A/N: Written for QLFC Round 1 by Chaser 1 for Montrose Magpies.
Prompts: write Chaser 2's NOTP (Harry/Ginny)
Optional prompts: (word) yesterday; (dialogue) "I'm happier than I've ever been before."; (image) s-media-cache-ak0 dot pinimg dot com /564x /30 /43 /e6 /3043e6ca6d2c176b58d424da640180cf dot jpg
Thank you to my amazing teammates for betaing this for me.
Word count: 2136
This story is not epilogue-compliant.
There was nothing better, Ginny felt, than the early hours of the morning just before the world woke up for a new day. As the silence wrapped around her like a blanket, broken only by the quiet chirping of birds as they began to stir, she closed her eyes and basked in its peacefulness. Her nostrils flared as a small gust of wind swept past her, chilling her arms and stirring up the scent of fresh grass. She wished she had the time to just sit and enjoy nature like this on a regular basis. In the precious interlude between sleep and activity, everything was fresh and new and brimming with hope.
Holding onto the rope that secured the tyre swing to the tree branch above her head, Ginny dug her feet into the fallen pieces of bark that coated the ground beneath her feet and pushed. A soft smile flitted across her face as she started to spin in place, around and around and around. Back at school, when it felt like all she did was run in circles, she would have hated it. Now, ten years older and decades wiser, she was able to enjoy the simple pleasure of a swing with a view without feeling her stomach turn.
She let the rope unwind, and it sent her swirling through the air before the tyre finally slowed to a stop. Her gaze settled on the line of trees in the distance as her thoughts wandered. They had found freedom, but it had come at a steep price: the scars, the nightmares — Fred.
Her chest twisted with pain at the onslaught of memories that accompanied the thought. She still mourned him, but the sands of time trickled on with cruel relentlessness, wiping him from the memory of all but his closest friends. To the world, he was just another in a long line of fallen heroes to be respected and appreciated but ultimately forgotten. To her, he was so much more.
Ginny wiped a stray tear from her eye and forced herself to turn her mind to happier things.
Harry.
Once upon a time, he had been the only person she could imagine marrying. He had been the fairy-tale prince to her tomboy princess, and her childhood had been filled with dreams of a shared happily ever after. During their brief few weeks of dating at Hogwarts, she had even thought they'd found it. But then he left her, and then he died, and then he came back to life but not to her. He loved her, he said, but he needed to see what it was like to live for himself for the first time in his life.
He wanted to be friends.
She couldn't.
Grief-stricken over Fred and shaken at having lost something she had wanted since she was a little girl, she had thrown herself into school and Quidditch, filling her days with activity so she didn't have to think about everything she had lost. Not long after she graduated, she had signed onto the Harpies as a reserve with the knowledge that it was unlikely that she would ever start a game but that the experience would be invaluable from the training sessions alone. Slowly, as the rest of her life sorted itself out, she gave herself the space to grieve for Fred.
Thinking back to that period of her life felt strange now. For two years, she had tried and failed to move on from Harry. It had gotten to the point that she had accepted that she never would. Then, like storm clouds drawing back to reveal the faint outline of the sun, she had; not properly, but enough to have hope. Even though her next few relationships had ended poorly — one because she was constantly travelling for work; another because he kept making inappropriate jokes about the war and couldn't understand why it bothered her — she was finally able to envision a life, and a marriage, without Harry in it.
But of course, as with all things, that was the moment he came back into her life.
-x-
"Harry," Ginny said, blinking in surprise as she stared up at her ex-boyfriend. In hindsight, she should have expected to see him; it was Luna's twentieth birthday party, and he was one of the few people the other witch considered a friend. But Ginny had been doing her best to forget about him since the war, so she hadn't even considered the possibility of him being there. "I didn't expect to see you here. How have you been?"
"Alright," he replied, running a hand through his hair in a gesture that was so familiar that it made her heart clench. With his other hand, he set his glass of butterbeer down on one of the tables that Ginny had spent the evening helping Xenophilius line with fairy lights. "I just finished Auror training last week, actually, though I'm thinking of going into teaching instead. How about you?"
"I'm happier than I've ever been before," she lied, summoning the biggest smile she could in the hopes that it would convince him. "I just signed on to be one of the starting Chasers next season, which is exciting."
Harry hesitated, looking as if he unsure what to say. A small, vindictive part of her was glad that she wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable with the conversation. Then, after a brief pause, he seemed to throw caution to the wind. "You're lying, aren't you?"
Her eyes widened for a moment before she regained her composure. "About Quidditch?" she asked, feigning offense. "I would never."
The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Not about Quidditch; about how you're doing."
It was tempting to lie again, but Ginny had the feeling that he wouldn't be so easily fooled. She was about to make some glib half-answer about life always being a mixed bag when he spoke again.
"Sorry. It isn't any of my business." The silent 'anymore' went unacknowledged. "You said you've been promoted. That's amazing, Gin; I always knew you could do it."
Her strained smile softened at the reminder. While it was true that she was struggling more than she cared to admit, she was ecstatic about the promotion. Playing Quidditch professionally had been her dream ever since her father, having noticed that she felt left out whenever her brothers went outside to play without her, taught her to fly on the condition that she never tell anyone. "It is. It's a shame that Gigi is retiring, but I can't wait until the first game."
"Who do you think is going to win this season?" he asked. "If you don't, of course."
"The Magpies," she said without hesitation.
Two hours and a meal later, the sound of fireworks crackling high above their heads pulled them both from their conversation. As they peered up at the colourful sparks that were bursting into life above them, Ginny was stunned to realise that, other than the day she signed the contract, she felt happier than she had in months.
That wasn't the day she fell in love with him again. After everything they had been through together, her heart was too well-guarded for that. But it was the day they renewed their friendship, and that, perhaps, was even more important.
-x-
Ginny slid the wedding ring off her finger so she could read the inscription that had been carved into its gold interior: my best friend, my lover. Warmth blossomed within her chest at the sight of the engraved words. Over the past twenty-five years, she had made some terrific decisions and many terrible ones, but trading wedding vows with Harry had to be one of the best she had ever made.
It had taken a long time for them to get to the altar. Friendship had come easily to them the second time around, but even after her old feelings started to resurface, she had been wary about dating him again. As much as she had understood his reasons for leaving her, the risk just hadn't seemed worth it. Since they both had more guts than sense, however, their caution hadn't lasted long.
It had worked out better than either of them had anticipated. They had been through the fires of life and war and come out stronger, each with a greater awareness of who they were and what they wanted from both themselves and each other. He'd had the chance to work out what he wanted on his own terms, and she'd felt the last of her naïveté fall away.
Everything that had sabotaged them the first time was gone.
Nevertheless, they had waited, making sure they had all of the difficult conversations they had avoided while they were at school. It was only when they were sure that they were together because they wanted to be, not because it was expected or easy, that they agreed to discuss marriage.
"I wonder if that's the secret ingredient," Luna had said the night of their engagement party, earning her confused looks from a few of the attendees. "Timing."
The week before her wedding, she had been pleased to note the nerves that brimmed within her at the thought of making such a huge commitment. She no longer believed in happily-ever-afters tied up in neat little bows. They would both change in the years to come; all she could do was have faith that those changes would bring them together, not tear them apart. Still, there was no question in her mind that he was the one she wanted to take that risk with; instead of cold feet, she felt a sense of complete and utter rightness.
Slipping the ring back over her finger, Ginny's gaze returned to the fields that stretched out around her in every direction. Yesterday had been their three-year wedding anniversary, and they had taken the opportunity to book a week at the small cottage where they had spent their honeymoon.
And she was still as certain about him as she had been the moment she said yes.
-x-
It was a lovely ceremony — small, intimate, and utterly devoid of paparazzi. Held in a quaint little Muggle barnhouse and officiated by Kingsley Shacklebolt, the only people in attendance were their immediate friends and family: people who loved them and were loved by them in return. She had known happiness, and she had known delight, but the moment she stepped into that building with her father by her side was the first time she had ever felt true, unfettered joy. From the wonder that shone in his eyes as she reached him, she knew he felt the same.
Their privacy was, for the most part, thanks to Ron and Hermione, who had publicly hinted at a non-existent pregnancy six weeks prior in order to distract Skeeter. As expected, the reporter had been so caught up with speculating on their private life that she stopped asking Ginny and Harry when they were planning on setting a date. While it was unpleasant to have that drama resurface once more, Hermione had insisted that it was worth it if it protected their real plans.
Ginny did so love her sister-in-law.
Deciding to take advantage of the opportunity, Harry and Ginny made the decision not to announce their marriage publicly until the next Quidditch season rolled around and Ginny had to update her paperwork. Even then, they downplayed the news, refusing to reveal the location or the date. They had both given up their childhoods for the wizarding world; they would not sacrifice this as well.
-x-
The sound of bark crunching underfoot pulled her from her thoughts, and Ginny glanced over her shoulder to see Harry walking the last few feet to meet her. His hair was messier than usual, a sure-fire sign that he had just woken up. Craning her head up, she met his lips in a soft, lingering kiss. As they drew apart, matching smiles slowly spread across both of their faces.
"I didn't want to wake you," she said by way of an apology. "You've been staying up so late lately to get through all your grading."
He nodded his thanks. "Who knew school was so exhausting for the professors as well?" he asked dryly.
"Luna, probably."
Harry let out an amused breath and threaded his fingers through hers. "Probably."
"Are you happy, though?" she asked. Every day they spent together was a testament to his answer, but sometimes, it was nice to hear it said aloud.
"I'm happier than I've ever been before."
Ginny groaned at the familiar words and let her head drop against the rope of the swing. "You're the worst," she said, but she couldn't keep the affection from seeping into her voice.