The Burrow was filled with commotion. People were running through the house, others were shouting, trying to be heard over the chaos, and the few who were doing nothing were focused on dodging those doing something. Harry was one such person, standing by the fireplace with Mr. Weasley as they watched the chaos erupt around them.
"GINNY!" Mrs. Weasley screeched up the staircase.
Harry flinched at the sudden noise.
"HURRY UP! THE PORTKEY IS LEAVING IN FIVE MINUTES!"
"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" she shouted back down. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath that Harry couldn't pick up over all of the noise.
Meanwhile, Hermione had finished packing up her and Ron's bag and set it near the broken set of spectacles that would soon take them to the southern coast of France.
"We're all set," she announced with a confident smile.
"Oh, you're going to have so much fun!" Mr. Granger cried and ran forward to hug his daughter, shaking her from side to side.
Hermione laughed and her smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. She still could not forget the painful months where any touch or outward show of affection seemed like a futile dream. Any moment shared with them was a moment cherished.
"You have everything you need, yes?" Mrs. Granger said, running a hand over the edge of her bag.
"Yes," Hermoine replied, leaning back from the hug but keeping one hand on her father's arm.
"And you'll be okay? You'll be safe?" she insisted.
"We'll be fine, Mum," Hermione said patiently.
"They'll be fine, dear. Don't you remember, our daughter is famous! She saved the world! She can take care of herself!" her father interrupted with a laugh.
"Oh, stop it!" Hermione said, slapping him in the arm and giggling as her cheeks grew redder.
"Why? Can't we be proud of our little bumblebee?"
"Bumblebee?" Ron asked with a smirk, approaching the loving circle.
"Daaaad," Hermione said, rolling her eyes and blushing profusely.
"She was always buzzing around as a little girl- never stopped doing something, our little bumblebee. And she was as sweet as honey… still is," Curtis explained with a smile and he rubbed Hermione's hair affectionately.
"Oh stop it. You're embarrassing her!" Mrs. Granger laughed. She stepped forward and hugged Hermione, kissing her on the cheek.
"But, really. Be safe, bumblebee," she whispered.
Hermione giggled and replied, "I will."
"And have lots of fun," she added louder, including Ron in her directions.
"We will, Mrs. Granger," Ron answered.
"GINVERVA WEASLEY!" Mrs. Weasley shouted again. Hermione jumped at least an inch off the ground.
The wooden steps groaned as Ginny sprinted down the stairs, a bag in hand that she instantly dropped on the floor by the foot of the staircase.
"I'm here, I'm here," Ginny said, brushing hair out of her face.
Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath and arranged her lips into a smile. "Good. Don't want you to miss the portkey."
"Love you, Mum," Ginny said, interrupting her lecture before it began.
"Love you too, my dear," she said, grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing the top of her head.
"All packed and ready, yes?" she asked her daughter.
Ginny nodded. "Yes"
"Bye, Ginny," Mr. Weasley cut in before it was time to go. Ginny turned and hugged her father, saying some quick good-byes. Meanwhile, Harry edged forward towards the broken spectacles, watching carefully to make sure it didn't start shining a bright blue too early when no one was watching it.
Mrs. Weasley intercepted him though and wrapped him in a big hug, patting his cheek. "Have a great time, Harry. You deserve it."
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," he smiled.
"I mean it. You need a nice… relaxing break."
Harry let out a dark laugh. "Yeah… Yeah, I do." Suddenly he felt extremely exhausted and the scar stretched across his chest tingled as a faint reminder of the past. But, he managed a smile nonetheless and nodded to Ginny who met his gaze with an excited grin. Harry scooped up their shared duffel bag before picking up the spectacles and holding them out. Ginny placed a single finger on one shattered lens and Ron grabbed onto the edge. With a final quick hug to her Mom, Hermione touched the rim and the four of them smiled at each other from across their circle. They waited for a few seconds until suddenly, they felt the familiar hook and it pulled them into a whirlwind midair, leaving the Burrow behind them.
The ocean water trickled up the shore lazily, lapping at the soft, golden-colored sand. Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry stood at the edge of the water, the sand squishing between their toes and the water seeping up the edge of some of their jeans that they didn't roll up quite enough. The white crested waves matched the fluffy white clouds dotting the sky, and the sound of gulls mingled with laughter behind them, seemingly a long way off.
The sun was still high above them, its rays glinting off the peaceful water and glaring back at the young witches and wizards.
"I guess we should put our suitcases away," Ron suggested mildly after a while, squinting into the sunlight.
Hermione sighed contentedly and took Ron's hand as they both turned away from the water and headed up the sand. Harry and Ginny wordlessly followed behind them and they walked towards the line of white cabins sitting at the base of the rocky cliffs that made up their temporary home in Le Grau-du-Roi. Harry dug around in his pockets for a moment before extracting two sets of keys that he had picked up at the small one-room office at the beginning of the row. He handed one ring to Hermione, leaving the other jingling in his palm.
"See you soon!" Ginny smiled, wiggling her fingers at the other couple as Harry fit their key into the wooden door and turned the handle.
"Here we are," Harry announced to the empty room. "Home sweet home."
Ginny grabbed the handle of their shared, but magically enlarged, duffel bag and walked in after Harry. They entered into a cozy living room with a small, square TV in one corner and a blue and white striped sofa sitting against the wall. Dried flowers adorned a vase on the table and a small kitchen was connected in the back. There were only two other doors, one leading to the bedroom, the other the bathroom. Harry took a few steps towards the first door, but turned around curiously when Ginny dropped their bag onto the tiled floor with a thump.
"This is perfect, Harry!" she squealed with a smile.
"It's nice, isn't it?" he said, shoving his hands into his pockets modestly.
"I love it," she whispered. She reached out and tugged Harry closer and her hands slid up his chest as their lips met. A few moments later, she sighed blissfully, closing her eyes. She leaned her forehead against his, one thumb brushing against his cheek.
"But, you know what I really love?" she said softly.
Harry felt his heart flutter, skip a beat and lodge securely in his throat. His eyes widened and a sudden nervous warmth filled his whole body.
"What?" he asked, his throat suddenly very dry.
"That sign outside that said we can rent kayaks," Ginny replied in the same silky and soft voice, though the ghost of a knowing smile touched her lips.
Harry snorted and leaned back, rolling his eyes. A tremble of disappointment ran down his body, yet he forced his voice to stay light. "How do you even know what a kayak is?"
"My Dad went through a phase of wanting to magic a kayak when I was younger. I'm not completely oblivious to the muggle world you know."
"Really?" Harry asked, his eyebrows raised incredulously. "So you could turn on that TV?"
"I could figure it out," Ginny said confidently, yet a flicker of a doubt flashed in her eyes.
"Then maybe you should handle the muggle money and go rent us some kayaks," Harry teased.
"Nah, I wouldn't want to take over your thing," Ginny said, waving him aside.
"Yeah, okay," he snorted.
"Come on, go get us two kayaks!"
"You don't want to go tandem?"
"How can I beat you in a race if we're in the same boat," she accused.
"Oh, my apologies," Harry said with a laugh.
"I'll forgive you. Meet you by the water!" she called, skipping out their shared cottage, forgoing her shoes.
"This is perfect," Hermione whispered in their near identical cottage, though their sagging couch was lined with green and white stripes.
"I thought you'd like it," Ron said with a diffident smile.
They walked through the other door into their bedroom where a fluffy duvet covered the queen sized bed and a light brown wooden headboard was pressed against the wallpaper. A plush armchair stood in the corner and a wardrobe roughly the same shade of light brown as the headboard filled the other.
"Well what do you want to do this afternoon?" Ron asked, dropping their bag onto the bed.
"Let's go see what the other two are up to," Hermione replied.
They eased the door open and stepped onto the small wooden porch outside. Hermione started to walk into the sand and towards Harry and Ginny's cottage when their door flew open and Ginny raced out.
Hermione and Ron stood stunned on the porch steps, and then Hermione giggled, shaking her head blithely.
"Ginny!" she shouted, but she was too far down the beach to hear her over the wind.
"What is it?" Harry asked, shutting the door behind him.
"What's she doing?"
Harry smiled. "We're going kayaking. Want me to rent you some?"
Ron and Hermione shared a glance and Ron shook his head. "Nah," he said. "You two have fun though."
"We will," Harry said, waving over his shoulder as he headed towards the front of the beach strand where the wooden stand in its peeling green paint was advertising their kayaks.
"Want to have a look around?" Hermione asked.
"Sure," Ron said easily. He reached around and pulled the door closed, looking around furtively before locking it with a tap of his wand. Then they headed down the beach, walking along the water's edge with a few children running by, kites soaring through the air behind them, a few young women sun tanning in the sand, and a group of friends passing a frisbee back and forth.
An hour later and still an hour before darkness was due to set in on the quaint beach, Harry and Ginny began to drag in their kayaks up the shore, deep crevices and runnels forming behind the boats, keeping track of where they had been. They marched up to the stand, laughing loudly and using their oars as walking sticks to trudge through the sinking and shifting sand.
Once the kayaks were returned, they collapsed with giddy exhaustion onto the beach blanket that Hermione and Ron had laid out with rocks sitting at the edge and a surreptitiously cast repellent charm keeping it dry and somewhat sand-free.
"How were the kayaks?" Hermione asked with a smile, a deck of cars between her and Ron.
"Brilliant," Ginny instantly responded. Her hair was partially soaked and her eyes were sparkling with joy, emotion and the harsh breeze tingeing her cheeks pink.
"Although somehow, she never did seem to get the hang of putting the oar all the way in the water before paddling," Harry said pointedly, wringing out his soaking shirt over the sand.
"It's not like you didn't splash me too," Ginny fired back.
Harry grinned. "It was a fair fight," he said simply. Then he took off his glasses and looked around for a dry corner of his clothes to wipe them off on and found none.
"Here," Hermione said, holding out her hand.
Harry meekly handed them over and she quickly tapped them with the tip of her wand, hiding the spell behind her open jacket so no muggles could see before handing them back.
"What were you guys doing?" Harry asked with a nod of gratitude as he slid the glasses back over his nose.
Ron threw down his cards and said, "She's trying to teach me some card game, but I don't get it! The cards don't even explode or snap or anything!"
"We're playing Gin," Hermione explained with an amused smile to Harry.
"Oh, I've heard of that!" Harry said, scooting closer to see over her shoulder.
"Well, I'm done!" Ron announced, dropping his cards onto the partial deck from the blanket. "We should get some dinner now that you're here."
"Oh, don't be a sore loser," Hermione chided. But, she collected the cards all the same and fit them back into the small box.
"I'm not! I'm just starving!" Ron defended. "Do you want to go to the wizarding town nearby? Or there are a few muggle shops just down the street."
"Can we stay here?" Ginny asked hopefully instead. "I want to watch the sunset."
"Ooo! Yes!" Hermione agreed. "Let's get some food and just eat it here!"
"All right," Ron agreed easily. "Harry and I will go grab some food then. Any preferences?"
"Surprise me," Hermione said.
At the same time, Ginny offered, "Something edible."
"Done and done!" Ron assured them, then he made it to his feet and he and Harry walked off to the small street just beyond the water sports stand to find some food, particularly edible food.
When the two wizards returned, Hermione and Ginny were sitting side by side on the beach blanket, jackets wrapped tight around them. Hermione had her knees tucked into her chest and Ginny had one arm slung around one knee, the other leg extending out towards the ocean. Harry silently sat beside Ginny and Ron passed the take-out containers of food down the line.
The beach was almost perfectly silent.
The wind had calmed, now only whistling gently through the air. The birds were long gone for the day and the families had returned home, giving the four the beach to themselves for the time being. The sky was now drenched in a deep purple and blue with streaks of pink still hanging on at the horizon while faint stars began to twinkle above them.
Harry looked around him, his dinner forgotten for the time being. He had his three closest friends and family at his side, a clear and beautiful night, and his chest felt lighter than it had in months. Somehow, his body knew that here, he was safe. Here, there was little to no chance that he would be found, that he would be recognized, or that he would be putting someone he loved in danger.
Here, for the briefest of moments, Harry felt what life could have been like if he wasn't the Chosen One or the Boy Who Lived. This life of peace and security, love and friendship, would have been all he had known.
Yet, without being the Chosen One, he would not be so tightly tied to the three witches and wizards sitting to his left. Without his past, he would not be who he is and they would not be who they are. Without everything that had happened, they wouldn't have ended up sitting on this tiny beach, too small to find on a map, eating dinner and watching a sunset. The corners of his lips turned up slightly into a soft smile and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt true and blissful peace. Real peace that seeped down to his toes and extended through the tips of his fingers, filling his entire body.
He breathed in and smelled the salty air in the breeze. Then he scooted closer to his girlfriend and she automatically leaned back so that her head was resting against his chest. Harry looked down at the top of her head, her fiery red hair turning a dark auburn in the fading light and thought that the image of her in his arms was a hundred times more beautiful than any sunset.
"This is perfect," Ginny breathed out, ripping Harry from his thoughts.
"Mmm," Hermione agreed.
"It really is," Ron said with a sigh.
Harry smiled wider and leaned down to kiss the top of her head before reaching down for his food, all the while, silently agreeing. How could it get any better?
The next morning, Harry woke to cheerful bright light pouring in through the cracks in the curtains. At the same time, he felt Ginny shift beside him and her eyes fluttered awake.
" 'Morning," Harry said groggily. His hand patted the bedside table a few times before touching his glasses and he shoved them onto his face.
When he rolled back onto his side to face Ginny, he almost rolled right into her since she shifted onto her side too.
" 'Morning," she parroted sleepily.
Her hair was tousled over her face and she was leaning on one elbow, her freckles standing out on her pale skin. She smiled at him and scooched her way closer so that she rested her head on his shoulder. One hand reached out and immediately interlocked with his; the other creeped under his shirt and Harry involuntarily stiffened.
"What?" Ginny asked worriedly, suddenly mortified that she did something wrong. This was, after all, the first time they had shared a room, let alone a bed.
"Nothing! Nothing! Your hands are just freezing, that's all," Harry explained sheepishly.
"Well you're nice and warm so you can warm them up for me," Ginny said with some relief, letting her head fall back against his chest.
Harry chuckled and let his spare hand stroke her hair turned wavy from the salty breeze. Her eyes fluttered closed and her breathing deepened into a relaxed rhythm. He looked down at her and couldn't stop the corners of his lips from turning up.
"Hey Gin…," Harry said softly.
"Mhmm…," she replied, barely awake.
"I love you," he whispered. For some reason, he wasn't nervous. Not in the slightest bit. Because really, it was the most natural and obvious thing in the world.
Her eyes snapped open and Harry felt her arm jerk slightly under his shirt in surprise.
She propped herself up and stared deeply into his bright green eyes. She searched his face for a flicker of a second, then smiled.
"I love you, too," she said without a shimmer of a doubt.
She leaned forward and their lips met briefly at first before they met a second time more passionately. Her hands pressed against his chest and he pulled her closer, somehow feeling that it could never be close enough. Fireworks erupted on their skin and all sense of their morning grogginess disappeared.
A few minutes later, Ginny returned to laying beside Harry, her head on his chest and Harry returned to stroking her hair, letting it slip between his fingers. Both didn't try to stop the smiles from stretching across their faces and they ignored the soft sounds of the day beginning around them, choosing instead to let this moment last as long as they could. A lifetime, if possible.
Because in this moment, all was well.