(A/N) Another story! Woo-hoo! HBP and Goblet of Fire trailers really did wonders for my lack of HP writing. This is a companion piece to my other story, Colors of the Forest. It could stand alone, but would probably make more sense if you've read that first. So if you want, take a look at this first and if you like what you see so far, shoot on back to my profile and read CoF!
To those of you who have already read CoF, this takes place a month after the wedding. It's just a short, fluffy piece. Mostly just Harry's thoughts and feelings as he watches Ginny sleepRead and review, let me know if this is working and I should keep on writing more of HP! Hope you enjoy.
Oh, yeah, I know I have a general disclaimer in my profile, but the song featured throughout belongs to Tim McGraw, Curb Records, whoever else that holds legal claim to it. While we're on about this, the HP characters don't belong to me. Only Amy does — but I would loooooooove to own Daniel Radcliffe. And Rupert Grint, for that matter . . . mmmm, Rupert . . .
Here, Between the Day and the Twilight
by: Amanda
Hey, darkness, don't you try to steal the moment
Or close my eyes
I won't let you in
'Cause this feels too damn good to me
All I want and all I need
Is her touch, again and again and again . . .
Air, fresh and clean, sailed in through the wide-open windowIt blew gently across the face of the woman sleeping a few feet from it, not disturbing her slumber. She didn't stir, or move an inch. The pale blue curtains fluttered in the breezewithout a sound.
Harry Potter continued to watch his wife sleep. Her bright red hair was darkened to deepest auburn by the light of the setting sun accompanying the breeze through the window. Her eyes were closed, the lashes forming dark crescent moons against marble skin.
He was propped on one elbow, resting his head on a palm.He couldn't help the grin that appeared as he thought of her. Ginny Weasley . . . scratch that, Ginny Potter. They'd been married only a month, and the novelty was still enough to cause a jolt of excitement. Harry and Ginny Potter. The Potters. Harry's smile widened as his thoughts continued in this way for several more minutes.
The clock on the bedside table read 7:37. Harry moved his gaze to the window, enjoying the sight of the mid-September sunset. Their house was the only one for many miles, allowing for the alone time that they craved. The window he was currently looking out of faced west, so they were able to see the sun set every night.
At the moment, the sky rather resembled a portrait. There was pink above all else, with the orange-reddish sundirectly in the middle, darker than the rest. It was setting over a grassy knoll, lighting it on fire with its many colors.If there was ever a physical manifestation of his love for Ginny, Harry guessed that this is what it would look like.
He looked back at the subject of his thoughts and felt the grin return to his face. Merlin, was she beautiful. She was laying on her side, facing him. She wore a simple navy-blue tank top and a pair of his black boxer shorts.He couldn't care less if she wore a sexy piece of lingerie to bed — she would be perfect either way.
The clock now blinked to 7:43. It was relatively early to be falling asleep. But he'd had a long and hard day at work; recently made Head Auror, Harry's days at work were never not long and hard. And he knew that Ginny's day hadn't been a piece of treacle pie, either. Caring for her seven-month old daughter, Amaya, was a full-time job.
Ginny had given birth to Amy, as Ron so loved to call herwhen he was too lazy to pronounce her full name, on a rainy February night after having just been rescued by Ron and Harry from Corner Mansion. She'd been raped by Michael Corner at the end of her sixth year, from which Amaya had been conceived. Michael's father, Cillian Corner, wanted to take the baby for himself, and kidnapped the youngest Weasley to keep her until she gave birth. After that, he planned to dispose of her to keep the situation as covert as possible.
But luckily, his plan had been thwarted by the appearance of Ron and Harry on the night that Ginny finally went into labor. They had smuggled her from the house, but she hadn't made it to St. Mungo's and Harry had delivered Amayaoutside in the middle of the night, during a freezing rainstorm.
The two were married the next August. Harry's grin faded into a grimace as he recalled the beginning — right after Ginny had finally admitted to being raped. She'd been a basket case, and then to find out she was pregnant only a month after. But he promised her that he would be there for her through everything, and here he was.
Amaya was legally his daughter now. He adopted her when she was a few months old. Michael hadn't been in any position to contest the adoption from his cell in Azkaban, right next to his father's. And Harry couldn't be any happier for it.He loved being a father to the little girl — loved how she looked up adoringly at him with her huge brown eyes, the subtle green flecks sparkling with love. The thought of how lovely it was to be a father made him anxious to have more children with Ginny, and soon.
I don't want to go to sleep tonight
I don't want anything to change
I don't want to wake up and find a different day, yeah
Oh, she makes me free
Here between the day and the twilight
I don't want to go to sleep tonight
At that moment, Ginny yawned. Opening her eyes briefly to glance at the clock behind her, she squeezed them closed again and stretched. Abruptly, she asked, "How long were you planning on watching me?"
Harry shook his head, caught. "I wasn't — "
"Calm down, Harry," Ginny giggled. "I love it when you watch me sleep."
He blushed and smiled guiltily. "That makes two of us."
"Is Amy sleeping?"
Harry nodded, still watching Ginny in amazement. As she spoke, the light from the still setting sun played across her lips, turning them into two perfect pink lines. The rose-colored glow it left in their room reflected in her eyes, making them look smoky. Ginny sighed with satisfaction, moving toward him so her whole body was nestled in the curve of his chest and stomach.
"Gin?" Harry asked. His voice had suddenly taken on a strangely serious tone.
"What is it, Harry?" Responding to the feeling she heard in his words, Ginny looked up at him, frowning.
"Promise me that we'll —that this will never change, okay?"
"Why would I want this to change? I love you. You know that," Ginny tried to assure her husband.
His green eyes were still worried. "I don't want to wake up one day . . . with you not loving me anymore. I've seen it happen, Ginny, people grow apart — "
Ginny smiled again, easier this time. "Harry, love, we've only just been married! And after all we've been through, I can promise you that I'll never wake up not loving you."
"Good." Harry seemed satisfied with her answer, so Ginny nestled her head into his chest once again. He reached over and ran a hand along the curve of her body, down to her waist and back up again. She sighed at the sensations he was creating inside of her.
"I never want this to end," Ginny mumbled against his bare skin.
"Neither do I."
The sun had sunk a little lower below the hill, and the room was now a strange sort of blue-purple color. It was neither day nor night, but a blend of the two. Harry took a deep breath, feeling the beat of Ginny's heart thumping against his own chest. She looked so peaceful, so content right where she was. As her breathing deepened and became more steady, Harry realized that she had sunk back into sleep.
Time, stop dead in your tracks
Turn around and don't look back
And just let us be
I'm gonna take this time and soak it up
Forever wouldn't be long enough
If you knew her you'd agree,
You'd agree with me
His hand was still resting lightly on her hip. He brought it up to her face, tracing the delicate contours. What they had said was true — he never wanted right now to end. He supposed they would be here the next night, and thousands of nights after that, but now — this second was magic.
Even Amy hadn't made a peep for over two hours. And usually, she was up every hour or so until she felt like turning in for the night. Thinking of this turned Harry's thoughts toward the little girl again. Being a father for her was perhaps one of the greatest joys he'd ever experienced. Sharing the responsibility with Ginny made it all the more enjoyable.
The woman beside him suddenly pressed even closer to Harry, resting a hand across his chest. Merlin, the woman set him on fire even in her sleep. He laid his hand against the small of her back; the two were now so close she was practically on top of him.
There was nothing better. He couldn't have found anything more to ask for even if he thought for ages and ages. The soft, floral scent of his wife, the feel of her warm body so close to his, was bliss.
Harry couldn't bring himself to tarnish the moment by speaking what was on his mind. Besides, they didn't need to tell each other a hundred times a day. They knew how strong their love was, so why say it over and over as if it needed to be proved?
A small squeaking sound, almost like the mewling of a cat, suddenly ruptured Harry's daydreaming. It came from Amy's nursery, right next to their room. Glancing at the clock, Harry realized that she hadn't eaten for some time. However much he didn't want to get up and leave the comfort of Ginny's warmth, he knew that Amy's quiet squeals for attention would soon erupt into full-fledged wailing if he didn't.
Reluctantly, he disentangled himself from the beautiful woman next to him and stood from the bed. He wore only a pair of boxer shorts on his tall figure, exposing the highly defined muscles of his abdomen. He covered Ginny with their dark blue quilt and with a last, longing look at her left to feed his daughter.
Yawning, Harry walked into Amy's nursery and flipped a light switch on. It was a dull light, so as not to hurt the baby's eyes, but it was enough to light his way. She was seven months old, and the picture of health. Harry found her flailing her fists, gazing up at her Quidditch mobile. The second she saw him, she smiled a bright, gummy smile and started cooing.
Harry felt the same feeling he had the first time he'd laid eyes on her, and every time thereafter — it couldn't be explained, just pride and love and joy and life, all rolled into one. Amy blew a spit bubble up at Harry, all tears forgotten. "Hey, there, midget," Harry greeted softly. He reached in and took her from the crib, cradling her head against his chest. Her red hair stuck out at all angles, as she yawned and let Harry rub her back.
"Hungry, are you? Come on, let's go down to the kitchen and let Mummy sleep, shall we?" Harry said in the same soothing voice. He went down the spiral stairs to the front hall, then went toward the back of the house. The kitchen was in the back, overlooking the yard. It was airy and spacious, painted a pale yellow with a dark hardwood floor. A large window over the stainless steel sink was framed by white curtains, blowing in the breeze just like the ones upstairs.
Harry flipped a light switch here, too, flooding the room with a bright glow. He blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden change. When he could see correctly again, he spotted a baby-seat resting on the large kitchen table and decided to put Amy down so he could fix her a bottle.
Briefly debating about doing in the Muggle way or just conjuring a bottle, Harry thought about Ginny upstairs and decided the quicker he got back to her, the better. So he waved his wand lazily and a bottle of white liquid appeared on the table, next to Amy. "Now, wasn't that fun?" Amy looked up at Harry and giggled. "Think magic's funny, don't you? Want to have a go with Daddy's wand?"
Harry curled Amy's fingers around his holly and phoenix feather wand. To his amazement, she held it quite deftly. Suddenly, she decided to do have another go at fist flailing, and a jet of red and gold light flew from the tip of the wand. Before Harry realized what was happening, it sent a stack of clean pots and pans resting in the dish drain clattering toward the floor.
"Oh, no . . . " Harry muttered to himself. "You naughty little girl! I can hardly wait until you have to get your own wand. You'll be setting the whole bloody shop on fire."
"Harry!" a sudden breathless voice called from the kitchen doorway. Harry whirled around to find Ginny standing there, hair flying behind her haphazardly in a curtain of red. "What's going on down here? Is everything all right?" She looked around, and sighed in relief as she spotted Amy, content on the table. Harry looked at her sheepishly.
"Harry James Potter, how many times have I told you not to let Amy get hold of anybody's wand? She could do serious damage! Don't you remember what happened to Ron?"
Harry couldn't suppress a grin as he thought about what Amy had done to Ron just last week. They were at the Burrow, celebrating the birthday of Bill and Lauren's oldest child. Lupin had innocently enough been playing with Amy, and let her grab his wand and right out of his hand. Ron's eyebrows still hadn't returned to quite the same shade of red as they'd been. After all, it is rather hard to grow back whole eyebrows to their perfectly original color.
"I'm sorry . . . I just love when she giggles like that. I couldn't resist," Harry said. His face was still a bit red at having been caught.
Ginny closed her eyes and sighed. "What am I going to do with you, Harry Potter?"
Harry let out the nervous breath he'd been holding. She had dropped the "James" from his name. Always a good sign. "I could think of a few things for you to do with me."
"Yes, I'm sure you could," Ginny smiled. A tiny whine from the table interrupted the exchange. "But as much as you'd like to pursue other activities, there is a baby girl here who'd like very much to be fed."
"Halfway there," Harry indicated the bottle next to Amy on the table.
Ginny walked over and picked the baby up from her seat, cradling her in the crook of one arm, while grabbing the bottle with the other. "Why don't we go upstairs so Mummy can lay down?" Ginny cooed at her daughter, yawning again.
Harry led the way back up the stairs and into their bedroom. He noticed that the sun was still setting, and thought that he'd never seen a sunset last this long. It seemed like the heavens were respecting his wish that the day never end. By the time he looked away from the window, Ginny was laying in bed next to Amy. He crawled in beside the two. Relaxing there, with his wife on one side and his daughter quietly sucking on her bottle between them, he didn't think life could get any better.
I don't want to go to sleep tonight
I don't want anything to change
I don't want to wake up and find a different day, yeah
Oh, she makes me free
Here between the day and the twilight
I don't want to go to sleep tonight
I wish the sun would just forget to come up . . .
And leave us wrapped up in this love
He was tempted to close his eyes, lulled by Amy's soft sounds and the baby scent of her combined with Ginny's clean, flowery smell. But he couldn't. He stared at Ginny, who was looking adoringly at the baby. As if sensing his eyes on her, she glanced up at Harry and smiled. "Something wrong, Harry? Are you all right?"
"I'm more than all right, love," Harry whispered. "I just wish we could forget the rest of the world forever, you know? Live in this moment all the time. Everything's wonderful right now."
Ginny frowned slightly. She knew that Harry had been through a lot — more than most eighteen year olds would ever face in their lives. And that had taken its toll on his way of thinking. Once he got hold of something good, he never wanted to let it go. He wanted to spend every second he possibly could dwelling on it. And this new life with Ginny and Amy was the perfect example. He couldn't help thinking that something bad was about to come bursting in on them.
"And everything will be wonderful for a long time, Harry. Voldemort's gone. Dead, he'll never come back, okay? You made sure of that. So let's just live day by day, all right? One second at a time."
Harry nodded. Ginny always knew just the right thing to say to calm him down. Registering the sudden quiet in the room, Harry glanced between them to find Amy fast asleep. He smiled and took the bottle from Ginny to place on his own beside table.
"Day by day sounds good to me, Gin. Let's just not let things change too much, okay? You can't ever stop loving me."
Ginny rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "If I loved you through Cho, through the whole time when you didn't even know anything about me, what makes you think I'll stop now that I've actually got you? You're an amazing person, Harry, and nothing's going to take me away from you."
She leaned over Amy and kissed Harry long and hard. When she finally pulled away, Harry was smiling. "Not more amazing than you."
Feeling an upsurge of emotion, Ginny got as close to him as possible, taking care not to squish Amy. And with the strange light from the setting sun shimmering over him, Harry fell asleep within minutes of his wife and daughter. And he dreamt of nothing but the thousands more perfect sunsets that he and his family would see in this house.