Harry arrived earlier than he expected at the Leaky Cauldron where he was meeting Ginny. They had dinner plans in Muggle London but he decided to indulge in a quick drink while waiting for her. Hannah Abbot greeted him and took his order, promising to bring it over to his table.
As Harry made his way to his preferred table, he happened to notice Neville Longbottom sitting alone. "Hey, Nev," he greeted.
"Hey, Harry, how are you?" asked Neville, gesturing for him to join him.
Harry did so; it still afforded him a good view for when Ginny arrived. "I'm good, just waiting for Ginny, actually. We're going out for dinner."
Neville shifted in his chair, looking around. "That's nice. So things are good between you and Ginny, then?"
"Yeah...I mean, we both have busy careers. Now I'm a second year trainee, we're doing lots more out in the field. And of course, Ginny is up in Wales every day, training hard with the Harpies. We actually both have the weekend off so -"
"Harry, you have to help me," interrupted Neville, leaning in closer. "I need advice...there's this girl."
Harry looked surprise that someone was actually asking him for love advice. "Just because I'm with Ginny, doesn't mean I know how I did it," he blurted out.
Neville snorted. "We all saw the infamous kiss in the common room, Harry."
"Yeah, that was me," agreed Harry, "but everything since...that's all Ginny. Er, who's the girl?"
Neville looked around, then leaned back in to whisper. "Hannah."
"HANNAH ABBOTT?" yelled Harry. That was a surprise.
"Sssh," hissed Neville, shooting him a dirty look.
"Did you call, Harry? Need another drink? Hi, Nev, how are you? Can I get you anything?" asked Hannah, appearing suddenly upon hearing her name called.
"I'm fine, thanks Hannah. No drink for me, I'll just keep Harry company for a bit." Neville tried not to blush and failed spectactularly.
"Oh, okay. Harry?" queried Hannah, shooting Neville a concerned look.
"I'm still good, thanks. Say, are you seeing anyone right now?" asked Harry. "Ow!" he jumped as Neville's foot made contact with his leg. Luckily, Hannah was distracted by a loud conversation at the bar.
"Er, Harry, Ginny just arrived and it looks like she's having words with Blaise Zabini. She's looking a bit..." Hannah tried to think of a nice way to express exactly how Ginny looked.
"Pissed. She looks pissed," noted Neville, then flushed when Hannah looked at him.
"Yeah, what he said," she agreed.
"I'm on it," said Harry, getting up and going over to Ginny and Blaise. In the back of his mind, he recalled Pansy Parkinson saying Blaise thought Ginny was attractive, years ago on the Hogwarts Express. He walked faster.
As angry as Ginny looked, Blaise merely looked amused as he towered over her. Harry came up behind his girlfriend in time to here Blaise taunt her.
"Do you want me to get you a step stool so you can look me in the eye when you threaten me, Weasley?" he sneered. "How tall are you, anyway?"
"You've sunk low enough for it not to be a problem," said Ginny, haughtily. "Besides, height is just a social construct."
"So you're short," stated Blaise.
"Knock it off, Zabini," sighed Harry, putting an arm around Ginny's shoulders.
"Speaking of short..." drawled Blaise, looking his way.
Harry bristled; his height was a touchy subject. "Hey, I'll have you know I'm five foot ten...and a quarter," he said defensively.
Blaise crossed his arms in amusement. "Ah yes, I remember when I was five foot ten. I believe I was fourteen."
"You were a jerk at fourteen too, so nothing much has changed," taunted Ginny. "Apologise to Harry."
"Apologise," jeered Blaise, "over my rich, hot, dead body."
"Come on, Ginny, stop fighting with Zabini," pleaded Harry.
"We're not fighting, Potter, we're having a creative discussion," said Blaise, smoothly. "It's the passion between us, can't you feel it?"
"We are too fighting," bristled Ginny, reaching for her wand.
"Creative discussion."
"Fighting."
"Discussion."
"Fight."
Harry huffed. " Now you're just having a fight about if you're actually having a fight. Gin, Neville is here and wants to say hello. Say goodnight, Ginny." He was fuming about the 'passion' comment.
"Or you can wish me a good morning. My house elf makes the best mimosas," coaxed Blaise, winking at her.
"Merlin, now you're flirting with me in front of my boyfriend!" cried Ginny. "You're an ass! How do you sleep at night?"
"On silk sheets, rolling naked amongst galleons. You're more than welcome to join me," purred Blaise. Ginny snorted in derision.
Harry shot Blaise a withering look as Ginny pulled him away. He then focused on her. "You really shouldn't insult people who are bigger than you," he advised.
"Then I'd never get to insult anyone," protested Ginny. She smiled as they reached Neville; she leant over to hug him before sliding into a seat. "Hi, Nev."
"Hi, er, everything okay?" he asked, gesturing to Zabini, still at the bar.
Ginny nodded, Blaise already forgotten. "How are you?"
Harry leaned over to whisper so only the three of them could hear. "He's having problems with a girl," he confided.
Ginny looked interested. "Like, 'her dead body won't fit into your trunk' kind of problems, or ' you like her' problems?"
"'I like her, problems," confirmed Neville.
Ginny took a sip of Harry's drink, grimacing that it had gone warm. "Too bad, I would have actually helped you out with the other one." She grinned to let him know she was teasing.
Hannah walked past, a fully loaded tray on her arm for the booth close to them. "So, dinner out tonight. Ron and Hermione joining you?" asked Neville, changing the subject quickly
"Merlin, no," said Harry. "The last time we went out together, it did not end well."
"We went out to a Muggle restaurant; Hermione chose it. It was one of those 'all you can eat' restaurants. Ron took it as a personal challenge," sighed Ginny. "Poor Hermione, imagine cleaning up after that!"
Neville grinned, being quite familiar with Ron's love of food. Still, hearing about Ron and Hermione, and seeing Harry and Ginny together, reminded him of his problem.
"Look, you know I think you two are perfect together, but I have to ask...how did you know that Harry was the one?" he asked her.
Ginny shot Harry a loving look. "He looked at me the way all women want to be looked at."
"Aw, Gin," said Harry, touched.
She nodded, cupping his cheek. "With fear in his eyes."
Harry sat back, unamused. Neville snorted, and tried to turn it into a cough when they both looked at him.
"Oh, come on, Harry, I'm kidding," cajoled Ginny, "and hungry. Can we go? Good luck, Neville. Just be yourself, you're a great guy. I'm sure it will all work out fine."
Neville nodded. "Thanks, guys." He watched them walk aeay, then resumed his Hannah-watching.
Harry reached for Ginny's hand as they walked to the exit. "Gin, I never told you it was Hannah that Nev was keen on. How did you know?"
Ginny grinned. "I had a similar conversation with Hannah just last week, Harry. She's head over heels for him, has been since their seventh year."
The year he'd been away. "Well, I hope they sort things out. I think they'd be good together."
They both looked wary as Blaise blocked their exit. "Leaving so soon, Weasley. Don't dream about me too much tonight." He laughed as he walked away, making Ginny clench her fist. Unfortunately it was the one that was being held by Harry.
"Ow!" cried Harry, releasing her hand and shaking his own. "Fuck, why are you so strong!"
Ginny shrugged. "I grew up with six older brothers. Someone had to protect them." She reached for his hand and brought it to her lips, kissing it. "Better?"
Slightly mollified, they left and crossed over to Muggle London. "I totally could have taken Zabini, you know," said Harry, grumpily.
"Of course, Harry," said Ginny, sweetly.
They walked in silence for several seconds when Harry said, "You're mocking me, aren't you?"
"Of course, Harry," repeated Ginny, trying not to laugh. "Oh, come on, baby," she teased, "don't look like that." She threaded her arm through his.
"Like what, I don't know what you're talking about? This is my 'I don't care' face," he said, scowling.
"That's your normal face," reasoned Ginny. "Harry, let's not let Zabini ruin our night together."
"Okay, but you should have let me handle him," protested Harry.
"Hello, do you even know me?" asked Ginny, stubbornly.
"Look, let's just agree to say sorry – on the count of three. One...two...three."
There was silence. "See, now I'm just disappointed in both of us," grinned Harry.
She grinned back. "Let's start over. Your new pants look really nice. I'm glad you bought them." Harry was not one to go out and buy new clothes often, hating shopping as much as she did.
"Thanks, they were fifty percent off, so a real bargain," he said proudly.
"I prefer them one hundred percent off," teased Ginny.
"But that would make them free," said a confused Harry. "The store can't give away clothes for free, Gin, they'd close in a week!"
"Think about it, Harry," sighed Ginny.
Harry thought about it, and chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I'm a bit slow tonight, sorry, need food. Did I mention how pretty you look tonight?"
"Pretty? I don't want to look pretty, I want to look otherwordly and vaguely threatening," announced Ginny. She quickly realised Harry was taking the piss; she was in faded jeans and one of his old tees. "You're an idiot," she said, nudging him.
"I'm your idiot," he corrected, bringing her hand up to his mouth, as she had done earlier to him. "Forever!"
"Forever is a really long time," sighed Ginny dramatically.
"Fooorrrreeeevvvveeeerrrr," said Harry, in a deep voice, then laughed maniacally.
*all taken from it's- hp-bitch, incorrect HP quotes.
