," he confessed.

"You aren't still having bad dreams, are you? I mean, not since you vanquished Voldemort and the Death Eaters."

"Not those kind of bad dreams, thank Merlin. Other kinds, though."

"Such as?"

"The kind that ... involve your leaving me."

"Never happen," she assured him.

"Just the same, I'd need you with me to reassure me of that," he pointed out. "And with you here, in this room, separated from me ..." His voice trailed off.

"You basically live here as it is, luv. Tell you what ... how about we alternate nights in each other's rooms?"

"It's fine with me, but how do we explain it to your folks, not to mention your brothers?"

"Once we're an official couple again, they shouldn't be able to say anything one way or the other," she assured him.

"Not that that will necessarily stop them," he countered. "So I can stay here with you tonight, then you're with me in my room tomorrow and so on?" Her smile was her answer, which prompted him to stand up and quickly undress, then join her in bed. At this point, however, all either of them wanted to do was sleep ... but rest assured, that would soon change!