Authors note: This is my version of how the characters lives went after the battle for Hogwarts. I have no end in mind so it should be a long one. All relationships are cannon but the careers take a slightly different tack. Many of my ideas come from tumblr prompts so thank you to all the fandom for their wonderful inspiration. As usual, all credit to our Queen.
Each chapter will be from one character's perspective, I may stay on certain people more than others, feedback is definitely welcome.
Prologue
Ginny opened her eyes and immediately regretted it, even from the partial sanctuary of the Gryffindor common room, she could hear the sound of huge blocks of stone grinding against each other. (Hogwarts is collapsing) she thought (maybe if I can sleep through it it won't have really happened) she scrunched her eyes tight closed and turned to bury herself deeper in the warm cushion at her side...
Only it wasn't a cushion, it was a human.
confused, she opened her eyes to see Harry's face, more relaxed now in sleep than she had ever seen it in waking.
She struggled to recall the events of the last 24 hours. Fuzzily she remembered falling into his arms as he staggered down the stairs with Ron and Hermione after racing off for one final task..
(I must remember to ask him about that... I must remember to ask him about a lot of things) she corrected herself ruefully.
After holding him for what seemed like forever but not long enough she loosened her grip somewhat and they reluctantly stepped back from each other. "I need to..." Harry croaked starting toward the great hall "Help?" Ginny inquired sarcastically "You need to sleep, preferably in a bed." And in true Mrs Weasley fashion she began to frog march the exhausted yet miraculously awake man to Gryffindor tower.
As she lay there, she felt guilty, as if it were selfish of her to keep the golden boy to herself but in this moment she didn't regret stealing those few precious minutes (and apparently, the last few hours) with this man who had given so much and taken so little for himself. She smiled sadly as she remembered his weak protests against rest.
"I can help repair some walls or set up beds" he slurred, trying to redirect her.
"It will be far safer for everyone if you keep your wand in your pants, mister" she quipped, silently thanking Merlin that he wasn't with it enough to register the double entendre.
Finally managing to manhandle a disgruntled Harry through the portrait hole, Ginny scanned the common room, considering her next move. Despite having been at Hogwarts all this year she didn't feel at home taking either her bed or Harry's old one for the tired hero. She settled on choosing their favorite sofa. Knowing complex transfiguration was beyond her at this point she restricted herself to lengthening and widening the plush seat so it could generously fit Harry's lean frame.
Conjuring some blankets she sat Harry down on his modified bed and bent down to begin unlacing his trainers (How have the not dissolved of his feet already?) she pondered noting their lack of any discernible colour under the layers of grime. Having finished that almost toxic task she took his wand and neck pouch, removed his glasses and set them safely aside, out of reach of nightmare induced thrashing.
By now Harry was barely holding his own head up and was swaying alarmingly, she steadied his shoulders and eased him down onto the welcoming sofa. He sighed with exhaustion and immediately closed his eyes but as she began to withdraw, his hand caught hers.
"Ginn.." he murmured
"Turning to alcohol this early in life is hardly healthy." she murmured while warming on the inside at his use of her nickname.
"I can't… I don't… I need to hold you." She froze and melted all at once, was this a need for comfort, or something stronger. When they dated in her fifth year they could talk about anything except a future together, it seemed impossible and selfish with the looming war. She always suspected that he felt strongly about her but could never find the words.
She felt a familiar stinging resentment that had come to associate with his embrace (Was Voldemort the only obstacle in our relationship, or just a surprisingly convenient excuse?) She immediately chided herself for indulging in such petty thoughts (If nothing else, he's my friend and he needs my comfort) She put a lock on her emotions for the sake of her thankfully ache free head and surrendered to Harry's gentle but persistent tugging for her to join him. As her head touched the pillow, all the exhaustion she had been stubbornly ignoring rushed up to meet her and she barely had the energy to kick off her shoes before burrowing into the chest of the boy who lived and plummeting into sleep.
Chapter 1
Moving as slowly as possible, Ginny eased herself back until she was able to look at Harry's face without straining. The features that were so familiar to her had been marred somewhat in his their time apart by multiple small bruises and grazes. She noted his tan and a few freckles that she had only seen on him when he spent the summer at the burrow playing quidditch everyday (he must have been outside a lot to get freckles in winter) the redhead mused.
As if hearing her thoughts had interrupted his slumber, Harry stirred, turning slightly and mumbling something into the cushions.
"Mmmh?"
"I said, what time is it?"
"No idea but the sun is only just up" Ginny smiled as a single, green eye emerged from the pillow to gaze groggily at her.
"Did yesterday happen?" asked Harry hesitantly. With an uncomfortable mix of contentment and sorrow Ginny nodded, smiling wanly.
"Where is everyone?"
Again, the redhead smiled, this time with more warmth,
"I fell asleep at the same time as you so your guess is as good as mine." The other eye appeared along with a hand to wipe away the sleep that had gathered in his waterline.
"You're all fuzzy." Chuckling slightly Ginny fumbled for her wand and summoned Harry's glasses and wand. Harry murmured his thanks and donned his glasses before settling back on the pillow, twirling his wand between absent fingers.
"What's that noise?" He said after a moment or two of silence, bringing Ginny's attention once more to the grinding and clattering of stone that woke her.
"Beats me." Ginny was becoming increasingly aware of the fact that they were in fact in bed together.
Before she could properly plan her escape, Harry turned to her with alarming speed, making her draw in a sharp breath.
"I never stopped thinking about you." This was almost too quick for the flustered girl to catch but somehow she managed to gather herself enough to comprehend him.
This confession was almost too much for Ginny, the girl with six older brothers, the girl who never cried if she could help it. She closed her eyes for a second and pictured her patronus, an image that almost never failed to ground her.
"I guess your birthday present was successful then." She said wryly not quite meeting his eyes. A look of confusion flashed across Harry's face before realisation dawned and he laughed.
"I'd appreciate it if you put Ron strait on that one, he still thinks that was my idea."
"He should know by now that no one makes me do anything I don't want to," Ginny said primly, doing her best phlegm hair toss, "just ask the Carrows." Harry's expression saddened slightly as he reached out to touch her proud chin, Ginny held her breath almost scared she would frighten him off. Harry had never been good with vocalising his emotions and there was no way she was ruining this now.
Smiling softly Harry began to trace her jaw as Ginny fought against the urge to sigh and lean in to his hand.
"I'm not going to ask you how you're doing because I know that's too big for right now," He began, choosing his words with care, as scared as she was that he might burst this beautiful bubble he had found himself in, "are you hurt at all?" He finally inquired, concern tinting his features. Ginny laughed slightly at the seeming triviality of his question and shook her head.
"Nothing a Madame Pomfrey can't fix in a heartbeat, what about you? You look half starved."
Smiling affectionately at her Mollyism he also chuckled.
"Half starved seems to be my fall back point so I don't think I'm doing too bad."
He moved his hand into her hair and this time Ginny couldn't help herself. She closed her eyes and arched her neck into his touch, causing his fingers to slip behind her ear. As she was losing herself to the comfort of his hand, she heard her name as if from far away.
"Ginny."
Furrowing her brow, she forced her still tired eyes open.
Green met Brown. Moving with almost unbearable slowness Harry brought his face closer to hers. Torn, Ginny couldn't decide where her eyes should go, should they stay looking into his glorious eyes or should she break his gaze and find his lips so there was no mistaking that she wanted them as close to hers as possible.
It turned out Harry needed no encouragement and Ginny found her eyes closing once more as their lips met. Irrationally, her brain scrambled to think of how long it had been since their last kiss on his birthday (It must have been a century ago, how else could it feel so right?) She sighed and shuffled herself closer, tangling their legs together while not breaking their gentle kiss. Harry's hand left her neck and skimmed itself down her body until finding the back of her thigh. As if reading each other's minds, they both shifted slightly, causing the kiss to deepen. Ginny traced her tongue languidly across Harry's top lip and he responded by squeezing her thigh slightly and bringing it across his hips so that she was half straddling him.
As his hand began to skim upwards to find her bottom, they were interrupted by the portrait hole opening and the raucous sound of Ron calling the people following him.
"If they're not awake, they should be, Flitwick wants to take a roll call, Pomfrey is handing out pepper up like it's the cure for dragon pox and while I love a good meal, if Professor Sprout offers me another scone, I will throw myself off what's left of the astronomy tower!" He was so distracted by his witticism that he fumbled his entrance and teetered for just enough time for the surprised pair to jolt apart and assume more neutral poses.
They joined in with Hermione's laughter as she said with no small measure of dryness,
"You'll have better luck jumping from the top of Flitwick's head after what the giants have done to it!" Entering the common room far more gracefully than her best friend had. Turning to Harry and Ginny, she smiled warmly and trotted over to take one of the plush cushions by the fire. It was at this point that Ginny noticed that their expanded sofa was an island in a sea of various settees, sleeping mats and other comfortable arrangements obviously conjured or transfigured to suit their now absent occupants.
Brought back to the present reality, Ginny remembered her concerns, she turned to Hermione in the hopes of some answers.
"What is all that racket? It sounds like the giants are still having their way."
Smiling wryly, she replied over Harry and Ron's chuckles "It's Flitwick and his army of "charmers" repairing the main stairways. I was helping until I was sent to find you two." She exchanged an amused glance with Ron "It seems we didn't need to be worried about you two wandering off."
Harry blushed and adjusted his glasses while Ron tried to look amused and disapproving simultaneously.
Unperturbed Ginny replied breezily "Well, you've found us where you left us, what's next?"
"Madame Pomfrey needs to give everyone the all clear before reporting to Percy to see what needs to be done," The brunette took a breath before continuing "Although I'm under orders to keep your duties light." having finished she bit her lip, determinedly staying looking at Ginny, avoiding Harry's eye. Ginny could have predicted every word that came out of his mouth next.
"I deserve light duty equally, maybe less, than everyone here, I made this mess," Said Harry, raising a hand to prevent the three of them interrupting, "I know they fought by choice too, but I will not work any less than I can. I want to, this is the next stage of the war, rebuilding the world he ruined." Ginny held back an affectionate giggle as he gazed around defiantly at them.
Knowing the uselessness of arguing, Ginny fished around for a new topic of conversation.
"So what's the story with you two?" She inquired of her brother and her best friend, "It's about time." Smirking, Hermione raised her eyebrow at the now blushing redhead, leaving him to answer.
"Well, it's like Harry said," Ron stuttered hesitantly, "It's about rebuilding, we can do all we couldn't with war hanging over us." looking proud of himself, he glanced at his best friend now girlfriend and saw her smiling and nodding with the same pride.
A thrill of hope rushed through Ginny as she watched her friends being truly happy for the first time in too long. Without any one of them deciding, they stood and made their way out of the common room. Unable to help herself, Ginny let out a giggle,
"I hope Pomfrey doesn't keep us too long, or I'll jump off Flitwick's head from lack of scones."
As they passed, the rubble filled hallways seemed less dim for the laughter coming from the four friends.
