Disclaimer: it all belongs to J.K.R., without whom none of this would be.

Reawakening

A light breeze floated through the open window of the highest room of the Burrow. Sunlight had been warming the room all morning, and this cool breeze began to gently lull the room's solitary sleeper back to consciousness. The boy stirred on his cot, messy black hair sticking to his forehead. He brushed at it clumsily, still half asleep, revealing the scar on his forehead that had defined him for the last nearly 17 years of his life. However, Voldemort was gone for good and maybe now this Boy Who Lived turned Chosen One could finally be Harry; just Harry.

As he further awakened, he realized that the breeze was bringing with it an all too familiar scent, one that made his stomach do flips and snapped him wide awake. He fumbled around for his glasses and shoved them on his face, looking around anxiously for Ginny when he regained sight. He located her on Ron's bed not far from him, curled up like a cat, facing him, and dozing as such. Her beautiful red hair flowed out behind her and her small yet strong frame rose and fell rhythmically with her light breathing. Harry thought he had never seen anything more breathtaking in his life.

He crawled over to her quietly and gently brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and off of her freckled cheek, like she was a delicate treasure. She stirred ever so slightly, smiling before she even opened her eyes.

"Morning," she said as she looked up at him, still smiling sweetly, big brown eyes stopping his heart.

"How long have you been up here?" Harry asked, hand frozen behind her ear as he stared at her.

"Oh, I don't know, ever since Ron came downstairs earlier," she shrugged. "I didn't want you to wake up alone."

He smiled at her brightly, appreciating her in this moment more than he had ever appreciated most anyone.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

"And Mum said you can stay in bed for as long as you like, and that I can stay up here with you," she smirked. "As long as she doesn't come in and find us in the same bed," she added with a wink.

"Well, naturally, I wouldn't want –"

"It's okay, I had Hermione put an alarm on the stairs. We'll know if anyone is coming up," she said mischievously as she rolled off Ron's bed and onto Harry's lower cot, landing on top of him.

"Gin –"

"I know you're a big war hero now, Mr. Potter, but you're fame has never meant much to me at all," she said firmly, teasing. Harry began to grin widely. "Therefore, I don't take orders from you because you have nothing to protect me from anymore. I fought as well, if you remember. Just because I'm not of age yet doesn't mean I can't make you listen to me without magic. Now you're going to allow me to take care of you, Harry, because Merlin knows I've waiting long enough for you."

"You win," Harry said, chuckling, as he pulled her head down to meet his lips. As they kissed unrestrainedly for what was really the first time, Harry didn't think he had ever been happier. Even the first time he had found out he was a wizard could not compare to this. The war was over and perhaps he could finally have a normal life… a normal life in which Ginny was a large part. Ginny pulled back from their kiss, smiling lovingly down at him.

"Now, Mr. Potter, off with your shirt," she said, that mysterious smirk gracing her features again. He looked at her questioningly, unable to hide his smile. "I'm going to put some Dittany on your wounds, Harry, unless you want to have more scars all over your body," she teased as she got up to get the ointment. Harry laughed at her and pulled his shirt off over his head. She was right; he was pretty banged up still. He hadn't even noticed though since he was just so content to be back at the Burrow and finally resting easily.

"A bit scrawny for the most famous wizard in history, aren't you?" Ginny teased at she looked down at his bare chest. He put his hands behind his head and laughed.

"Now you know the truth," he said back, grinning at her.

"Turn over and let me do your back first," she ordered as she sat down beside him. He complied and began to relax as she gently smoothed the ointment over his cuts. They got quiet and her breathing began to get quicker as she massaged his back and shoulders. He didn't even realize he had injuries anymore; all he could feel was every single nerve that Ginny hit as she touched his skin.

"Okay, flip," she said after a few minutes. Harry positioned himself on his back in front of her, nervously, now quite shy. She also seemed to have developed a set of nerves, and was beginning to redden quite rapidly. As her hands nimbly applied ointment to his chest and stomach, Harry shivered at her touch even more noticeably and she began to smirk uncontrollably, head down and face red and she concentrated on his wounds and tried not to look at him.

"Thanks, Gin, this feels great," he said, fairly awkwardly, trying to break the tension a little. He honestly had no idea what he was doing, and Ginny always seemed so sure of herself. She was more experienced than he was, after all.

"The pleasure is all mine," she said seductively as she finally looked at him again. She moved up to him and kissed him again, positioning her body over his as she did so. She then sat up, straddling him a little above his waste, and began to trail kisses down his neck and all over his chest and stomach, kissing the scratches and cuts that were still present from the battle. He began to tense up and gasped minutely as she kissed lower on his abdomen. His excitement was beginning to rise, and he knew she'd be able to tell soon. He didn't know if that was going to be a problem.

"Poor Harry, so tired and worn out from fighting big old Voldemort for so long," she teased as she moved herself down further on him, kissing down his stomach and past his naval, brushing his sides lightly with her fingertips.

"I think I'm feeling much better now," he said, smiling down at her. "Come here," he said as he tugged her upwards by her shoulder. They kissed hungrily as he pulled her on top of him. He ran his fingers through her soft mane of hair and breathed her smell in as deep as he could. They had both lost so many people over the last few days, few years even, but he couldn't have been more thankful to still have her. He pushed her back a little and cupped her face with his hand, looking into her captivating eyes.

"Thank you for still being here, Gin," he said softly, and kissed her again. "Thank you."

"Thank you, Harry. Thank you for being everything I knew you could be. And thank Merlin that you LIVED, Harry Potter, because if I had waited for you for all this time and you had gone and DIED on me, I swear I would have found a way to bring you back from the dead just to kill you myself," she said heatedly, tears starting to build up in her eyes though she continued to smile.

"I'm sorry," he said sadly, seeing all the hurt she had experienced written on her face. "I'm so sorry, Gin. And I'm so sorry I couldn't keep everyone safe. I'm just… sorry," he sighed, thinking of Fred and everyone else they had lost in the War, Lupin and Tonks, particularly.

"Harry, you did more than anyone could have ever hoped of you," she said sternly. "You kept us from all dying. Now don't you dare blame yourself for one second for anything awful that has happened. It's over now. It's over, Harry. We can only honor and remember those we lost and move on, because that's what they would want us to do. You've done brilliantly, now just rest and be brilliant Harry, not the Chosen One or the Boy Who lived or whatever the hell else they're going to call you now. Just be my Harry, like you've always been."

"That's the only thing I can think of ever wanting to be again; your Harry."

They looked at each other for a long while, smiling sadly at each other, understanding of all their pain passing between each other, and then they kissed once more, forgetting for a moment that anything else existed, and started their healing processes together. Ginny rested her head on Harry's chest, right over his heart, and they held each other as tight as they possibly could, afraid to let go and lose one another again. They slept off and on like that all day, waking periodically and smiling at each other, reassuring themselves that the other was still there.

When Ron and Mrs. Weasley came up later that night, Harry's heart sank at the thought of Ginny having to leave him to go sleep in her own room. He looked down at her sadly when Mrs. Weasley had entered the room with Ron.

"Oh good, you two are still alive up here," she said, averting her eyes from them and looking at nothing in particular around the room. Harry sat up a little, leaning on his elbows, pushing Ginny off of him and to the side in the process.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley, we've just been resting all day. I know I should've come down, but –"

"Nonsense, Harry, you need your rest! I told Ginny you stay up here as long as you need. There will be plenty of time for everything else after. Merlin knows you deserve a few days off!" she said, now looking at him fondly. If he couldn't have his own mother, at least Harry had Mrs. Weasley. He looked up at her with all the warmness in his heart showing on his face.

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," he said quietly. She smiled at him knowingly. Ginny moved around next to him preparing to get up and follow her mother downstairs.

"Now, Ginny, make sure you take good care of him tonight," she winked at them. She chuckled at their shocked faces staring up at her. "I'm sure he'd feel much safer with you by side after having you there all day."

She turned to leave the room, Ron shaking his head in disbelief, and slight jealousy, as he made his way to bed.

"Oh, Harry, dear, do just put your T-shirt back on," she said as she closed the door behind her. He hastily grabbed his discarded shirt and pulled it over his head as fast as he could, slightly embarrassed even though Mrs. Weasley was not still in the room.

"I can't believe she's letting you sleep together," Ron grumbled from his bed, back turned to them. "Hermione and I are both 18 and Ginny isn't even of age yet. I swear, if I hear anything from you two, I'm coming down there and killing The Boy Who Lived myself."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, smiling incredulously. They laid down with each other and curled up as close as they could, more content than they had ever been, ready to sleep more peacefully than they would have ever thought possible only a few days prior.

Fin
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