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SIYE Time:8:53 on 29th March 2024
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Miss me, Baby
By ToughLove

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Category: Post-HBP
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Fluff, Drama, Songfic
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG
Reviews: 27
Summary: Harry leaves Ginny for a year, and when he returns, he has one question. Will she let him ask her? Song: Miss me, Baby Artist:Chris Cagle
Hitcount: Story Total: 5059







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Harry straightened his tie and adjusted his blazer as he entered the old corner pub for the first time in years. People were gathered in all areas conversing, yet none of them seemed to acknowledge his presence and he preferred it that way. Having spent the last year hiding from those around him, his beard alone made him unrecognizable. He hadn’t planned on showing up here today, truth be told he hadn’t planned on ever facing these people--his friends, family, and former professors-- again.

He felt ashamed by what had happened a little over a year ago. Immediately following the death of Dumbledore, he went deep into his preparations for the war, ignoring all those around him, including Ginny. As the months passed, he started to become more and more restless without her in his life and when the pain started to affect his everyday life he knew that he needed to do something. He went to her, heart in hands and fell to his knees, and confessed to her all of his fears.

He remembered the soft touch of her hand on his cheek as she knelt down in front of him. She had lifted his chin to look her in the eye, and where he expected to see the bitter frown of a person neglected, he saw an angel smiling. She welcomed him back into her life almost as easily as slipping on a glove, and he couldn’t explain the happiness he possessed in that moment.

They spent every free moments leading up to the final battle together. She stayed with him, Ron and Hermione at number twelve, and every morning she would wake and make him breakfast. They spent the wintertime with Ron and Hermione, laughing and talking all through the night, and he thought he could never get anywhere close to the warmth of those December mornings and January nights.

When Ginny and he were alone, Harry introduced her to a beautiful serenade of his parent’s wedding song, and he would twirl her in countless circles until she threw her head back and laughed hysterically. She was so beautiful. He spent the last year dreaming about her, and memorizing the perfection of her hourglass frame. He couldn’t imagine how much he must have hurt her.

He remembered the night before he left he had held her in his arms as she cried, and recalled the emptiness that had formed in his stomach from having to say goodbye.

“I promise,” he had whispered, staring deep into her chocolate, brown eyes. . “I’ll come back to you, Ginny”

She nodded wordlessly, tears leaving stains on her cheeks as they came and went. That was when he had reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet box, and hands shaking, he had placed it firmly against her palm. Her eyes flew up to his at the sight of it, and eyes locked together, he closed her fingers around it. Leaning forward, he placed his mouth very close to her ear and whispered, “I promise that I will come back to you. All that I ask of you when I do, no matter how early or late I am, is that you allow me to ask you one question.”

And with that, he touched her lips briefly with his own, and had left without looking back.

Miss me baby
When you hear our favorite song
Miss me baby
And when you start to sing along
Think about all the times that we danced
In the light to it all night long, oh
Then miss me baby

He thought momentarily about turning and leaving the pub. There was something about the atmosphere that didn’t seem inviting, although it could have been his own nervous tension making it impossible for him to breath steady. He walked slowly towards the opposite end of room, his head bowed as to avoid people who knew him. His sole purpose for attending this evenings events was to see Ginny, and he wasn’t entirely positive he wanted to do that now.

He took a seat in the nearest chair at the bar, and placed his head in his hands. He thought that he could handle all of this. Seeing everyone shouldn’t be this hard… but he was a stranger to them, wasn’t he?

He had been gone too long…

“Can I get something’ for ya?” a voice asked, making him jump slightly. He pulled his head from his hands, making eye contact with the bartender as he did so. The man observed him closely. “You been in here before?”

Harry shook his head quickly and cleared his throat. “Water,” he replied softly.

He avoided the suspicious look on the man’s face, and turned slowly and faced the crowded room. Tables had been pushed aside to make room for the blessed event, people were dressed in their best attire, having been formally invited by Authur and Molly Weasley. It was their fortieth anniversary. Harry’s eyes skimmed the area quickly, searching for the couple, and found them dancing closely together, surrounded by many others.

His heart swelled at the sight of his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, recently engaged. It had taken them forever to get together, but he knew that they were going to last for the rest of their lives.

Then he saw it, and he felt his stomach drop. Her gorgeous, golden-blonde hair whipped around as she turned to face the dancing couples. She smiled at Ron and Hermione, and they both turned to look at her as Ginny murmured something to the two of them. They shared a laugh and Ginny joined them on the dance floor. The three of them stood in a small triangle, and Harry knew that that was the strongest of silent indications that he had been erased from their lives.

“Hey kid,” the bartender said.

Harry faced him and the man gestured to the water. He thanked him silently and took a sip.

“So how do ya know ‘em?” the man asked.

“What?” Harry asked, raising a brow.

“Authur and Molly, how do ya know ‘em?” he asked.

“Oh,” he said. “Oh… I’m an old friend.”

The man nodded, grabbed his rag and began to wipe down the bar.

Harry’s gaze found the family again, and he sighed. “Or at least I used to be…”

And want me honey
Like you did the night you told me that you loved me
We couldn't wait anymore, left the keys in the door
Took my hand, pulled me down on the kitchen floor
Yeah, we were that crazy
Miss me baby

The song ended, and another began. The glass in his hand almost slipped from his fingers as the melody entered one of his ears and danced out the other. How cruel could fate be? Why this song? His eyes found her again… and he watched as Ron’s arm came and wrapped around her shoulder. Ginny smiled at her brother and shook her head in response to something he said. A man stepped in front of Ginny, blocking Harry’s view, and he felt jealousy bubble up in the pit of his stomach. She smiled at him, placing her hand in his as he led her in a slow circle around the floor.

That was the worst punishment of all. Her hands wrapped around another man, dancing to the song they used to dance to. He placed the glass down on the bar, and slid off the edge of the seat, making his way onto the dance floor. His fear and pride behind him, he made his way through the crowd, pushing some of them as he went. Some people gasped at the sight of him, others pointed, and when he was within a few feet of her he stopped dead. The commotion of those around them, made Ginny pause and follow their gaze.

When her gaze met his, she gasped. “Harry,” she whispered.
He took the last few steps towards her. He could see the tears building up in her eyes, and instead of trying to stop them, he leaned forwards and whispered in her ear. “Ginny.”

Nothing else was said as he slid his fingers into the empty spaces of hers, and placed one firm hand on her back. He guided her in a circle, and then pulled back to twirl her in a circle. When their eyes met again, she studied him with red, tear-filled eyes. “What are you doing here, Harry?”

He smiled softly. “Dancing with you,” he replied.

She shook her head. “You know what I mean,” she said, her voice shaking.

“A promise is a promise.”


Because when he's holding you
Know that it's killing me
Let my memory be the reason girl
That you can't sleep
And every time you feel his touch
I pray to God it's not enough
And that I've touched your heart so deep
Girl you can't shake me
'Cause I love you, yes I need you
Miss me baby




“I haven’t seen you for over a year, Harry,” she whispered. “You can’t just come back into my life and expect things to be the same…”

He nodded. “I know,” he told her. “I don’t expect them to be.”

“What do you expect?” she asked.

“Ginny, I don’t know what I expected to take out of tonight. I just know that I came here because I couldn’t put it off for another minute. I’m ashamed of who I was a year ago.”

“Ashamed?” she questioned.

“After the war,” he explained. “I was just so ashamed of what I had done. I killed people, Ginny. Regardless of who they are or what they’ve done, it scared me. I took peoples lives with my own hands. And when Lupin died… I just-I just couldn’t bare to see anyone. I felt like I failed everyone. And you… I couldn’t go back to you, then. I was afraid of what would happen if I came back. I knew that I had promised you something… and I didn’t think I could follow through with it then.”

She tore her hand away from his. “So what? You’ve come to tell me what I already know? It’s fine Harry, you don’t need to love me…”

“Is that what you think?” he asked, incredulously.

She glared at him. “For the past year and half you haven’t spoken to me. You haven’t visited or written. You lived without me for that long, Harry, I’m pretty sure you can do without me for the rest of your life.”

She made to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

“Ginny, all I do is think about you. It’s all that has kept me going for the past year, I--”

“I’ve heard it before, Harry,” she snapped.

He felt like he was slapped across the face.

“You’re pretty good at this part,” she said, tears glistening on her cheeks. “You apologize and tell me how much you love me, and how you can’t live without me. Then I take you back and the time comes where you have to take care of things and you leave me again. The time between goodbye and sorry starts to get longer, doesn’t it Harry? And I can’t be hurt again… I’m not going to be able to get through the heartache if you decide that you need to be away from me for two years next time.”

Miss me baby
Until you can't take it no more
Miss me baby
Pack your bags and hit the door
I'm a man, I was wrong, forgive me
Come back home, I'll be waiting, right here waiting
Miss me baby


He shook his head. “No, please Ginny,” he begged. “Please listen to me. I never meant to hurt you the way I did. I stayed away from you to protect you--”

“Protect me?” she asked. “Harry, how can you protect me by hiding from me?”

“I didn’t want to disappoint you if I couldn’t follow through with my promise,” he told her with sad eyes. “I wanted everything to be perfect for you. I thought I was going to be a whole person when I got back, but I wasn’t. And I wanted to give you the chance to find happiness without me in your life. I wanted you to be able to discover things without having to try to fix me. And you’ve probably met someone, but either way, it doesn’t matter. That doesn’t take away from the fact that I love you.”

She wiped the tears from her face. “What promise are you talking about Harry?” she asked. “The only promise I recall is the one that you were going to come back to me…and well… we all know what happened with that promise, now don’t we?”

“I kept it,” he whispered.

Her mouth fell open and she went to respond but he cut her off.

“I told you I would come back, but no matter how early or late I was, you had to allow me to ask you a question.”

“That’s not what you said,” she whispered.

“What?”

“You said… no matter how early or late you were, I had to allow you to ask me ONE question. And you’ve had your fair share of those tonight, haven’t you?”

He felt his world crumble beneath him. She was right.

He nodded. “I’m sorry that I hurt you Ginny,” he whispered. “Just do me a favor. When you think about me… think about the guy who danced with you at midnight and who kissed you at firelight. And I want you to remember breakfast in the morning, quidditch in the afternoons, talk of our future, and all the moments in between. When you think of me, please don’t hate me… because I don’t think I could bare that. And when you’re holding him, know that it’s killing me.”

He glided his hand down her cheek and then leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. “And every time you hear this song…miss me,” he pleaded in a faint whisper.



Because when he's holding you
Know that it's killing me
Let my memory be the reason girl
That you can't sleep
And every time you feel his touch
I pray to God it's not enough
And that I've touched your heart so deep
Girl you can't shake me
'Cause I love you, yes I need you
Miss me baby


He pulled back the same way he did no more than a year before, and turned to walk away. Where he was empty before, a hole began to form, and he knew it would be impossible to ever be whole again. Not if it meant that he would be without her. When contact was broken, he closed his eyes, tasting the bitter sadness of goodbye on his lips, as his tongue darted out to moisten them.

One step at a time, he told himself, as he started forward.

Then he felt it. Right against his palm was the soft, worn feeling of velvet, and wrapped around it was a small hand that was holding him in place. His eyes fell to their joined hands, where the box he had given her a year ago was visible between their fingers.

He met her gaze, and in her eyes he saw her begging him not to leave. Then through her tears, she asked him one question, “Will you marry me, Harry?”



And every time you feel his touch
I pray to God it's not enough
And that I've touched your heart so deep
Girl you can't shake me
'Cause I love you, yes I need you
Miss me baby
Every time you hear this song
Miss me baby
Reviews 27
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