Quidditch League:

Round 1: Not my OTP

Beater 1: Write your Beater Two's NOTP. Harry/Ginny

Prompts: 2. (word) yesterday, 6. (word) apple, 12 (image) .

Word Count: 973 exc. title

Two Times to Say "I Love You" for the First Time

The two times that Ginny Weasley told Harry she loved him for the first time were the complete antithesis of each other. For one she was exhilarated, the other exhausted. The happiest she'd ever been versus well… she didn't know how to feel. Confused was probably the right word, however guilty might be the most appropriate. They had one thing in common though - they were both special, and Ginny knew she'd never forget either.

oOo

"Shh, everyone. He's coming!" Ron quickly shut the portrait behind himself. Ginny joined the crowd waiting for Harry to enter the common room.

"Quid agis?" She heard his voice say.

"You'll see," replied the Fat Lady, not giving anything away in her voice. The portrait swung open and the Common Room erupted. The noise was deafening. Harry was pulled into the roof by various people, a look of bemusement on his face.

"We won! We won! Four hundred and fifty to a hundred and forty! We won!" yelled Ron as he pushed the trophy towards Harry. It looked as though Harry wasn't looking for the trophy though, his sights seem to be set on a certain red-haired girl who was running towards him. As soon as Ginny was in Harry's arms he kissed her and Ginny's heart seemed to explode with joy. After all this time she now knew that he wanted her as much as she wanted him. They eventually broke apart and after a brief period of quiet only punctuated by some wolf-whistles and giggling they left the common room.

They walked through the castle, not talking but holding hands. If either of them had looked at the other's face they would have seen a giant smile plastered over it. Neither of them spoke of a destination but they headed towards the edge of the Great Lake; it was peaceful enough that they could talk uninterrupted. The sun shone overhead as they sat down on the grass underneath a large magnolia tree.

"So," Harry said, "how was the match?"

"Really? You want to talk about the match? Now?" Ginny replied incredulously, with an eyebrow raised. He indicated as such. Ginny sighed, but smiled, and said, "It was good. They scored some goals. We scored some goals. I caught the snitch. We won. Happy?"

"Extremely" He grinned at her and Ginny felt her heart jump again; in the shadow of the branches of the trees along the banks he really did look handsome.

"About what happened in the common room… stop smirking!" She smacked him lightly on the arm, "Are we going to do this?"

"Yeah! You don't know how long I've wanted to do that, and I'm going to do it again now." He leant in to kiss her again, and Ginny entwined her fingers through his hair.

"You know, I never would have believed this yesterday," Ginny breathed onto his lips, "I've loved you for so long." She suddenly paused and pulled away, as if she said too much, but Harry pulled her in again and stroked her long hair with his fingers.

"Me too." He felt Ginny relax into him after that. They stayed like that, in relative silence just letting the afternoon sun pass over them. Eventually Harry said, "We should think about getting back soon; people will think we're up to something."

"Let them think." Ginny giggled and kissed him again.

oOo

The first "I love you" didn't last for as long as either of them hoped, but the second lasted for a lifetime.

oOo

The atmosphere was morose. Everyone had congregated at the Burrow after Fred's funeral. Hardly anyone spoke, and anyone who did was answered with a short, sharp response. This was usually given by Molly Weasley, and her eyes would then fill with tears as she realised what she had said and to whom. Most people had a glass of butterbeer, Ginny was picking at an apple and Arthur Weasley was tinkering with some muggle object in the corner - something he'd taken to doing a lot since the Battle of Hogwarts.

Time ticked away, and still no one moved. No one had the energy. No one had anywhere else they needed to be. Eventually Ginny sighed deeply and stood up.

"Harry, want to come for a walk?"

He nodded silently, stood up and put his glass down with a clunk that seemed to echo around the kitchen. Harry followed Ginny out of the house, through the gates, and into the fields beyond. She didn't stop until she reached a tree with a tyre hanging from a branch. She stroked the tyre gently and sadly turned to face Harry. "Does this remind you of anything?" she asked with a sad smile.

"That time after the quidditch match, by the Great Lake," he replied. He smiled at the memory, it seemed so long ago, and so much had changed.

"I remember that day for so much more than the match."

"Er, yeah. So do I. You told me you loved me."

"I did. And I still do. I love you, Harry. But I don't know what to feel, I can't… Fred…"

"It's ok," Harry took her hand and looked her in her tear filled eyes. "You don't have to do anything."

"I want to though, I feel so guilty. He's just DIED, Harry. What would he think?"

"He would think you're being ridiculous. He wouldn't want you to mope, he wouldn't want anyone to do that," Harry said in earnest.

"You're right, Harry." She kissed him gently then, a teardrop still falling down her cheek. Ginny pulled away and spun the tyre swing. "Can we just stay out here forever?"

"For forever and a day if that's what you want." Harry took her in his arms and together they sat by the tree watching the sun go down over the hills.