"Not long," Harry said hastily, not wanting Ron to think that he'd been secretly dating Ginny for years without talking to him about it. It had been a few months since he'd first met up with her again, but he didn't think that had counted. "She realized I was alive when I made that stupid journal-- you know, the one when--"
The one when Crouch had started threatening everyone, including the Weasleys, just because of a few words Harry had written on paper. "I've really been just trying to make sure she was safe all this time. I saw her, um, three times?" Maybe it had been four. It really felt like he'd hardly even seen her at all, but compared to Ron, who hadn't seen her at all...
He'd figured Ron would think it was too risky, since he hadn't been in contact with his family. He'd had the vague idea that Ron could use the safe space he'd set up if he wanted to see Ginny, too. "Um," he said. "It's not been long, I wasn't even sure if I should-- well, I would have told you if we didn't have so many other things to-- I should have said something. Sorry."