Pinpricks of light pierced the night sky, a soft breeze swaying through the orchard, the rickety, crooked Burrow glowing with light. Two men, barely graduated from boyhood, lay at the edges of the windowlight sharing no words, only a bottle of firewhisky.

Harry Potter, not yet eighteen and widely hailed hero of the battle of Hogwarts, coughed and spluttered his way through another ambitious gulping of the drink. Ron Weasley, his best friend of seven years, grinned and slapped Harry's back before taking back the bottle for his own attempt. Seconds later, Harry heard the rather expected sounds of his friend choking down his own drink to not much success.

'Why are we doing this again?' Harry rasped through his burning throat, a hand unsuccessfully trying to rub the pain away.

'Weasley tradition of course,' Ron said, his eyes bright with drunken fervour. 'What more reason do you need?'

'It's a bloody stupid tradition,' Harry replied, still rubbing his painful throat, 'If I ever needed proof you Weasleys are insane, this would be it.'

'Careful there Potter, watch my sister doesn't hear you say that,' warned Ron, as he tentatively took another sip of the firewhisky.

'Bugger off git,' Harry replied though there was no real heat in his words.

'Actually, you should say that around her, I think I'd get a kick out of Ginny hexing the daylights out of you,' Ron sniggered as he passed the bottle back to Harry.

'Who in your family decided that the best way to celebrate their coming of age was to drink a whole bottle of firewhisky as fast as possible,' Harry grumbled as he eyed the half full bottle with distaste.

Ron watched Harry take another swallow before saying 'I think it was Uncle Bilius, you remember the uncle I told you about at the wedding?' Ron paused as he waited for Harry to nod his assent. 'Well, I think he got Bill to do it on his seventeenth, and Bill sort of took it from there for the rest of us. He took Charlie out on his seventeenth, he got Percy when we went over to Egypt after second year, the twins he did at Grimmauld Place while Mum was working for the Order.'

'Your mum's going to tear into us in the morning,' Harry said morosely, as he quickly gulped down the last of the firewhisky before doubling over, spluttering, tears in his eyes.

'Nah, we'll be fine, Bill will fix us up with some hangover potions or something. If we have to I reckon we can get Bill to take us to Shell Cottage for the day.' Ron lay back, his lanky frame stretched out on the grass.

Harry, similarly stretched out, felt dozy, his eyelids drawn together. Ron's next words however, were like another shot of firewhisky, boiling his insides.

'So, what's going on with you and Ginny?'

The word's hung in the air between them, the night silent apart from the rustlings of leaves and creaking of branches.

Harry was slow to answer; he could not help but remember the Ron's reaction to finding Harry and Ginny together on his birthday almost a year ago.

'Why do you want to know?' Harry replied cautiously, slightly wary of what a drunk Ron might say. 'We've never really discussed this before-'

Ron looked at Harry, his eyes glazed.

'I mean it's like me and Hermione yeah, it's not just y'know…' Ron trailed off, apparently thinking he'd said enough for Harry to understand him.

Harry, however, was completely lost.

'I have no idea what you're trying to say Ron.'

Harry's reply seemed to sober Ron slightly. He looked away, fidgeting with his sleeve.

'It's serious, isn't it? I mean you guys are together for good?' Ron mumbled, clearly uncomfortable.

Harry felt the same, thoroughly wishing this conversation would end. His hands fidgeting with the grass, Harry carefully weighed his response.

'I think it is, yeah,' Harry replied, not wishing to reveal how he loved her pale skin, contrasted by speckles of freckles; her utter refusal to ever lose on the quidditch pitch; the way she could joke, or tease, or look at him and suddenly, he'd feel full to bursting with happiness.

Caught up in his daydreams, Harry completely missed Ron's reply, only catching the last couple of words. 'What was that Ron?' Harry asked, hoping it would be the end of it.

Ron looked at him, uncharacteristically sober. 'I said that's all I needed to know.'

Harry grinned back, glad that the conversation was over for the foreseeable future and that Ron accepted his and Ginny's relationship. Feeling like Ron deserved some payback for bringing it up, his grin turned mischievous.

'You know, your Mum's not the one we need to worry about. Hermione is back tomorrow.'

'Oh, bloody hell!'