Hi! I know the idea of Harry and Ginny's wedding has been done to death, but a friend requested I write this and my creative energy started flowing from then on. I couldn't resist putting my spin on it! I hope you all enjoy it. The first chapter is fun and reflection on things. The fluff shall come later!
Disclaimer: I'm a penniless student, you really think I could own Harry Potter? XD
Chapter One- The Stag Night.
The light of the setting sun filled the Burrow with a dream-like glow, the kind of early sunset haze that makes people gradually more tired or more refreshed- depending on their particular disposition.
However the young man lying on an old bed, his jet black hair clashing bizarrely with the orange sheets, was neither refreshed nor sleepy. He was simply lying there, staring at the ceiling, thinking.
Harry Potter had, in his life, had many moments where he would lie down and think about his future, but not like this. Definitely not like this. During the war, when he had been in hiding, he would never have dared. Back then, thinking about the future meant hunting down the next Horcrux, plotting the next move, thinking of how to stay safe even though they knew that there would be a time when they would have to stand and fight. And then...
Well he hadn't let himself think of what would happen if he'd survived, he didn't want to get his hopes up, he didn't want the pain of thinking about a future he might never see. But now- he smiled slightly, the restless energy inside him reaching near bursting point- now was different.
He was getting married. The future was his.
'Alright that's it!'
Harry sat up as his grumbling, grumpy best friend marched in through the door- heavy footsteps indicating his heavy mood. 'She's gone mad, I know I say that every time, but this time I mean it- she's gone completely bonkers!'
Once Harry had completely taken in Ron's appearance, a muddied and sullen one, hair scruffy, ears red, he couldn't help but burst into laughter, which of course only served to make Ron's ears turn even redder.
'It is NOT funny, we were de-gnoming the garden, oh and thanks for the help with that by the way.' Ron began sarcastically, sending a biting stare in Harry's direction.
'Hey don't blame me.' Harry replied, his arms raising defensively. 'I tried to come out and help you; I like de-gnoming the garden. Your mum wasn't having any of it though. She said I needed to rest- said she didn't want me getting bitten.'
'Yeah it's all well and good for you, anyway so I'm de-gnoming the garden and this little git bites me right on the finger- so I'm trying to shake him off and mum starts having a go at me about getting blood on the flowers! It's mental! I reckon even if my arm was cut off and I was bleeding to death, she'd STILL be more worried about the bloody flowers.'
Harry couldn't help laughing once again as Ron came to sit and sulk by his side.
'I don't know how Ginny does it- stand up to her I mean. I know I've stood up to her before I guess, but not when she gets like this. None of us have- except her.'
'Ah it's the power of a woman on a mission dear brother.' The mock-solemn voice of George Weasley was heard a second before said Weasley brother entered the room, Bill following moments after. Harry barely had time to smile at the mention of his soon-to-be wife before they'd surrounded him like a pack of rabid dogs. The smile quickly faded.
'What are you up to?' Harry asked warily, not liking the smirk on George's face in particular.
'We're not up to anything.' Bill replied frankly. 'After that mess that happened at Percy's bachelor party, mum put her foot down on anything that might wind up with us losing the groom again.'
'You're the one who confounded him.' Ron replied with a raised eyebrow.
'I was drunk and he wouldn't shut up or have anything to drink, as the eldest brother I had a responsibility to make sure he let himself go before he got married.' Bill retorted puffing out his chest in a perfect Percy imitation that had the rest of them in laughing heartily.
'So why are you here then?' Harry asked.
'Because it's the night before your wedding so we're doing something to celebrate.' Ron explained rolling his eyes. 'And no, there aren't any Veela this time around. Like Bill said, we learned our mistakes from Percy's stag night.'
They all shuddered at the memory. Ron in particular at his own mentioning of the Veela.
'So grab your jacket groomie, and let's get cracking.' George replied with a glint in his eye reminiscent of the old days, which did not go unnoticed by the rooms other occupants. Harry, Ron and Bill all looked at each other once George's back was turned, smiling slightly, as if they'd been offered a rare gift.
Harry obeyed the ambiguous request, pulling on his jacket before following them- curious when they led him outside the house and around to the garden via the front door instead of the back. He caught Ron's eye, his eyebrow raised, Ron seemed to catch on.
'It's mum again, she's doesn't want you or Ginny seeing each other, until...well you know- says it's unlucky.' He explained, reaching up to scratch the back of his head, his jacket flapping loudly as it caught the evening breeze.
'Like the grim?' Harry smirked whilst trying to ignore the sudden and vast expansion of need in his chest- the need to see Ginny now that he knew he wasn't allowed to. He wasn't sure sneaking back into the Burrow to check up on her would go down very well- whether Ginny minded or not. Molly Weasley was terrifying once you crossed her.
Still...his invisibility cloak was just upstairs. Nobody would notice, he could go back to his room, say he was going to rest if he was caught, then pull on the cloak, sneak up to Ginny's room and then-
The sound of Ron tutting at his grim remark snapped Harry out of his fantasies; Ron rolled his eyes and set off after Bill, muttering something about revoking his permission, leaving Harry and George to follow the two. The pair walked in a comfortable silence, hands in pockets, except for George- who had one arm carrying a small brown bag whose contents were occasionally clinking together. Harry grinned.
'So you were able to smuggle a few bottles of firewhisky for whatever stag party you're for me then.' He said to George, who merely rolled his eye in a well OF COURSE way. Harry thought about asking what they had planned but knew it would be in vain.
Turns out he didn't really need to worry, it seemed they really had learned their lesson from Percy's bachelor party (of which Harry could remember three things, one: it was the drunkest he'd ever been and would ever be in his life, two: a Veela trying to bite Ron's face off and three: Percy serenading Arnold- Ginny's pygmy puff- with increasingly slurred lyrics to "A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love"). The group had lead him to the paddock where they frequently played Quidditch, and he grinned when he noticed his faithful firebolt, already resting by the trees with the others brooms. And right next to them, turning his grin into a full beam, were Charlie and-
'Neville!' Harry cried 'I thought you were working tonight!'
'Yeah well, work can miss me for one night, it won't kill them.' He shrugged, scratching the top of his round face sheepishly as he did so. Harry clapped him on the arm appreciatively.
'Brilliant, now we have even numbers!' Bill cried out greeting Charlie with an enthusiastic hi-five. 'Charlie, Neville and Harry against me, Ron and George. Every time your team scores a goal, you have to take a shot of firewhisky. Everyone get your brooms.'
And so what started out as a furious game of 3-a-side Quidditch gradually turned into six wizards floating around, throwing and catching a quaffle as they went through that slightly drunken stage of talking about nothing and everything. As Harry looked at the faces of all of his closest (guy) friends, he couldn't help but feel a rush of affection.
'Thank for this guys.' He said, the firewhisky telling him to voice this sudden affection out loud. 'This is exactly what I wanted- my ideal stag do.'
'HA!' Ron belted out 'Stag! Geddit 'arry? Stag!'
Ron's outburst caused about five minutes of uproarious laughter, and when Neville fell off of his broom, they decided it was time to call it a night.
Harry himself volunteered to lock all the brooms away in the shed. Locking it with the incantation, he turned and went marching along into the night, whistling happily as he made his way back to the house. It was a beautiful summer night, nothing bad had happened at his stag do (ha...stag Harry thought again, chuckling) and his stomach was lovely and warm from the after effects of the firewhisky. Life was good.
It was as he was walking around the side of the house, remembering that he had to go through the front door, that he heard it. It was unmistakable, especially to him, and it made him stop in his tracks.
It was the sound of Ginny, laughing.
It was like all the pent up need he'd forgotten about over the course of the evening exploded at once. She laughed again and Harry's chest tightened, it was almost as if the monster in his chest had been reawakened and, after years of being satiated, he felt it growling. That's when he knew, no matter how much he was risking his life if Molly caught him, he had to see her. Tonight. But how to do it without attracting too much attention? She was with Luna and Hermione, surely they wouldn't mind if he interrupted their night just for a little bit? Knowing Hermione, Harry was sure she'd even been expecting him to. Well he didn't want to disappoint expectations.
'Wingardium Leviosa.' Harry muttered at a nearby rock. It was simple, he'd just tap the rock against the glass, get Ginny's attention, then they'd sneak off into the night somewhere and-
''arry wha are yoo doin'?' Ron's slurred cry startled Harry so much he jumped, causing his wand arm to spasm and sending the rock hurtling back down to the ground. Next thing he knew there was a dull thud, a yelp of pain, and a loud curse word. Apparently George had come to check up on him too.
'OUCH! What in the name of Merlin's hairy grey-'
'What's going on?' Harry's stomach no longer felt warm and fuzzy as Bill turned the corner, followed by the rest of Harry's bachelor party, stumbling slightly.
''arry was tryin' to peek at Ginny!' Ron yelled pointing an accusatory finger in Harry's direction. Harry, in retaliation, puffed his chest out in indignation.
'I was NOT try to peek at her' what he was actually trying to do, four of her brothers (and Neville) were probably better off not knowing- or at least Harry was better off with them not knowing.
'But Harry- hiccup- that's bad luck! Hiccup- you can't see her 'til tomorrow!' Neville cried.
Right on cue, as if the stars aligned for that perfect timing, the window of Ginny's room started opening up. The six wizards looked up at it in horror, as if it was opening in slow motion, well except for Harry- whose heart was leaping.
'We made too much noise!' Charlie yelled, clearly unaware that his shouting exacerbated the problem.
'What- hiccup- do we- hiccup- do? She'll- hiccup- see him! She'll- hiccup- SEE HIM!' Neville yelled his hiccupping doubling due to his high emotions.
'QUICK! Everyone! Dogpile Harry!' George cried.
'What?' Was all Harry could say before five drunk men were leaping on him, crashing him to the ground and knocking his head so that a burst of stars clouded his vision. Well if he wasn't going to get a hangover, being knocked senseless would certainly do the trick.
'What's going on down there?' That was Hermione's voice Harry could hear through the wiggling pile of limbs and ginger hair. He was pretty sure he had a chunk of Charlie's hair in his mouth.
'Nothin' 'Mione! It's all gooood!' Ron's voice was calling out, Harry wasn't even sure where. All he could see was black and ginger.
'If you're playing a game, it would probably be best if you did it somewhere the groom can't see the bride. Mrs Weasley can get very cross sometimes.' That was Luna. Unmistakable.
'Thanks for the tip! We'll get going now.' Bill called out but from Harry's position underneath what actually felt like a hundred elephants, he couldn't tell if Bill was being sarcastic or not.
'And tell Harry that if he really wants to see me, he's going to have to try a lot harder than that.' Was the last thing Harry heard before the window closed again, the monster in his chest roared in frustration.
'Ginny!' Harry tried to call out, but the rest of them all subconsciously held him down tighter, almost afraid that he'd take her challenge to heart. Knowing Harry, he probably would have.
So what did you think? :) Please review! Thank you!