Hand in hand, the two lovers walked down the beach of California, where they were on vacation. They both held their shoes in their free hands. Ginny loved to feel the sand through her toes and the sudden feeling of love when the rushed over her feet. Her red hair was loose and her curls flew in the breeze. Her summer dress rippled with it, as well. The sun was setting beyond the horizon, casting a lovely glow over the vacant beach.
He stopped. So did she. He crossed in front of her and took her flip-flops from her hand and threw them aside with his. He took her other hand in his and leaned in to kiss her. She kissed him happily before he pulled away, a mysterious smile on his face.
“Why did we stop?” she asked.
“Erm…I wanted to ask you something, Gin,” he replied. He let go of her hand and stuck it in the pocket of his tailed suit jacket. He fiddled with something inside while kissing her once more. She looked at him, a bit confused, trying to figure out what it was he wanted to ask her. He bit his lip like he did when he was nervous but the smile was still visible. Her breath caught in her throat when he dropped to one knee, still holding her one hand softly. Out of his pocket came a small, velvet maroon box.
“Ginny,” he began passionately. “You know how much I love you and I know that I will always love you, forever. And, I would love nothing more than being your husband. Ginny…” Ginny had her hand clasped over her open mouth as he opened the small box and took out the ring. “Will you marry me?” he asked. A tear strolled down her cheek as she tried to catch her breath so she could talk. She knelt down to be level with him and kissed him.
“Yes, Derek, I will marry you!” she beamed. He threw his arms around her before he slid the diamond engagement ring onto her finger.
They kissed for a long time before he picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the hotel. “Honey, you’re supposed to carry me over the threshold after the wedding,” Ginny told him. He set her down and they walked the rest of the way up to their tenth floor suite.
Ginny woke the next morning enveloped in her fiancé’s arms. He was already awake and had been for nearly an hour, just watching her. They kissed before decided to rise and eat breakfast before going into the city to do some shopping. They were on the coast of Oregon, in New Port. The town was small but definitely had costal charm.
They were loaded with bags when they began to walk back to the garage where their rental car was parked. Ginny was laughing at something Derek had said. His pearly white teeth were showing as he smiled at her.
Derek had attended Durmstang as a young wizard. He was rather tall and was a Beater in Quidditch for the Danish Dragons, Denmark’s team. He had blonde, curly hair and hazel eyes. Always tan, girls chased after him. He and Ginny had been dating for three years now, and never once had either of them even considered breaking up.
“Ginny? Ginny Weasley?” called a man, obviously British. Ginny looked in his direction and squinted to see him with the sun in her eyes. Her jaw dropped when she saw the messy black hair, circle glasses and lightning shaped scar. She dropped her bags and ran to him. She jumped in his arms nearly screaming with joy. Little did either of them know Derek was glaring jealously behind them.
“Harry!” Ginny shouted. They embraced for a short moment before he let her go. They looked at each other. “Oh my God! I can’t believe this! I mean, I obviously knew that you were here but I can’t believe we’re meeting like this!” she exclaimed.
“I know! Ron told me you were ‘going to America’ but he never said anything about you coming here!”
“Oh, we didn’t tell any of them exactly where we were going. We didn’t owls flying into the hotel all hours of the day and night demanding pictures and descriptions and souvenirs,” she joked.
“Oh, right. Ron did say you were coming with someone but I don’t recall who,” Harry replied. He did remember whom Ron said was coming, he just didn’t want to believe it.
“Oh,” Ginny grabbed his wrist and took him over to Derek, who had regained a phony smile. “Harry, this is Derek, my fiancé. And Derek, this is Harry. He, Ron, Hermione and I were all great friends at Hogwarts but he moved here…four years ago to work for the Ministry.” The two men shook hands, not liking each other already. They said their ‘nice to meet you’s quickly.
“Erm…Harry, we really should be going but here,” she dug in her purse for a piece of parchment and a quill. “Is our phote number or whatever you call it at the hotel. Please call us because we have to have dinner or something before we leave.” She handed him the paper as he jotted his down on another slip of parchment. They hugged one last time before heading their separate ways.
“Who was that?” Derek asked a little rudely.
“I told you, it’s Harry Potter. He was one of my best friends at Hogwarts. He moved out here around four years ago as an ambassador. We’ve sent a few letters back and forth but not many. He and Ron are the ones who really keep in touch,” she explained. He still wasn’t thrilled with this Harry Potter bloke but didn’t say another word.
The phone call came two days later. Though Ginny could never remember what the ‘phone’ was called, she remembered how to use one. She answered it to hear a familiar voice, one of a certain Harry Potter. After ten minutes of talking, they agreed to meet at a restaurant in an hour. Ginny started to get ready as Derek flipped on the TV. When she came out forty-five minutes later, he had opened a beer and was staring at the big screen.
“Derek! We’re supposed to be there in fifteen minutes!” she yelled, astonished.
“But, it’s an America football game. You just don’t see these in England!” he retorted, not taking his eyes off the screen. Ginny glared at him but he didn’t even notice. He took another swig of beer and started yelling at the screen.
“Fine! I’ll go meet him!” With that, Ginny left and slammed the heavy door behind her. Derek didn’t even blink, let alone say goodbye.
She hugged Harry when she saw him and explained that Derek had fallen ill at the last minute, a complete lie, and could not make it. Over their Italian dinner, they talked extensively and then went out for ice cream followed by a walk in the park, forgetting about the ‘sick’ Derek. Ginny started remembering all the wonderful times she and Harry had shared over their years as friends. Throughout the night, she learned many things about her lost friend and once lover. She was the first to know he was turning in his resignation of ambassador the very next day and returning to London. He loved America, yes, but missed his life. As the night passed, she remembered the love she had once felt for him, the love she had left out while describing him to Derek.
When she got back to the hotel hours later, 11:58 and Derek was out cold. With the memories fresh in her mind again, she leaned against the door and closed her eyes, a small smile gracing her lips.
She only opened them when she felt herself spinning out of control.
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