A/N: This is my one shot with a word limit of 500 - 1,000 words for the second group challenge of the FA Fandom Games 2013/14 (for more information, see the link in my bio). It is based upon a tumblr post and fan art by spookyburdge (again, see my bio)
Disclaimer: The characters are JKR's and the basic plot line is not mine either. The words are mine and yeah blah blah disclaimer.
Harry sat on the windowsill of his bedroom, looking out over the rolling fields that surrounded his home. The sun was just beginning to rise, and cast a deep red hue over the lush, green grass and hedges that marked the edge of each piece section of land. Some of it should have been his, but upon buying the small cottage shortly after the war, he opted to rent or sell most of the land that came with it. It was unnecessary and he would rather someone was using it.
The cottage itself was old, often cold, but also had something cosy and homely that surrounded enclosed it. Far out in the Devonshire countryside, Harry had wanted to get away from busy towns and cities. He had wanted somewhere quiet, somewhere relaxing, somewhere he could just try and let everything go - all of the stress, pain and worries that had surrounding become the previous years of his life. Somewhere not distinctly magical, but not muggle either. Somewhere in between.
Harry turned his gaze from the rising sun to the woman lying in his bed. Red hair spilling over her pale, bare shoulders as they slowly rose and fell with each breath she took. He did not get to watch for long It was almost like she could sense him watching her because moments later her eyes began to flutter and open, almost like she could sense him staring at her. A smile spread across her face as her bright brown eyes locked with his emerald green.
As he stared, he could not help but think just how beautiful she was. Her messy hair, the freckles that splattered her face, the look in her eyes when she was up to something. She was the best thing that ever happened to him and he loved her for it.
Harry Potter loved her.
Ginny Weasley.
Harry Potter loved Ginevra Weasley.
Love. Now that was an interesting thing. One word, four letters and too many feelings. Ginny knew Harry loved her; she could see it in every smile, every look, every touch, but he had never said it. Not once. Not even when he thought he was about to die.
There was something in love that frightened the wizard. Whether it be the fact that the feeling was so powerful, so strong, so magical, or even the fact that almost everyone he had ever loved had been cruelly torn from his life, he was unsure. The only thing that was for certain was that he was afraid to say those three words; those eight letters; those thousand and one emotions.
Ginny stood, pulling the bed sheet with her and draping it around her body before going to sit on the windowsill beside Harry. She placed her head on his chest and took one hand in his, the other he used to stroke her hair as together they watched the sunrise.
The sky was brighter now, more of an orangey-red that reminded Harry of the hair resting against his chest. As the sun rose, so did the feelings bubbling up in his chest. Suddenly, he was not so scared any more. He was safe. He was with her.
"Hey, Gin…" Harry started, blushing slightly at the thought of what he was about to do.
"Mhmm," she mumbled, her eyes closed again as she lay against him, comfortable.
Harry took a deep breath, "I love you."
Her eyes shot open, wide and bright, half unsure if she had heard correctly. The couple had been together for almost four years if you ignored their year apart during the war and never once had those words been uttered. The day was not a particularly special one; it was ordinary, like any other. Just any other day. That was, until he said those three words.
Quickly, Ginny sat up; eyes still wide like a doe in the headlights of a bus. She stared deep into his eyes, trying to sense how he was feeling, why he had said it. Why today of all days? With every fibre of her being she knew it was sincere, but why now?
After a moment, a smile broke across her face as she leaned in to kiss the man she loved. Passion and happiness poured into every movement. Sheer happiness, awe and wonder. Love. Everything she had and everything she was.
"I love you," Harry said again between kisses, shocked at how easily the phrase fell from his lips now. "I love, mhmm," he said again, words being muffled by Ginny's mouth.
They stayed like that for a while, just kissing as the sun rose over the little cottage. Eventually, they pulled apart and Ginny looked at him again, "I love you, too," she said with a smile.
In a plain, little cottage in the middle of the Devonshire countryside, in a place neither wizard nor muggle, where a man lived alone after years of war, pain and suffering, on a day as ordinary as any other, a little something happened, and it was magical.
