After All, Harry

with horrible gesture

Ginny was silent the whole way home, as she'd decided to take a car on the way there. She thought maybe that it would help her calm down and think more rationally—help her actually be civil and reasonable when she saw them. Not once did she look his way—she sort of felt embarrassed of how she acted towards Cho and Dudley, and she didn't want to see the look on Harrys face in case he was angry or confused. She didn't have the guts to talk at that moment.

Harry felt awkward for once, and opened his mouth several times to speak, but thought better of it and just stared straight ahead on the road as he drove. It was driving him mad, usually Ginny talked a lot, and she was good at making conversation and Harry just liked listening to her speak and the sound of her voice. Now, she was silent and brooding, and Harry too did not have the guts to talk.

Once they got home, though, he couldn't take it anymore, and he slammed the door to the Burrow, trying to get her attention. Ginny jumped, looking back at Harry confusedly. She put the keys to the car down and faced him. She didn't look happy. Harry's stomach twisted. What did he do?

Thankfully, no one was home.

"Can we talk?" He asked, looking for her eyes, trying to read her expressions. Ginny looked up and met his gaze, and she bit her lip.

"About?" She didn't know how their dynamic changed so much over the course of a few weeks, and it was just because of her jealousy. But she even talked about it with Hermione...and she agreed Harry was acting sort of suspicious. When had she stopped trusting him in that way? And why did she let it get this far?

He was coming home late almost every day, he barely talked anymore because the wedding, Ministry meetings and uni assignments—and sometimes when he did come home, he smelled like alcohol! And he'd be late to picking her up, or late to lunch and the excuse was always something to do with Cho! Was she being unreasonable?

But Harry told her he loved her everyday... and he still made her breakfast and he still hugged her good morning and goodnight. He still came home sometimes with a small bracelet he thought she'd like and he still was Harry. Had he just been busy lately and she failed to notice?

"Are you angry with me?" He asked, stepping closer to her, and Ginny didn't look him in the eyes, crossing her arms. Am I angry with him? What does he think?

"No, I'm not mad." Ginny lied, biting her lip. She didn't want to seem like the crazy jealous girlfriend that didn't let Harry have girl friends, and she wasn't! She was never controlling, but this one time was just setting her over the edge, like little bits and pieces of jealousy and annoyance were just building up over past weeks. Seeing Harry and Cho hugging and drinking together just seemed to push her over the edge. She didn't really notice Dudley sitting a few feet away.

"Are you lying to me?" Harry continued, trying to get her to meet his eyes. She avoided them, not knowing how she'd react if she did. She stepped back, leaning against the counter. She didn't speak for a moment, trying to figure out what she really wanted to say. Harry's skin started to prickle with nerves.

"Are you?" She asked, her voice slightly shaky. Harry stopped in his tracks, slightly confused. He wasn't following, but Ginny was clearly serious about something.

"What?" He laughed nervously, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't think she was this angry, and now he sort of realized that whatever was going on ran deep.

"I'm serious." Ginny frowned, and Harry stepped closer to her once again, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"I know you're serious, but I don't know what you're talking about." Harry rose an eyebrow, trying to meet her eyes once again, "Why don't you just tell me what's bothering you?"