He winces without being able to stop himself, flinching slightly at the wording of the way she used the word ‘dumped’, but he has to stop himself from grinning at the image of Ginny decking Dean. God. It doesn’t really work, as he can feel his teeth showing, and he has to duck to cover it up. Jerking his head up to look at the stars, he squints. “ Yeah, look, that’s the Big Dipper, and the Little Dipper next to it. And Cassiopeia’s over there. “ He pauses, tilting his head to look at Ginny again. Sometimes, it’s like she’s the only light left on, and he finds his gaze always pulled back to her. It’s kind of distracting, honestly. It almost makes him forget that he’s completely chatting shit right now. What does he know about astronomy? The barest amount. But she’s grinning at the sky, and he really. He really wants to fucking kiss her right now.
His brain is just replaying the word ‘dumped’ around his head this entire time, and in the lull of the silence, he feels himself blurting out, “ Y’know, Gin, I didn’t. I didn’t want to — break up with you or anything. “ Harry’s not a lightweight, but feeling buzzed enough to be talking about this. It’s just the two of them here, anyway. The heavy feeling is sitting with him uncomfortably, but he has to say something. They’ve been dancing around this fucking topic for months. She needs to know. “ Like. God. If I could spend every day with you, I would. You’re like — You’re like — “ He stops, shakes his head.
“ Cassiopeia. Right! Think I’ve got an Aunt Cassie through the Blacks, but they were always right terrible to us, so Nan doesn’t talk to them anymore .” She stretches out lazily like a cat - he’s smiling, and she feels herself beaming. He hasn’t smiled much, recently; the only time she’s seen him smiling have been with Ron and Hermione, though even those are few and far-between, lately, and deep in her gut she feels a strong sense of pride that she’s managed to illicit the emotion. “ D’you think all those stories are true? About the Greeks? I mean, I think it’s all a load of bunk, all tha’ screwing and screwing with, but Luna thinks they might be, and she’s right about most of that sort of thing, even if I think it’s just stupid. Don’t tell her I said that, though, it’ll just make her upset. ”
But then he speaks - and it’s like she’s been slapped. Lightheaded as she might be, Ginny’s still sober enough to recognize when she’s been played for a fool, and her jaw tightens. Fully sober, she might’ve had the decency to walk away, not embarrass herself further, but it’s been a long night and a longer war, and she’s not in a giving mood. “ Right. That’s why we’re still together -oh waiiiiit, that’s not true at all. ” She shakes her head. “ Look. I know you’ve got your shit, and I’ve got my shit, and there’s no fucking future until the war’ over, I get it. I go screw Dean or Blaise or Michael and you go screw yourself and, y’know, convince yourself it’s for the best, and we’re all bloody happy. ”