Hello lovely readers! I know it's been a long time since i've posted anything here, and I am really sorry! I've been super busy with school and stuff, and, to be honest, I sort of lost interest in my other stories, and I'm not entirely sure where they were going, so I cut them off. But I am back, and better than ever! (I hope)
I have had this fic in my head for years (literally: think 2011) and I finally have the whole plot lined out in my head, and most of the kinks worked out, which is awesome, so hopefully I don't end up giving up like I usually do. I hope you will all stick with me for the rest of this story, right?
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. Obviously.
It was just your average Spring day at the Weasley residence. The late afternoon sun streamed in the Kitchen window, and obscured most of Ginny's vision. She saw Harry, sitting at the table, framed in golden sunlight as she walked in, and her heart swelled. He looked up from his copy of the Daily Prophet, which he had been poring over, and she could tell that her own emotions were mirrored on his face. When she sat next to him, he kissed her softly, lips lingering softly over her own. Suddenly, a shadow moved across the window, blocking some of the sunshine. They turned and saw several dark-cloaked figures who had appeared just outside. Harry rose to his feet, and grabbing his wand, ran outside to the figures.
Quickly, Ginny ran outside after him, wand at the ready. She began firing hexes, curses, even a few charms, doing everything she could to try and drive these wizards who were obviously not friendly away from her home. But she was too late. There were so many of them, and they had caught them unprepared. Harry was disarmed, held between two of the biggest of the group. His glasses were askew and he looked at her with such unabashed love and protectiveness that she felt she would do anything to help him get out of this trap.
She looked him straight in the eye with a promise that she would help, and was struck at once with the usual breathlessness that came every time she took in how brilliantly green they were. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the Death Eaters, for of course that's who these cloaked monsters were, raise his wand. It pointed straight at Harry, and before she could do anything, the green light was coming from somewhere other than those eyes which had been staring into hers. It spread and spread until all she could see was Green. She was blinded, trapped. Everywhere she looked there was green, and she couldn't escape it.
And then it was over.
She blinked, and realised that she was still sitting at the table in the Burrow's kitchen, the coffee which she held in her hands growing colder by the minute. It had just been a nightmare. She had to remind herself quite often, even now that the war which had taken up so much of her childhood was over. They were free. She shook herself slightly and was surprised to hear movement in the doorway. She was sure everyone else would still be asleep, but when she looked at the door, she found herself sighing in relief. It was just Harry. She laughed silently, because it would never be, had never been, "just Harry".
Ever since she had been a girl of ten, seeing her closest brother off to school for the first time, and seen him standing there, nervous and alone, she had felt a sort of pull towards him. He was Her Harry, and she was sure in her heart that nothing would ever change that.
He walked in, running a hand though his hair absentmindedly, as though trying (and failing) to make it sit straight. He put his arms around her from behind and pressed a gentle kiss to the point just at her jawline. It has taken a while, over a year in fact, for them to build up a proper relationship since the war had ended. Many wounds were still raw, even now, and back then they had had to spend far more time working to heal themselves, so that they couldn't invest in each other fully. But they had done it, and now they were just like any other couple in their early twenties, just happy to be together, in love, and not worrying about anything to do with war and despair. (Well, not quite, but they were close enough to be happy, anyway)
She still wasn't quite used to the fact that she was, for all intents and purposes, living with Harry. They may be staying in her parent's house, but they shared a room, and a bed (though her mother didn't need to know the exact details...) Ron and Hermione were in a similar situation to them, and the two couples had the house to themselves, at least for the last week. Molly and Arthur had gone to London to visit George, and his wife Angelina. They had been married for several months now, and had just announced the previous week that they were expecting a baby.
However the baby was not the main reason for this visit. It had been George's birthday yesterday, and he always felt rather melancholy at this time of year, the wounds caused by his twin's death still feeling raw. Ginny herself was barely able to think of his name, without feeling close to tears. 'Fred, she told herself. You have to say it. You can't just block it out.' She could scarcely imagine what horrors the twin who had been left behind must feel, especially having to celebrate his birthday without the one person he had known best, had loved most. He needed his parents around at this time of year, even with Angelina there. He would never admit it, but he did.
Harry seemed to know without asking that she had had another dream, and he comforted her silently, before changing to a much cheerier topic, though Ginny's nerves remained, for quite a different reason. Today, she would be starting trials for the Quidditch team she had supported ever since she was five years old, chasing after her brothers who wouldn't ever let her get a hold of the Quaffle when she took to the sky on the ancient, too-big broomstick which had been bought for her older brother Percy (though why anyone had thought Percy would ever use a broom of his own was beyond even her imagination)
They talked about this for several minutes, laughing at the thought of Percy on a Quidditch field, and discussing possible tactics she should use to astound her captain, until suddenly they heard the clock chiming.
"I'm late! Damn it I'm late for my first tryout! I am so dead!" She panicked, transfiguring her pyjamas quickly into quidditch robes, and kissing Harry fleetingly on the cheek before disapparating to the field where she was supposed to have been five minutes ago.
The last thing she heard was Harry shouting "You can do it Gin! I love you!" Into what had almost been nothing but thin air as she twisted and departed for the cold, muddy pitch. Ginny couldn't bring herself to be anything but calm, determined and ecstatically happy, even when the captain was yelling at her for every slightest mistake, and women older and more experienced at professional Quidditch jostled her from either side, because no matter how long she was with Harry, She knew she would never tire of hearing him say those words to her.
Several hours later, Ginny trudged back into the Burrow, and found Harry in a large armchair by the fire in the sitting room. She was covered in mud from head to toe, and her hair hung in curtains over her face. Harry sat up straight as soon as he saw her, and immediately tried to decipher how it had gone. Her posture was giving nothing away, so he ventured a question. "How was today?" He asked, gently, wondering if she was alright. She did seem unnaturally quiet, and he was beginning to worry.
She simply shrugged, biting her lower lip, as though trying to hold back some overwhelming emotion. His heart sank at the sight of her looking so forlorn, and he tried to comfort her. "Don't get too upset, it was only your first tryout ... There are other teams, right?"
Suddenly, Ginny let out what could have been a snort. Harry's brow furrowed in confusion, until she said, indignantly, "What do you mean 'other teams'? Why on Earth would I go to another team when the Harpies have taken me into the second round of tryouts?!" It took a moment for the news to sink in, but soon enough, Harry was on his feet, grabbing her into an almost bone-crushing hug, though, thankfully, it was not quite of Hagrid-esque proportions.
He danced her around the room, singing her praises and reflecting that any team would be stupid to turn down such talent as hers. Soon enough, they were both exhausted and laughing happily as they collapsed together onto the armchair, kissing and feeling nothing but joy and love in the moment.
They didn't wake until the next morning, when they heard a sharp knocking on the door. Ginny jumped up immediately, realising that she was still in yesterday's Quidditch robes and hitting Harry in the arm to wake him up. ""Harry! Answer the door! I think it's 'Dromeda with Teddy! I need to have a wash, I'm still filthy from yesterday." She rushed up the stairs, not even bothering to check how clean Harry was, for, she realised, her own muddy robes had been pressed up against his clothes all night, and he was likely to be almost as dishevelled as she was. But at least he wasn't wearing Quidditch robes.
She ran a bath for herself, pulled off the old robes, and lowered herself into the warm, soapy water. Her limbs were quite stiff, and she berated herself silently for not bothering to warm herself up after training, though she couldn't quite bring herself to regret the previous night. She allowed herself to relax, smiling at the noises from downstairs. Harry was obviously listening to Teddy recounting one of his latest adventures, and she found herself reflecting on how wonderful Harry was with Teddy, and with Bill's girls. She silently wondered if there was anything about him that wasn't completely perfect...
Harry was sitting in the kitchen, talking to Andromeda about how Teddy should begin showing signs of magic pretty soon, and how exciting it was to be for the family. He seemed to have settled on a bluey purple coloured haircut today, but god only knew what it would be next week. He really was just like his mother, that boy. The toy broomstick the five-year-old had been zipping around the kitchen in had been Harry's gift to him for his first birthday. There was a bang from whichever corner Teddy had managed to fly himself into, followed immediately by a loud cry. Harry immediately rushed over to him, healing the cut, and handed the boy a chocolate frog from the cupboard.
Ginny walked into the room just as Harry was sitting back down, and she giggled at the sight of the chocolate covered fingerprints on Harry's back. Teddy seemed to have grown unnaturally quiet, staring at the card held in his hands.
"Uncle Harry! Uncle Harry! That's YOU!" He shouted excitedly, pointing at the picture of on the card he held in his hand, which was, indeed, of "The Boy Who Lived-Harry Potter". The miniature Harry sat in the picture, adjusting his glasses, and looking vaguely embarrassed. A similar expression could be seen on the features of the full sized, grown up Harry who sat in the kitchen.
Harry smiled, suddenly looking distant. "Yes, Teddy. That's me! Ron and Hermione have their own cards too, did you know? A long time ago, when you were just a tiny baby, there was a very bad man, and we all had to work together to make sure he didn't hurt anyone ever again."
Ginny looked at Harry with wonder. He hardly ever spoke of the war, and even this little snippet was a lot, coming from him. Unfortunately, the moment was broken by another knock at the door, and the sound of a baby crying.
"It must be Bill and Fleur with the girls!" Exclaimed Ginny, hastily wiping her eyes of the tears which had started to build up unknown to her while watching the little exchange.
Ginny went to open the door, giving Harry a moment to compose himself before they came in. Fleur was holding Dominique, looking completely worn out, and Bill was trying to stop Victoire from playing "dollies" with the garden gnomes. Ginny immediately took Dominique from Fleur, and Harry helped Bill get Victoire inside.
Harry watched Ginny rocking Dominique. She seemed to have a knack for that sort of thing. She was usually one of the only people who could get Dominique to stop crying. Harry began to wonder about whether one day the baby in Ginny's arms would have jet black hair, or emerald eyes, hoping for it's own sake that it would have inherited her eyes though, not just because they were beautiful, but who would want their child to have such dreadful eyesight as his? He knew that if that day ever came Ginny would be absolutely fantastic, after all, she learned from the best. He just wasn't sure if he would be able to take on that role. After all, he had never really had someone to learn it from. Well, no-one who was there for longer than two years anyway...
Harry realised he was suddenly quite close to tears, so he forced himself to stop thinking along this path. He looked at Teddy and Victoire playing together instead. He smiled to himself as Teddy helped Victoire up onto his broom, saying, "You have to be very careful you know, a'cause it's easy to fall off and hurt yourself! And you need to be extra careful because pretty girls can hurt themselves worser than big boys like me!"
Just then, there was a sound on the stairs, and Ron and Hermione walked in, wearing dressing gowns and slippers. They were whispering to each other, but as soon as they got to the doorway, and saw the crowd in there, they stopped. Hermione turned bright pink and ran back up the stairs, and Ron's ears turned red, as he grinned sheepishly at Harry, who rolled his eyes.
Hermione came back down, fully dressed, after five minutes of awkward silence, broken only by the sounds of Teddy and Victoire playing, and Dominique sleeping, still in Ginny's arms. Hermione flicked her wand, and the kettle began to boil. Another flick, and the tea was pouring itself out into seven different cups. Harry took his gratefully, and as he drank, his mind wandered over to the first time he had stayed at the burrow, and he smiled at the memory, wondering over how much had changed since then.
Ginny looked curiously at Harry. He really was acting quite strange. She could have sworn that he was looking at her tearfully a few moments ago, and not the usual, post-war depression either. But now he was grinning while staring at the butter dish. He looked up and smiled softly at her, and she remembered all those years ago, when Harry had first visited the Burrow, and she had been so awestruck by him that she had put her elbow in the butter dish. It made her blush to think of how incredibly starstruck she had been, that year, and she was touched that Harry seemed to have remembered such a small detail, from so long ago.
Hermione had noticed this exchange and smiled. She had an inkling that something big was going to happen between Harry and Ginny, and soon. The visitors all left at around two o clock, leaving them with less than two hours before Molly and Arthur returned home. They looked around at the kitchen, and Ron visibly paled. There was a lot of cleaning to do around here.