"Ginny Weasley."
Standing up, Ginny walked across the stage, her robes swishing with each step. She had finally made it. She was graduating.
McGonagall handed her the scroll of parchment and Ginny paused to turn to her very large family who were all screaming, earning them looks from more than a few people. Her mother had tears rushing down her face; her father was frantically trying to figure out how to get the camera to work as Bill assured him Fleur had taken plenty with their camera.
She found a seat with her friends as they waited for the last few graduates to join them. Hermione grabbed her hand, tears leaking from her eyes.
Ginny laughed. "Why are you crying?"
"Oh, it's just that it's over, you know?"
"Well, can you honestly say it hasn't been an exciting eight years for you?" Ginny smirked, earning her a short chuckle from her friend.
The ceremony was over and they only had a few short hours left at Hogwarts for the Graduation Picnic. Ginny and Hermione made their way to the crowd of red hair to see their families.
"All of my children have graduated now." Ginny rolled her eyes as her mother engulfed her in a hug. "Well, almost," she added, shooting George and Ron glares.
"Sorry, but I had to help save the world," Ron pointed out.
"Yeah, and I had to help spread joy and laughter."
The crowd was begin to thin out as families grouped together and set up their own tables and blankets. Graduates shed their robes and many even abandoned their shoes to enjoy the warm weather. Dean Thomas, Seamus, Neville and a few other boys, or men, Ginny thought, were stripped down to their trousers or shorts, wrestling and tossing each other in the lake.
Her mother began dishing out food and few house elves even showed up to help make sure the entire Weasley clan had proper amounts of food appearing from the kitchens.
Spotting her friend standing with just her father, Ginny waved them both over. "Come eat with us, Luna!"
Sitting against a tree a few feet from her family's table, Ginny stared out at the lake and the rest of the picnic. She then realized this would be a perfect day. If Harry had been with her. With a sigh, she continued watching and day-dreaming.
"Ginny, come and eat."
Hearing her mother, she started to stand up when she noticed a tall figure coming up the path towards everyone. She paused, feeling her breath freeze as he came closer and closer. No one else had noticed him yet. His hair was short again, now returned to its natural black. He hadn't put his glasses back on, and he while he wasn't limping he seemed to be leaning a little less heavily on one leg.
It was Harry.
That morning, Harry was nervous. It wasn't a shaking kind of nervous though. He simply had a nagging feeling in his stomach. That something would go wrong.
He pulled out his black suit, taking his time to check for even the slightest wrinkle. His hair was damp from his shower and he had taken extra time shaving. He tucked in his white dress shirt and ironed out his trousers a second time before her dressed himself.
"Harry?"
"I'm in here, Dawson."
Dawson came in, chuckling when he saw his friend's face. "You look a little nauseous."
"I know. This sounded so much easier in theory. Which tie?"
He held up two green ties that nearly looked identical, something Burns was not about to say. He took them both away from Harry and unbuttoned the first few buttons of the dress shirt.
"Much more manly."
Harry laughed, seeming to relax a bit. He glanced over his appearance in the mirror one last time.
"Harry, you look simply fetching. Now, do you have the ring?"
He patted his trouser's pocket with a grin. "And I was considering flowers, but she'll probably just drop them."
"Good thinking. How is the leg, need the cane?"
"I'll probably use it later to rest it a bit, but not for this."
"Don't get down on one knee then."
"I don't know if my body will work when I ask her, so I doubt I will."
Burns laughed. "Good luck, Harry."
"Thanks, Burns."
With one quick and silent turn, he was outside the gates of Hogwarts. He could hear the commotion of the picnic and smell food that only Hogwarts could make so deliciously. He looked at the gate and felt his heart sink when he noticed the lock. Why didn't he think about that?
Pulling his wand out, he remembered how teachers only had to tap it with their wand. So, he tapped it. Nothing. Then another try. Nothing. After four attempts, he nearly gave up and was about to send a Patronus to someone when he lost his temper.
"Open!"
The lock clicked open and the gate swung back on its own.
"Seriously? That was all?"
He walked up the path, the weight of the little, black box in his pocket very apparent to him. He reached the top of the hill and saw the groups of families eating. A few familiar faces were at the edge of the lake, a few in the water.
It was not hard to know where his love was. The largest crowd was filled with red hair. They had a table set up a short ways from the lake and he could see her beautiful hair shining even in the shade of the tree she was beneath. He could remember making love to her there, one late night a long time ago.
As he got closer, he only saw her. He knew no one had noticed him even though he was only about a hundred yards away. That was when Ginny's head turned and she froze. She had seen him.
His expression must of been something of pure awe. He knew he wasn't smiling, but he was most definitely not sad. She stood up and walked past her family, who had yet to notice what was going on.
"Harry," she breathed the moment they came together.
He wrapped his arms around her, resting his forehead against hers. "I love you so much, Ginny Weasley."
"I love you."
Lacing his fingers through hers, he tried to pull her a little closer as he let his lips come down on hers for a moment. It was soft and slow, not lasting more than a few seconds.
"Are you back?" Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Forever. And always with you."
He pulled away a bit, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the box. Her eyes never left his, even when he opened it.
"I was planning on doing this a year ago when I picked this out. Marry me?"
"Do you even have to ask me? I already said yes. And I will always say yes, Harry, I will never stop wanting to marry you and be with you forever."
He slid the ring on her finger and she allowed herself the tiniest glance before gazing back at him.
"We have a lot to talk about. Like where to live, how many kids to have, wedding details..."
Ginny laughed gently. "Shut up, Harry."
With that, he gave her every bit of passion he could gather in a single kiss. When they broke apart she buried her head into his shoulder with a contented sigh. Harry pressed a kiss to her head before he glanced up and saw a very shocked and happy Weasley family.
"What do we tell your family?"
"Does it matter?"
Harry laughed into her hair. "No."
Ron and Hermione made their way to Harry, with Hermione wrapping him in a hug and Ron slapping him on the back. "Good to have you back, mate."
"Harry, you are here to stay, right?"
He looked down at Hermione and then tightened his grip around Ginny's waist. Everything seemed pretty perfect now. "Yes, I'm back for good."
10 Years Later
"Harry!"
Nearly falling over, Harry gripped the side of the kitchen counter. He looked down to see a tiny, red-headed girl grinning up at him.
"Hey, love, do you hear your mummy calling or am I hearing things?"
He scooped up his tiny toddler, pressing a kiss to her auburn locks. In the backyard, he found his wife watching over the boys who were enjoying some adventure game with treehouse.
"Teddy, your Gran wants you home for dinner tonight."
The nine year old rolled his eyes in response, giving his godfather half a second of his attention before returning to play.
He set Lily down in the grass, watching as she did her wobbly run to her brothers. Ginny smiled up at him as he sat down on the bench beside her.
"Tyson called earlier, he wants to swing by for a visit this weekend."
"Only if he babysits one night, so I can take my wife out for dinner." He smirked and gave Ginny a quick kiss.
She grabbed his arm and ran her thumb in little circles over Dave and Kyle's tattoo, a habit she had developed over the years. As for the rest of his tattoos, Harry didn't change a thing, though he had added a rather large one when Lily was born. A long vine wrapped around his upper arm with several leaves, five of which bore the names of his family. The top leaf was Ginny Weasley, then Teddy Remus Lupin, James Sirius, Albus Severus and the bottom one for Lily Luna. His entire family.
The shattering of a pot brought both him and Ginny back to reality. They looked to see Jamie smiling sheepishly at them, his hazel eyes gleaming. He was practically a carbon copy of his grandfather only he hadn't inherited the rotten vision. Al and Lily were mirror images of their parents in nearly every detail, though at times their personalities seemed backwards, with Lily often being quiet and Al being the loud one of the bunch.
"So, any ideas for Jamie's birthday?"
"Nothing extravagant, just the family at The Burrow. Did you pick up that model airplane kit?"
"Hidden away in our closet."
"Good." Ginny sighed, letting her eyes close as she leaned into Harry.
With a smile he leaned over, whispering in her ear, "This is love like never before, I don't care, can't breathe anymore." He paused, enjoying the smile on her face. "And water lilies on the lake, you're in my arms and it's not too late...baby I'm yours, I'm yours...alone."
He continued humming as they watched over the kids with a sense of peace and normalcy, and of course, the reminder of how special water lilies are.
