"Hey, Ginny, good morning." Harry looked at Ginny, who had suddenly stepped out and blocked his and Ron's path. For some reason, his heart skipped a beat, and he greeted her with a faint blush on his face.
"Good morning, Harry." Ginny didn't smile at Harry as she usually did; instead, she nodded quite seriously.
"Ginny, what are you doing? Harry and I need to go back to the Dormitory."
Ron looked at his sister blocking him and Harry, asking with quite a bit of confusion.
"I have something to discuss with Harry, Ron. You go back to the Dormitory first; Harry will come back in a bit."
Ginny said it directly without any attempt to hide it. Upon hearing this, Harry's face instantly turned redder, while Ron, as if he had thought of something, showed some reluctance toward his sister's request for him to leave first.
"Why?" Ron looked at Ginny resistantly. "Will my being here interfere with your talk? What are you going to say? Ginny, you..."
"Oh, alright, Ron, my dear brother, please just leave for a moment. I won't eat Harry, and Harry won't eat me. We are your sister and your best friend, respectively. Can't you even trust us?"
"It's not the same!" Ron pursed his lips in protest. "I—of course I trust you, but if you're trying to... Merlin, Ginny, you're still young."
Ginny gave Ron a daunting glare that reminded Harry of Mrs. Weasley, successfully shutting Ron's mouth.
"Ron," Ginny forced her voice to soften, coaxing her youngest brother like a child, "please go back to the Dormitory first, okay?"
Facing his sister's softened voice and wheedling request, Ron felt he couldn't hold out any longer.
"Well, fine." Giving Harry a warning glare, Ron turned and walked toward the boys' Dormitory.
Harry immediately decided to ignore Ron's "warning." What did Ron just do? He had no idea.
After Ron left, Ginny turned to look at Harry. The little girl who used to be too shy to speak when she saw him now stood before him with great presence. Times had changed; now it was Harry whose face was flushed and heart was pounding.
Stepping slowly toward Harry, Ginny had never forgotten what Amanda and Hermione had told her over the years.
"Harry likes pretty girls, and you are certainly pretty enough, Ginny," Hermione had once told her. "But Harry definitely won't just want a little sister who looks up to him and admires him. He will surely like a confident companion who can walk forward with him and stand by his side."
At that time, Amanda, who hadn't fully recovered yet, also spoke to Ginny about this from the perspective of personality analysis after finishing a book.
"Although it's not good for students to do things outside of their studies, based on Harry's personality analysis, he appreciates girls who are pretty, generous, and confident in expressing themselves. Mapping these traits onto you, Ginny, we can conclude that you need to strengthen your self-confidence. Harry's traits are excellent—he is kind and brave—but yours are not inferior in the slightest. If you want him to appreciate you, then you and he should be equals, not in a one-sided relationship of admiration."
Amanda analyzed emotional issues from a rational perspective, leaving the young Ginny stunned.
After that, she indeed did as Amanda and Hermione suggested, focusing more on herself and cultivating her abilities and confidence.
Gradually, although her love for Harry hadn't diminished in the slightest, she no longer blushed when she saw him, and her own strength and charm became increasingly unstoppable.
From head to toe, inside and out, she radiated a sunny and confident aura. Her red hair was just like her; over the years, Ginny had completely unleashed herself, becoming a confident and generous beauty.
To make others love you, you must first love yourself. Love yourself before loving others. Love is a deep gaze from equal heights, not a look of admiration from the middle of a mountain while he stands at the peak.
Just as Amanda and Hermione had said, Harry himself could feel it: he simply couldn't resist the pretty, confident, and cheerful Ginny before him.
She was no longer the shy little sister who would blush at the sight of him; she had grown up.
"You know what I want to say, don't you, Harry?" Ginny took a step forward, standing less than a meter away from him.
"I, I..." Harry opened his mouth, wanting to say he knew, but he didn't know if he should.
Merlin, he still had to deal with Voldemort later. He had to let Voldemort cast Avada Kedavra on him once. He was prepared to die, but what about Ginny?
If he really answered like that and naturally became lovers with Ginny, they would undoubtedly be happy and in love at this moment.
But what if he never opened his eyes again after that Killing Curse? Wouldn't Ginny have to endure immense pain?
Rather than letting her suffer such pain, it would be better not to let this happen now.
Harry lowered his eyes and kept thinking, but Ginny clearly didn't want to give him the chance to just think without speaking.
"Harry!" Ginny shouted, slightly raising her voice as she reached out to grab Harry's shoulders.
The "awakened" Harry looked up at Ginny. Seeing this, the other Little Lions of Gryffindor didn't jeer; instead, they silently stood up and cautiously went upstairs to their dormitories, secretly pressing their ears against the doors to listen to the commotion outside.
Eavesdropping was fine, but interrupting a confession... well, even the mischievous Little Lions knew that was something they absolutely must not do.
"Please don't think so much. Answer me. Do you know what I want to say to you? Do you?"
Ginny gripped Harry's shoulders so tightly that he felt they must be bruised.
"I know, Ginny." Harry replied, then froze. Why was his voice so raspy? What was going on?
But no matter what was wrong with his voice, he had to say what needed to be said.
"But listen to me first." Harry took a deep breath and lowered his voice, telling Ginny about the soul fragment of Voldemort in his forehead and Professor Sprout's prophecy.
"So Ginny, I am also one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. As long as this soul fragment in my forehead exists, Voldemort will not die."
Harry pointed to his forehead with a look of determination. "So I must let him personally cast the Avada Kedavra curse on me. Amanda and Headmaster Dumbledore both said that this way, I have a hope of surviving."
"But that's only a hope. I might very well die. And there's the prophecy from Professor Trelawney I just mentioned: neither can live while the other survives; one must eventually die at the hand of the other."
"I can't ensure that I'll be the one who survives. I can only ensure that this Horcrux of mine is destroyed," Harry continued to point at himself, "making Voldemort a complete mortal, and then letting him die forever."
"I'm not afraid of death. If I can die to eliminate Voldemort, it will be a worthy death."
Harry stared fixedly at Ginny's beautiful face, but the next second he forced himself to close his eyes and look away.
Looking toward the fireplace in another direction, Harry whispered, "But that means I can't respond to your feelings, Ginny. It wouldn't be fair to you."
"Unfair?" Ginny laughed, reaching out to forcibly turn Harry's head back. Her red hair bristled slightly as she looked at Harry like a majestic lioness.
"Do you know what's truly unfair, Harry? It's you thinking you might die, so you won't let me love you."
"It's you thinking you might die, so you don't dare respond to my love with your true feelings. I am not a fragile vine that needs your protection."
As Ginny spoke, she swept her hand, and a nearby chair instantly turned into powder. Harry's eyes widened at the sight. Did so many people know wandless magic now?
It was one thing for Amanda and Hermione to know it, but why did Ginny know it too?
"I don't need anyone's protection." Ginny held her head high; this flamboyance and confidence were her true self now. "I can protect myself just fine."
"And you underestimate me too much, Harry. If you really die fighting Voldemort, do you think I'll cry uncontrollably or seek death myself?"
"I won't." Ginny narrowed her eyes, withdrew her hand, and pulled her wand from her wizard robe pocket. "I will be like my partner and find Voldemort, making him pay for what he's done."
"Even if I can't kill Voldemort, I'll take down a few more Death Eaters because that's what I want to do. I am a warrior just like you, not a fragile little girl who needs to be protected behind your back."
"So now, Harry." Ginny took another step, getting completely close to Harry. Harry even felt like the tip of Ginny's nose was about to touch his.
"Tell me. I like you; do you like me?" Ginny raised her wand, the tip resting playfully on Harry's chin.
Swallowing silently, Harry looked at Ginny, his heart beating even faster.
Since when did Ginny become so formidable? Her presence was so powerful.
"I—I like you too, of course. But Ginny, I still want to say..."
"No 'buts.' Just the first part of the sentence is enough." Ginny interrupted Harry directly, then stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around Harry's neck, and kissed him, blocking the rest of his words in his mouth.
In the following fifteen minutes, whenever they pulled apart and Harry tried to finish what he hadn't said, Ginny would use her actions to shut him up.
Merlin knew why Ginny was so strong; Harry couldn't even struggle. Of course, this was also because he didn't want to actually hurt Ginny with his struggling.
After being silenced and released for the umpteenth time, Harry's breathing was ragged, and his face was flushed as he gasped for air. By Merlin's ventilator! He didn't know how to breathe while kissing at all.
In contrast, Ginny was in much better shape. She raised an eyebrow at Harry. "I don't think you have any more problems now, do you, Harry?"
Harry rubbed his chest and looked at Ginny, who was so close, for a few seconds. "I don't want you to regret today's choice, Ginny."
"I won't regret it." Ginny shrugged and raised her hand to gently caress Harry's cheek. "Liking someone is liking someone. What's there to regret? I believe you can survive. I believe in Amanda and Headmaster Dumbledore. You will definitely survive."
"I hope so," Harry said raspily.
Ginny and Harry made their relationship official. Amanda and Hermione expressed their blessings and lack of surprise, but the one who found it hardest to accept was, of course, Ron.
"Merlin's fattest plus-size underpants!" He couldn't help but keep talking about it while helping Amanda and Hermione organize Ministry of Magic documents in the Library. "Harry is actually with Ginny! They're even on a date right now! That's my sister, and Harry is my best mate."
"Ron, you've said that many times already," Hermione sighed helplessly, reaching out to rescue a Ministry of Magic document that had become wrinkled after "suffering" in Ron's hands for a long time. "Think about it carefully."
As Hermione spoke, she put the document where it belonged. "You and Harry have basically grown up together. You know his character. Isn't Ginny choosing him as a lover more reassuring than her choosing someone else?"
"Think again. Don't you know what kind of person Harry is? Would he ever treat Ginny badly?"
Handing the documents that needed Hermione's attention to her, Amanda looked at Ron and said:
"Given Harry's exquisite culinary skills, proficiency in housework, and a personality that accommodates others well and is quite considerate; and Ginny's personality isn't the type to just let a partner give without doing anything herself. Based on this analysis, it can be concluded that Ginny being with him means they can take care of and support each other in all aspects, both inside and outside the home, and she won't be mistreated by Harry."
"And although Harry might not yet be very sensitive to girls' subtle thoughts, statistically speaking, there's over a ninety percent chance he will rapidly master this skill within a year. Therefore, I believe that Ginny being with Harry will provide her with excellent care and satisfaction on both a lifestyle and spiritual level. Of course, this is mutual; Ginny will certainly provide Harry with corresponding care and satisfaction as well."
"Oh... of course I know Harry is a good person, someone worthy of Ginny's affection, and I know my sister is great too."
Ron's intensity suddenly softened. "I just—I just need a moment to process it."
"You know, your best mate and your sister becoming a couple and all that." He shrugged and picked up the documents to organize them.
"You'll get used to it," Hermione said without looking up as she took the documents from Amanda.
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