Chapter 8
()()()
"Did you want to tell me that story one more time?" Luna asked.
"What?" Ginny asked her, not really paying attention. She was waiting for Harry to come through the Floo. She'd sent him an owl earlier saying that she had good news and really hoped that he could stop by that evening. She knew that he had to work the next day but they'd been missing each other a lot lately, as per usual, and with this news of hers it was going to make it even more difficult for them to see each other.
"You're full of nervous energy," Luna commented. "If you tell me once more then maybe you'll calm down and Harry will understand your rambling the first time you tell him."
"He'll probably understand regardless, he was part of the reason this all came about." Ginny was full of nervous energy; her knee was bouncing up and down uncontrollably. But if she wasn't sitting just then she would no doubt just be pacing the sitting room back and forth. Their sitting room wasn't that large, so she'd likely wear a hole in the carpeting that way.
"Why don't you make dinner or something?" Luna suggested.
"Why don't you tell me something to distract me?" Ginny countered, she had hoped that she and Harry would go out somewhere for dinner to celebrate this news.
Luna took her up on that challenge. "I think Neville and I have run our course," she said simply.
That'd do it.
"What?" Ginny asked incredulously. This was the first she'd heard of Luna having any doubts about she and Neville. They'd been spending less nights together lately, but Ginny hadn't thought much of it, she thought that they were still going strong.
"I'm sure he feels the same way but is too nice to say anything. He is very sweet," she said as though it were an offhand comment.
"He's the sweetest," Ginny agreed. "Which is why I'm confused. Do you not like him anymore?"
"I like him plenty, but now more as a friend. Perhaps we can meet up for a shag now and again, but I believe we have both gotten out of this relationship everything we can and now it is time to move on."
Luna stated it all matter-of-factly as though it were something she'd just read out of the Quibbler. It was the same way that she'd announced to Ginny about all of her previous boyfriends, or whatever the correct terminology for her paramour was, but Ginny hadn't become friends with any of them.
Neville was Harry's brother for all intents and purposes.
Great, now she had more things she needed to tell him. She couldn't not prepare him for that. He'd find out the moment he went home, no doubt Neville would be quite mopey. Luna might just glide from one thing to another, but most people, Ginny included, had poor reactions to breaking up, even if both party's knew it wasn't going to last forever.
The flames erupted green and Harry stepped out of them before Ginny could find some response to Luna. "Hey," he smiled down at Ginny.
"Hi," she grinned right back and got up off the couch to greet him properly.
"Do you know if Neville is home yet?" Luna asked from her chair.
"Um," he glanced down at his watch. "Should be. Floo is open anyway," he shrugged. Harry was still wearing his Auror robes and it was only just after 5:30pm so he must have come straight from the Ministry.
"Well then I shall leave you both to it," Luna said pleasantly and tossed the Floo powder into the fireplace and spun away.
"So, what was your big news?" Harry asked Ginny looking like he was readying himself for something to celebrate.
She had a shiver of excitement run through her body then. "They said yes!" she blurted out without context.
"Who said yes to what?" he chuckled at her enthusiasm.
"The- the," she looked down at the coffee table for the two pieces of paper that would explain it. "The Harpy's Management Team," she said when she found the first piece, knowing full well that it still wasn't enough information for Harry to know what she was talking about. "They said it didn't interfere with my contract so long as it was only for the off-season." Then she found the second piece of paper that held the Nimbus logo.
Ginny handed both letters to him to read then watched his expression eagerly as she let the letters explain exactly what she was going on about.
"You're going to be testing brooms for Nimbus?" he asked her, a grin stretching across his face. "That's… that's… wow!" His eyes bore into her own for a minute longer while the information sunk in, his face lighting up with the same excitement that she was feeling inside. "Ginny that's amazing!" he exclaimed and pulled her in for another hug.
"I know!" she said, emphasizing it with a big kiss on his lips. "It'll be for a three-month contract then I'm back with the Harpy's for training again. It's Monday through Thursday from nine to four, so I'll still get long weekends." She fell back against the couch with a happy sigh. "I feel so great right now!" She couldn't stop herself from kicking her feet up in the air with glee and slapping her hands against the couch in time with her legs. It must have looked moronic but she was too hyped up to care.
Harry was chuckling at her reaction. "When do you start?"
"On this next Monday," she said brightly. As it was only Thursday that left her plenty of time to ride this high before she actually started the job and found out if it was a good move or not. She was hoping desperately that it turned out to be a dream job. Either way, having the extra income during her off season meant that she'd have a much more friendly budget than she had been anticipating. Knowing that she wasn't going to be paid in the off season meant that she'd been very diligent about putting her funds aside to carry her through. Usually she would help out her brother George a bit with his owl order shop to make a few extra coin and take up other temporary jobs like she had a the Ministry when she met Harry.
Now though!
"This could turn out to be a yearly arrangement!" Ginny said in a partial daze. "I could be paid year-round to ride a broom. That's the dream."
"Sounds like we need a celebratory dinner," Harry said as he leaned back over her and gave her a kiss.
She would have liked to be able to melt against him and kiss him harder but she was still vibrating from her excitement. Hopping to her feet she pulled him up as well. "We do, and it will be my treat!" she exclaimed.
Harry grinned and set the letter he'd still been holding back down on the coffee table and Ginny noticed his eyes drift to another letter on the coffee table. Except it wasn't a letter, it was an invitation that had arrived a few days ago and she wasn't quite sure how to bring it up with him.
"Oh," was all that came out of her mouth as he picked that up and read it over, an awkward and nervous feeling suddenly throwing a blanket over her previous emotions.
"George and Angelina set the date then?" he asked and flipped it open properly to see the details. "For three months from now." He was nodding slightly as he read the letter. Probably getting to that 'Ginevra Weasley and guest' part that was causing that weight in her belly.
George had proposed to Angelina only a few weeks ago and surprised everyone, Angelina included who had actually threatened to castrate him if it turned out he was joking before she said yes.
"Erm, yes. Angelina wanted the time to plan it and have the honeymoon just before the season starts again." Act casual, Ginny said to herself. Obviously she wanted him to be her plus one, but after the way he'd reacted when she mentioned something about having kids one day, hypothetical kids that she really wasn't looking to start in on making any day soon, and he freaked out… well she didn't want to spook him again. Plus, the date was three months out, that's as long as they had been dating. They were at the half way point to that date in their relationship, wasn't it a bit too soon to ask him to go with her?
And Ginny really didn't want to know whether or not he would be spooked by it.
It would devastate her really if he did get spooked. That would be a shining beacon of how things weren't likely to work out long term between them. Yes, she felt they were rather solid in their relationship but the majority of it they had been apart for. She thought that they were in a 'plus one' place right now but wasn't sure. She felt like plus one's were either for long term committed relationships, friends or one off's that were an excuse to have a cheap date drinking alcohol that someone else had paid for.
If he didn't want to go with her or was wary about making plans for an event that was as far into the future as they had currently been dating then she didn't know where they stood.
She also didn't want to deal with that right now and would prefer to focus on her good news.
"So, what are you in the mood for for dinner?" she asked evasively and kept on heading towards the door.
There was a palpable pause before he responded. She didn't want to turn around and see the expression on his face. For an Auror that went on undercover missions regularly, Harry wasn't the best at hiding how he was feeling.
By the time she was slipping on her shoes he had caught up with her.
"How about an Italian place?" he suggested. "Somewhere with a good wine list."
Internally she let out a sigh of relief that he was moving on from the invitation. "Fine, but if I'm buying you dinner and wine then you better put out tonight," she joked.
"Oh, the wine won't be for me," he said stepping closer to her. "It's to make you relax enough to ask me to go to your brother's wedding with you."
She stood up abruptly, ignoring her untied shoes and her eyes grew wide as he placed his hands at her hips and slowly backed her up against the wall. His brilliant green eyes were looking deeply into her own, it was as though he could read the emotions that had run through her body when he saw the invitation and he knew exactly why those feelings were there.
"It's three months out," she said nervously. It was almost a whisper, but it was as loud as she could manage.
"I read the date on it," he told her, continuing to slowly press he body against the cool wall of the corridor.
"That's as long as we've been dating," she said, chastising herself for pointing out that information to him.
"I wouldn't call this dating anymore. We're in a relationship. I'm with you, you're with me. You aren't supposed to be hesitating to invite me to your brother's wedding when it's this close."
Ginny chewed her lip a moment as she thought over how to phrase this. "I just… remember how you reacted when I, when it just slipped out that eventually I…"
"That was two months ago," he said plainly, cutting her off.
"So, you wouldn't freak out if I asked you to come with me to the wedding?" she asked skeptically.
"No," he said with a frown, appearing by all accounts to be hurt by her assumption. "Look, I know I overreacted to that.. thing. If you ask Neville he'll tell you how much I tend to freak out and overanalyze things sometimes. For example, remember our first date when it went from us going to a Quidditch game to us spending the entire day together? Well, when I pulled my head out of the Floo that morning I had a bit of a freak out over what I'd just agreed to, and it all turned out great."
Ginny wasn't quite sure what to do with that information. He had seemed fine by the time he'd come back to hers for breakfast that day, and the date had been the best first date she could have ever hoped for. Quidditch, food and sex all balled up into a 24-hour long date was so much more than she could have ever hoped for, particularly when it was with a man she'd held several fantasies with over the years.
"Do you want me to go with you to the wedding?" he asked her point blank.
"Yes," she said immediately.
"I need to hear you ask me," he said patronizingly.
Ginny rolled her eyes and gave her head a shake at his tone, relaxing almost immediately at his cadence. "Harry, will you please come with me to George and Angelina's wedding?"
"I'll have to check my calendar," he told her.
Ginny gave a scoff and pushed his shoulder at that response.
Harry chuckled and leaned down to give her a kiss. "Yes, of course I'll go with you."
"Thank you," she said before giving him another kiss. "Alright," she pushed him back so she could finish tying her shoes and they could keep heading out of the flat, "a sit-down restaurant means that it'll be forever until we actually have food in front of us so let's get going."
Now she felt she had even more reason to celebrate.
Two hours later they were both a little tipsy as they climbed the steps back to Ginny's flat, Harry's hands were happily wandering quite a bit over her back and down to her bum. Her protests were almost as unbelievable as his apologies with the way they were smiling about it.
"Think Luna will be back at mine?" Harry asked huskily into Ginny's ear as she was fumbling for her wand to unlock the door. She groaned when he closed his lips around the middle of her ear. It sent a straight shot of desire to her clit.
Shit, Ginny thought, it had completely slipped her mind to tell him about Luna breaking things off with Neville. Now wasn't the ideal time to bring that up though. She was hoping to have her legs wrapped around him in a minute so pausing for that discussion was not a happy thought. "No, she'll be here." Afterwards she could tell him about their flat mates parting of ways. "We'll head straight to my room," she said and pressed herself against his form behind her, being sure to move her hips in such a way that told him exactly what she wanted once they were in her room.
His hum of appreciation was reward enough for her gyrations.
They didn't stop or take any detours on their way through the small corridor to her room. Luna might come off as daft at times but she would undoubtedly know exactly what they had planned and wouldn't try to stop them for a quick chat.
Ginny locked and silenced the door her bedroom door, dropping her wand and pulling her top off in one fell swoop.
"Eager, are you," Harry smirked and gave her a good looking over.
Judging from the indent in his trousers he was eager himself.
"I want to use my mouth on you," she said point blank, the wine must have really loosened up her lips.
Harry looked shocked and intrigued. "Whatever the lady wishes," he grinned when he regained himself and his hands went to his belt.
They were long past the point of being modest around their desire for each other now.
"I've something in that drawer in my nightstand that I've been meaning to try out for quite some time. I think I'm just sloshed enough to give them a go." She made a show of sauntering around him and slowly slipping her own trousers down around her ankles, tossing them to the side of the room and opening the drawer where she'd tucked her Boots purchases from her girls night several weeks ago.
Holding one of the packets up she showed it to him. "This one's strawberry flavored," she said and licked her lips. She took a step closer to him and ran her nose against his own. "I like strawberries," she whispered before kissing him deeply, pulling back slightly and giving a bite to his lower lip.
She could feel his erection pressing against her belly and felt so satisfied about having put it there. She had barely even touched him and he was already fully grown. A shiver ran through her whole body from the pleasure that thought gave her.
Ginny directed his body back to the bed and pushed him down upon it, straddling him as their lips came together again. Kissing him like this was a simple pleasure. The feel of his flesh against her own was making her wanton, let alone the sensations that his lips were eliciting. Their tongues joined in and she gave a slight suck on his, earning a groan from him for her efforts. Ginny wanted to work her way down his body though, get him really worked up by the time she was poised between his legs.
She pulled back slightly from him, biting him lightly on his lower lip. His hands were gripping and palming her bum, holding her in position and slowly guiding her gyrating hips downwards towards his manhood. The anticipation of him touching her gave her pause. She would love it if he would spend some time touching and massaging her between her legs, but she was on a mission tonight. He could explore her later.
Ginny kissed her way down his neck and along his broad shoulders. Merlin he had nice shoulders. There was something about a man that had shoulders like his. It was primitive, like he could easily throw her over one of them and smack her arse for the whole world to see that she belonged to him.
She had to reach behind her to remove his hands from her derriere, she brought them above his head and forced him to lean back completely on the bed, he was quite reluctant to keep his hands off her though.
"Do I need to restrain you for this?" she asked in her most seductive disciplinary voice. The feel of him throbbing against her at that suggestion was answer enough. "Oh, like the sound of that, do you?" she asked with a smile and pulled back from him completely. Quick as a flash she summoned her wand from the floor. "Incarcerous," she said. Ropes had appeared from the corners of her bed and had him dragged and bound in the middle of her bed, a feast for her eyes.
"Miss Weasley!" Harry exclaimed in surprise and arousal. "That is one use for that spell that I haven't used before."
"Oh, don't worry," she purred and climbed back onto the bed so she was straddling his waist once more. "You can do me next."
Picking up where she left off her lips went back to his lovely shoulders, from the look on his face Harry didn't have the slightest problem being restrained like this. The further down his body she trailed her lips the more she felt his hips gyrating against her own. She was poised in just the right spot that when his hips rose his erection would slap against her swollen sex. She longed to raise her hips and bring them down again so his cock would be nicely nestled between them with the underside of his shaft pressed against her, that way she could grind up against him and take off some of the edge that was making her feel a bit selfish.
Instead she worked her way down his body and shifted herself further down as well. He had groomed for her. It was a nice sight to have his manhood completely on display with no coarse hair to block her view. She'd discovered exactly what would set him moaning when they'd done their extensive exploring on their weekend in France and it hadn't been a surprise to her what got him going. Her thumbs grazed slowly down the V line of his pelvis in a massaging way as she worked them downwards towards his sack and he let out a loud groan of pleasure.
Ginny grinned widely at the noise he made and kept repeating that motion with her fingers until she was lowered down between his legs and nuzzled her nose against it. This elicited another loud moan from Harry. Slowly she kept nuzzling against the skin at the underside of his penis, working her way upwards and taking one of his balls into her mouth, running her tongue against it, around it, then giving it a suck and a tug before letting it pop out of her mouth. His cock kept jumping up and down with pleasure as she moved to do the same with the next ball.
The packet of strawberry flavored condoms lay where she'd first placed it on the bed and she reached for it. He was good and aroused now and she wasn't sure whether this was going to wind up lasting ten seconds, due to her reaction because it would turn out to be awkward and disgusting or if she would be able to carry on until he finished because the Muggles had made the thing taste delicious.
Ginny really didn't know what to expect and it was with an inexperienced hand that she opened the box and pulled out the little foil packet, ripping it open and pulling out the thing.
Now she really wished she'd blindfolded Harry as well. Or practiced on a zucchini or something for getting this thing to unfurl properly.
"Erm," she started, "talk me through it?"
"Pinch the middle bit," he told her straight away. He sounded quite desperate for her to carry on. "Yeah, just like that. Put it over the tip," he gave a satisfied breath when she did as he directed by taking his shaft in her hands. "Now hold it there with one hand and roll the rest of it down with the other."
There, Ginny thought and observed her handy work. He now had a pink bag over his cock that smelled strongly of strawberries. Now all she had to do was check and see if it really tasted like strawberries. Situating herself back between his legs she kept one hand on the base of the condom and brought the tip towards her mouth. Her tongue came out and she gave a slow, hard lick along the base of his shaft.
Hmm, it did really taste like strawberries.
She closed her mouth over the entire tip and twirled her tongue around it. It was a weird feeling to have the plastic in her mouth, but the taste made it almost okay. She started bobbing her head up and down, working her hand in time with her head movements and soon she had established a rhythm that felt good, for her and for him if his reaction was anything to go by.
The flavor didn't last forever though, then it was just her shoving a plastic bag in her mouth until she couldn't take it anymore.
Pulling back she tugged the condom off of him she tossed it to the floor and resumed working on him, much more enjoyably with that barrier removed.
"Oh, fuck yes!" he moaned.
It seemed he enjoyed it much more when it was just her hot mouth on him. She could feel him much better this way, no doubt he could enjoy the sensation of her tongue rubbing in that one spot under his tip that got him really going much more this way as well.
He started thrusting upwards in time with her pumping hand and soon enough he was shooting off into her mouth with a loud moan that rose up and down in pitch with each thrust of his hips.
"That was so good," he said in a daze.
"Better without the condom," she said and released the restraints on his limbs.
He could only hum in agreement as he brought his hands down, pulling her to lay down beside him. "What possessed you to get that though?" he asked, unable to help giving a chuckle.
"Drinks with the girls, got chatting with Hermione, remember her? She was arguing with Luna about something that day at the Ministry?"
"Right, I know Hermione. She was arguing about House Elf rights or something," he said, sounding as though he really couldn't care less.
"That's it. So, she is a Muggle born and I asked her about condoms after we'd had a few drinks because, well, it was after that first night we spent together and I had a few questions." She buried her face in his side, not quite sure whether she was trying to stop herself laughing or blushing.
Laughter was his response. "Oh right!" he chuckled. "You had looked quite terrified."
"Well, you had essentially leapt off the bed and shoved some kind of shield on your cock then expected to shove that inside me, I had no idea what it was."
He barked out a laugh at that description of events. "Hermione explained?" he asked her to continue with her story.
"Hermione explained," Ginny nodded. "Said there were different kinds. That led to this." She reached back over to her nightstand and pulled out the four pack of condoms she had picked up. "Thought we might take a crack at seeing what the difference is supposed to be," she waggled her eyebrows at him.
Harry looked at the box and back up at her, intrigued by the request. "I am game." He looked down between his legs. "Well, I will be game, just give me another few minutes."
()()()
It was a small mercy to Ginny that Angelina was only having her maid of honor and George was only having his best man. She had already been forced to be a bridesmaid in her other brothers weddings and it had meant she had to be on her best behavior for them.
Not being in this one meant that she got to spend the day with her plus one, her boyfriend, more importantly, her boyfriend that made sure that he wasn't going to scheduled to be anywhere else this weekend and had all of his paperwork done by mid-day the day before to make triple sure he didn't have anything to do this weekend. The two of them were going to be enjoying the wine and food and he'd promised her at least five dances during the reception.
Apparently his grandmother had made he and Neville take lessons when they were thirteen, she'd wanted them to be prepared for any and all situations, even though he and Neville weren't allowed to attend any balls or galas that they had been invited to. Harry had assured her though that some of his lessons had stuck with him and he was sure he wouldn't embarrass the both of them and that her toes were safe.
The ceremony was over now and the two of them were making the rounds to all the guests with drinks in hand. Ginny was sure to guide him away from certain irritating cousins she had, they were bound to ask a few questions about how the two of them met, but in the most patronizing way. As though it was impossible that Ginny of all people would be the one to catch the great Harry Potter's eye. They'd also fawn all over him and he certainly wouldn't like that. She was mostly glaring daggers at her second cousin Noreen over that whenever she threatened to come close.
Her teammates on the Harpies that had made it weren't nearly as bad. She and Harry wound up hanging around them mostly and having a laugh.
"Have I mentioned how great you look?" Harry whispered in her ear.
"Once or twice," she whispered back. "Feel free to tell me a few more times though. Somehow it doesn't get tiring."
He looked pretty dashing himself. He'd chosen to go with a Muggle suit for the occasion and Ginny found it much more appealing than Wizards Robes. The cut of it just suited him. Dashing was the best way to describe him in a suit.
She leaned in for a quick kiss and pulled back, running a hand appreciatively down the front of his jacket. "You know, I'm interested to see you properly sloshed again tonight. I wonder what that would look like in public?"
He'd had a few drinks when they were out with the Harpy's after she'd been put into her first game, but the only time she'd seen him properly drunk was when they were at Fleur's family cottage during their weekend away. Neither of them were very big drinkers and Ginny had never really found alcohol to be her beverage of choice, she had yet to see Harry opting for a nightcap in lieu of water or tea.
"The first time I'm making it all the way through a Weasley family gathering and you think I'm going to get wasted?" he asked rhetorically. "I'm trying to make a good impression here which may or may not have extended to asking Neville to help me pick out this suit."
"Awe, you put effort into your appearance?" she asked teasingly. "Harry Potter, does that mean that you like me?"
"I swear it is only because you're pretty," he told her dismissively. "And I like your wit, and smile, and you've got a great arse."
Ginny chuckled.
"All around, you're kind of wonderful," Harry told her honestly.
She gave a dramatic sigh, "I've waited nearly half a year to get a 'wonderful' out of you and here it is! I can die happy now."
"Is that all you've wanted me to say? You could have mentioned that before," Harry told her, his tone not holding that same level of mocking she had been using.
Ginny heard and understood his tone, she wasn't quite so playful with her next words. "It isn't the same if I have to tell you to say it! If it isn't your idea to say it, naturally occurring, then it doesn't count." The both of them were no longer talking about the word 'wonderful' anymore and they knew it.
Six months in and those three words had yet to be spoken to each other. She had been waiting until she was sure. Ginny didn't know how much of her feelings for him were in some part due to the crush that she'd had on him ages ago. At this point though it was pretty clear that she loved him because he was Harry, not because he was the Prince Charming of her bedtime stories as a child.
They hadn't managed to have one of those all-consuming romances with their busy schedules, but somehow their relationship stayed solid. He was building his career still and was constantly signing up for cases that would fill his days and sometimes nights. With her working through her off season now their days off didn't always line up and they'd been managing to get together one night a week minimum. Those nights together weren't full of romantic date nights either, they were evenings spent in each other's arms, which she preferred to sitting across the table from him at some stuffy restaurant anyways. It was more intimate that way and those nights were about them simply being together rather than having to take in the atmosphere around them.
She did love him, she just didn't want to be the one to say it first.
The signals she read off him told her he loved her as well, he just hadn't verbalized it. It was the way that he would hug her close and bury his nose in her hair and relax against her like having her in his arms was all he needed to come down after his day. It was how he stroked her hair and would look right into her eyes when they were in bed together.
He loved her.
She knew it. She wanted to hear it but she didn't need him to say anything.
She certainly didn't need him saying it right here and right now. "Come on, lets go over and see how Ron is making out," Ginny said and looped her arm around his elbow, guiding him over to Ron and Hermione.
Ginny had set Ron and Hermione up. It was funny really; she had invited Hermione out for another girls night, but it was actually just the two of them, she'd gotten two drinks into Hermione by the time Ron showed up, him thinking it was just going to be he and Ginny. Two drink Hermione was a lot of fun and tended to say what was on her mind, when her mind was on Ron it turned out her mind was a bit of a slag and Ron had liked that. They had been dating for a month now and both were quite grateful to Ginny for that set up.
"Hello you two," Ginny grinned and took a seat beside Hermione.
Hermione had been taking a drink from her champagne flute and choked at how abruptly Ginny had appeared and greeted her loudly in her ear, as was Ginny's plan.
"Hi," Hermione sputtered. Ron handed her a napkin. "Are you having a good time?"
"I will be. Only a few drinks in yet. As it is George's wedding and Lee is the best man I'm assuming that this reception is going to get rather interesting before the night is out. Mind what desserts you opt to try." Ginny had been subjected to a few experiments over the years, and not willingly like her alarm clock that she'd had for a while.
"Ron has already warned me," Hermione assured her.
"And yet no one warned me," Harry said from the seat on the other side of Ginny.
"Oh! Right," she chuckled at her forgetfulness. "Don't eat anything unless it legitimately looks like a cake. If it looks like a macaroon, odds are it isn't a macaroon," she told him and pointed towards what looked like a yellow macaroon.
"You didn't give him fair warning?" Ron asked her incredulously.
"He knows George better than Hermione, it just slipped my mind that he would need warning," she reasoned.
"What do you reckon it would do to me?" Harry wondered and picked up the sugary looking parcel.
Ginny and Ron both took a good look at the item. "What do you think, Ron? Canary?" Ginny said.
"Would be the obvious with it being yellow," Ron shrugged. "Why don't you eat it and see?" The grin he was giving Harry was one of daring.
"Right, because I was born yesterday," Harry grinned back at Ron. "I think I know how to check properly though." He looked over to his left and Ginny followed his eyeline to see that there was a table full of her third cousins, the one's that were all around Charlie's age and had been eying Harry up like a piece of man-candy.
Before Ginny could ask him what his plan was he'd got up from the table and walked over to them. Ginny looked back at Hermione and exchanged a glance. When she turned back again Harry was already on his way back to his seat.
"What was that?" she asked.
"And five, four, three, two," Harry counted down and then inclined his head purposefully as there was a squawk at the next table. Ginny's cousin Noreen had just turned into a giant canary. "Looks like Ron was right!" Harry laughed and raised his glass in cheers.
"Brilliant," Ron laughed and clinked his own glass with Harry's.
"Harry! You shouldn't have done that!" Hermione reprimanded. "This is a wedding." She looked around as though waiting for someone to come over and discipline them.
"Relax Hermione," Ginny told her. "Harry didn't force her to eat it, nor did he put it on the table. And this is George Weasley's wedding! Of course there are going to be trick desserts. She'll molt soon enough and that slutty dress of hers will still be in one piece."
"You aren't actually angry at me for that, are you?" Harry asked Hermione disbelievingly.
"Well… no," she admitted with a blush. "That one was rather rude to me earlier. Said something about it being a shame I didn't have time for a proper hairstylist to deal with this," she gestured to her hair.
"Oh, I like your hair," Ron told her. "Even without all the effort you put in today."
Hermione blushed harder at that compliment and the two of them leaned closer to one another.
"Think someone is trying to get laid tonight?" Harry murmured in Ginny's ear.
"You mean me?" she asked back with a saucy wink. "Either way the answer is yes."
Harry snorted a laugh, "good to know." He took another look around and saw that Noreen was slowly transitioning back into herself and throwing daggers at Harry with her eyes. "Your mum isn't going to come over and scold me for that, is she?"
"If she does then you'll know she's truly accepted you as one of her own," Ginny shrugged and looked over towards the buffet table to see if there were any different appetizers. She could really go for something with shrimp.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Mum wouldn't tell off someone she doesn't really care about. She'd just give you the stink eye," Ginny explained.
"She's told me off several times before," Harry said to her in confusion.
Ginny's head shot over sharply to look at him. "What? When?"
"During," he started then stopped immediately.
Oh, she realized. Yes, her mum would have been around him loads during the Order meetings at the end of the war. No doubt she would have wanted to take him under her wing just as much as Mrs. Longbottom had. And Harry had something that the Weasley children didn't; manners. She could almost picture her mum at those meetings force feeding Harry and Neville food and knitting them jumpers.
But she and Harry didn't talk about that time.
Ginny's brow furrowed at that realization.
They hadn't talked about the war at all. She only knew what he'd been through second and third hand, likewise for him about what she'd dealt with at school for that last year.
Now wasn't the time to talk about that either.
"I guess you should count yourself lucky that she simply hasn't seen what you've done yet then," Ginny told him.
"I don't know," he said softly as he fought to keep a wistful smile off his face. "I did have a great way of getting her to calm down."
"What was that?" Ginny asked, looking for tips more than anything.
"Harry Potter!" came the disapproving voice of the woman herself. Ginny's mum was stomping over to their table then stood looking down at Harry with her hands on her hips. "Did you intentionally give a Canary Cream to Noreen?"
"To be fair," Harry prefaced. "I wasn't 100% sure beforehand what it was."
"So, your excuse is you only assumed that it was something that would cause a side effect such that it did," her eyes narrowed.
Harry nudged Ginny with his foot to indicate he was about to use his technique for defusing this situation. He rested his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand while looking up at her. "You look so pretty today," he told her charmingly.
Ginny could only gape at the back of her boyfriends head as he pulled that one off. Her mum was standing there looking flustered, angry and bashful. It was a sight to behold as the woman's arms lowered and a flattered smile came to her face. "Don't do it again," she said finally and turned away from their table to head back to her husband.
"What?" Ron asked. "That's all I ever had to do?! Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Do you use that method on all the women in your life?" Ginny asked Harry in disbelief.
"Tried and tested," Harry said proudly. "Works great with her anyhow, Gran would just keep railing off on me about how I'm just like my father. Remus told me he used to do that," Harry told them with a big smile.
Harry didn't talk about his parents much. Ginny knew he had his mothers eyes and his fathers everything else by way of looks. Harry either didn't like talking about them or he just didn't know enough about them to share stories.
"I'm trying that next time I get a bird angry at me," Ron stated decidedly.
"A bird?" Hermione asked him pointedly, clearly disapproving of his terminology.
Ron caught on to her anger immediately and gave her a weak smile. "You look so pretty today," he told her.
Sure enough, Hermione rolled her eyes and had a pretty blush rising to her cheeks.
The rest of the reception was a lot of fun. Drinking, dinner and dancing until they were exhausted. Harry had spun her around the dancefloor several more times than promised and he'd been quite good at it too. She wondered if she could get him out to a club one night so they could really tear up the dancefloor, and not in the fun and proper way they had at the reception, but the R-rated way that she had really wanted to dance with him. She could wear a tight outfit that made him drool, he could snog her continuously as she ground against him while the music was pounding in their ears.
()()()
The next morning they were at his and Ginny woke up to a spot of sunshine coming down through a bit of the blinds shining right in her face. She was incredibly comfortable and didn't want to move, but was also desperate for toothpaste to wash the disgusting taste out of her mouth.
Slipping out of Harry's bed she threw on his button down and her knickers before padding to the bathroom. She knew Neville would probably be home, but Harry's shirt came down to just above her knees, she could probably have belted it and passed it off as a dress, so it was modest enough.
The bathroom was unoccupied and she grabbed Harry's toothbrush and set to work while she examined her face. Her make-up had rubbed off for the most part, but there was still quite a bit of eye make-up that would take effort to get off properly. Her hair didn't look too bad, it had that mussed up look to it that one got from a good nights sleep or a nice go-round in the sack.
After spitting out the toothpaste she splashed her face with water and dried it off. Her head wasn't pounding, meaning they hadn't had too much to drink last night. She could still do with a glass of water before coffee.
Ginny was quite comfortable at Harry's flat now, and finding Neville sitting at the table in the kitchen hadn't been a shock or made her self-conscious.
"Morning," she greeted him with a sleepy smile.
"Morning," he greeted her back. "Had a good time at the wedding?"
There hadn't been any lingering weirdness between she and Neville after Luna and he broke up. It had seemed right from the off that Luna had been correct about how the two of them had simply fizzled out and it was mutual. Ginny was grateful for that because Neville had quickly become a good friend of hers. He was sweet and funny, and he had all the embarrassing stories about Harry from growing up. He had also mentioned he was interested in someone new now and had come to Ginny for advice on wooing her, which she felt honored about.
"We did. We danced and drank the night away. Harry even turned my least favorite cousin into a Canary for a bit," Ginny said as she filled a glass with tap water.
"I'm assuming that was due in part to the groom's sense of humor?"
"It was," she grinned with a salute of her glass to him before drinking it down. "Ah, that feels better."
"We have a hangover potion around here somewhere," he offered.
"No," she waved a hand at him in dismissal as she grabbed for a coffee mug. "We didn't get too carried away with that. Just had a good time."
"And did you and he have a chat?" Neville asked imploringly.
Ginny frowned at him with the way he posed the question. "A chat about what?"
"Oh," he looked a little flustered then and like he'd put his foot in it. "Uh. Nothing," he said unconvincingly.
"A chat about what, Neville?" She asked again before there was a small nervous ball of worry that settled in her stomach as she watched him searching for a way to re-set their conversation. Try as she did, the possibilities of what this non-existent chat was supposed to have been about weren't occurring to her. Had there been something that happened that Harry needed to discuss with her? He'd seemed completely normal yesterday.
"What were you in the mood for for breakfast?" Neville asked brightly.
"Is it something to do with his work? Or mine?" she asked, ignoring his question.
"No," he assured her, then gave a pause. "Well, sort of. No," he shook his head. "Not really."
"Is it something I should be worried about?" she asked, feeling a bit of panic sink in.
"No!" his hands came up in front of him to relay his honestly. "No, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. It is about you and he, but it isn't anything bad. I promise you."
"Neville," she said his name in worry. "Don't do this to me. Please, tell me what this chat is supposed to be about." She needed to know now.
"I'm not going to do that to him," he looked offended at the idea. "Harry said he wanted to have a chat with you about something and it's his job to do it."
"Job?" she asked. Ginny didn't like the sound of a 'chat' being referred to as a 'job', that sounded like it was something bad.
"Look. All I'll say is that I am moving back to the Manor house. Gran is getting older and it is part of my responsibility to take over the Manor as the last living Longbottom. It's something to do with that."
"What? Is your Gran sick?"
"No, she's just old and it is a big house for her to manage on her own anymore. I've had to go ahead and get her a new House Elf to help her out and make sure she's eating properly. I was always going to move back there eventually, now I feel like it might be the right time. I've done my bit of independence and freedom from all that, now it is time to move back and take up my seat on the Wizengamut and what-not."
Ginny nodded her head. So, maybe the chat was just about how Harry was going to be living alone now. They didn't have to confine their sex life to their bedrooms anymore. That didn't sound like a bad thing at all.
"Okay," she relaxed a bit. "So it's nothing to do with him being done with me or anything like that." It wasn't a question, but she was still looking for some sign of reassurance from him.
Neville giving a snort of laughter was answer enough. "Yeah, right. Not bloody likely."
"Oh," she smiled, the tension in her shoulders releasing as they relaxed. "Okay." Now she felt loads better.
Harry didn't wake up and join them for another half hour. By that time Ginny had got a full cup of coffee in her and regaled Neville with anecdotes from the wedding as she got breakfast going for the three of them.
"Morning," he greeted and gave her a kiss on the neck while she stood in front of the stove. "That smells good."
"Yes, bacon usually does in the morning," she said and turned her head so she could give him a proper kiss on the lips, noting a hint of peppermint that lingered on his tongue.
"Hmm, I quite like having you around in the morning," he grinned sleepily and poured himself a cup of coffee from the percolator.
"Well, it is a rare occasion that we can manage it," she said as she grabbed the tongs to flip the bacon over before flipping over the pancakes that she was also doing up. She didn't miss the look that Harry shot Neville as she said that and turned her head to try and gauge exactly what their expressions were supposed to have meant.
"I'm going to go sit in my room quietly for ten to twenty minutes," Neville announced to the room and then shuffled out intently.
"What is going on?" Ginny asked Harry as she followed Neville's retreating form with her eyes as he walked out of sight.
Harry looked down at his cup of coffee for a moment as his face colored a bit, taking a sip from it before raising his head to face her properly and meet her eye. "So, Neville has decided that he's moving back to the Manor."
"I know," Ginny said. "He's just told me."
"Right," he nodded. "So that means that it's just going to be me here."
"Okay," she said, drawing out the word.
"And, well. I'm not really interested in living completely on my own. And we keep missing out on opportunities to see each other, what with our work schedules and family and needing to sleep, you know?"
Ginny didn't want to say anything. It wasn't hard to connect the dots on where he was leading with this, but she didn't realize that they were there. She also didn't want to be jumping to conclusions. They hadn't said 'I love you' to each other, shouldn't that part happen before they started sharing a closet?
"I thought it might make sense if you… you move in."
He said it. He actually said it. He wants her to move in with him.
There wasn't any regret showing in his eyes over having gotten those words out, just a vulnerability. He wanted her to say yes and was worried she wouldn't.
But she didn't know what to say.
()()()