At the Potters'
A series of one-shots looking at Harry and Ginny's life as a couple and as parents.
Studying – March 27, 1999
Ginny smacked her head against the table in frustration. "Damn," she mumbled, rubbing the reddening spot on her forehead. As the hours whittled away, her concentration waned.
Harry surfaced across the table from behind a stack of books. "What was that?"
"Only another step toward my breaking point," Ginny groaned, glaring at the thick book that sprawled before her. "It's getting dark outside. Shouldn't you be heading home? Don't you have Teddy tonight or something like that?"
"Nah, he's with Andromeda tonight. Tomorrow, though," he explained. "This way, I get to be here with you."
"Yes, well, I'm sure you have more entertaining things to attend to than my studying," she said offhandedly.
He furrowed his brow. "Nothing like an evening at the Three Broomsticks. And in any case, it's better this way since McGonagall doesn't approve of me being in the Gryffindor common room when I visit. And I don't mind watching you study. It's adorable, really."
She frowned. "Nothing about this is adorable. I am this close from snapping my wand in half. Hermione has gone on and on about Gamp's bloody Law of Elemental Transfiguration and I can't seem to remember any of it."
Harry sipped from his butterbeer, looking around. "Where is Hermione, after all? I thought she would join us."
"Are you kidding me? These are our N.E.W.T.s we're studying for. She hasn't left the library in weeks! She's mad. Although, I'm beginning to think it's the sensible thing to do…" She flung her head back into the book before her.
Harry stood and rounded the table so that he stood behind Ginny. The Three Broomsticks was relatively empty this evening, though he suspected it had a lot to do with students fervently studying. He leaned over, brushing aside some of Ginny's red hair and kissing her freckled neck.
"No!" Ginny said hotly, brushing Harry aside. "You can't distract me! Go back over to your side of the table!"
Harry frowned and feigned sensitivity. "Bloody hell, if I'd known I'd be dealing with a banshee instead of Ginny tonight – " But he stopped midsentence when he saw the death glare that Ginny dealt him. He slowly made his way back to the seat on the opposite side of the table.
"Be happy that I haven't banished you," Ginny said warningly. "Hermione threatened to hex Ron if he so much as stepped foot on Hogwarts grounds during term time."
"Well, you can't blame me for missing my girlfriend," Harry replied defensively. "I've only been gone weeks at a time on Auror training. I'd have thought you'd be happier to see me."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm happy to see you, you dimwit. But I'll be damned if I fail my N.E.W.T.s, and you'll be damned with me if you're the reason that I don't pass."
"I'll just flee Britain," Harry said, fearing Ginny's wrath. He folded his arms and pouted slightly. Softly, he muttered, "I'd have thought I'd get at least get a bit of snogging tonight…"
But Ginny heard and tossed one of the books beside her directly at Harry's head. He only narrowly missed it by ducking.
"What was that for!"
"For being a distracting prat!" She looked up from her book and saw the distressed expression on her boyfriend's face. And the look of alarm broke her tough exterior and caused her to laugh. "Oh, Harry."
Ginny walked over to Harry and sat in his lap, earning a look of disapproval from Madam Rosmerta behind the bar. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled against his cheek, feeling stubble against her own. She kissed him gently just below the ear.
"You're right. I'm sorry," she said softly, looking him fiercely in the eye. "I shouldn't have invited you over if I needed to focus. Truth is, it takes all my effort to keep you out of my mind when you're gone. "
"Yeah?" He looked at her curiously, arms wrapped around her waist.
"Yeah," she said, smiling. "So it wouldn't have made any difference if I told you to stay away so I could study. I would've spent all day thinking about you instead."
Harry threw her a skeptical look, but his cheeks still reddened.
"I can leave if you really need me to," he sighed. "I'll just find another girl to go to Madam Puddifoot's with."
"That ruddy place? I think you're fine right here. The company is loads better, anyway," she said fondly.
"But what about studying?" Harry asked very seriously. "Hermione wouldn't approve of this. Nor would Ron, for that matter…"
"Forget studying," Ginny insisted. "And forget both of them. I thought you wanted snogging?"
"Oh. Erm, well –"
Ginny cut Harry off and pressed her lips against his as his hands roamed around her back, completely disregarding the piles of books on the table, as well as the fact that there were still a few patrons left in the bar.
Madam Rosmerta threw her washcloth irritably on the bar counter and disappeared into the back room.
AN: At first, I wasn't so sure how much I would want to write about Harry and Ginny pre-children, but this is actually turning out to be pretty fun. Tell me what you guys think!
Edit: Thanks to everyone who pointed out the mistake I made with "Nymphadora" instead of "Andromeda." I'd have to agree, a pretty small but still very huge mistake :/