Author's Note:
Hey guys! This is my first story here, and I'm really excited about it! I am officially on summer break from college, so I'm hoping to update pretty frequently! I love reviews so drop a comment if you liked something or have a suggestion of how I could improve! Thanks for reading! :)
Things were busier than Harry could ever remember them being, and he had survived studying for his O.W.L.'s under Professor McGonagall. Auror training was officially in full swing, and he wasn't sure he could remember a time he'd been so bone tired.
Each day began with apparating to the ministry, followed by a grueling ten hour training course run by top aurors and sometimes Shaklebolt himself. They paused only for lunch, and by the time he and Ron returned home at the end of the day, neither of them found much energy for tasks like making dinner. Kreacher had really begun to make himself valuable, eager to please the two boys by having hot meals ready when they arrived back from work.
Amongst their hectic schedules, Ron and Harry both tried to make time to see their favorite people at Hogwarts, Hermione and Ginny. Harry frequently lamented his lack of time with Ginny. Just before training and the term began, they had become extraordinarily close, and while didn't think that this would change much, he couldn't help the nagging worry at the back of his head that she might changer her mind with too much space and time.
Of course, Ginny did everything she could to dispel these silly thoughts, doing her best to encourage him in her letters.
During one particularly bad slump when Harry was struggling with Occlumency in training, he and Ginny had hardly spoken. Harry felt he spent every waking moment struggling to master the art. Ron supposed that Voldemort had done some permanent damage to his defensive brain skills, as he had mastered the art fairly quickly, along with the rest of their class. The instructor had made it abundantly clear that no one would become an auror who could not be a proper occlumens.
On one such bad day, Harry chose to walk home rather than flooing or apparating. He wanted time to think and calm himself, and Ron was going to George's new shop in Diagon Alley to help set some things up anyways. No rush to get home to an empty house. Save for Kreacher, of course.
Lost in thought, he fumbled for the key inside his pocket, anxious to take a hot shower and climb into bed after an impossibly long day. His mind drifted to Ginny, and he wondered what she was doing. It was now October, coming close to the winter holiday, which meant big tests were approaching for her, just as they were for him.
A sudden rush of guilt overcame him, he had been so absorbed with his own training, he hadn't bothered to ask Ginny much about her schooling. He knew she didn't care much about earning her NEWTS, her real ambition was professional quidditch, and as Gryffindor captain, she was shaping up to be a top recruit in the country. But still, studies were important and he knew she was working very hard.
As he pushed open the door and toed his trainers off, he noticed that a cozy white blanket was over the arm of the couch, and a conspicuous red coat was hanging on the rack in the hall. A wide grin overtook his face, and he called out to the one person he wanted to see at this moment.
"Ginny?" Her head popped around the corner of the kitchen and she smiled at him softly.
"You look like hell." Harry couldn't escape the chortle that escaped his mouth, he'd had so little to laugh about these past few weeks, and she drew joy out of him like a sponge. He returned her smile and pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head that somehow always managed to smell like flowers.
"Gee, thanks, Gin." She laughed against his chest and then held him at arm's length, examining him. It was in these moments she reminded him most of her mother, when her dark eyes turned calculating, yet soft. She would probably tell him he needed to eat more or something equally motherly.
Instead she merely pulled him by the hand into the kitchen where she and Kreacher had set up a dinner by the warm fire, two small glasses of red wine poured next to two white plates.
"How are you even here?" He breathed, in awe that he was even in her presence. She shrugged playfully.
"Oh you know, I had to pull a few strings with the new headmistress, who just so happens to be a big fan of yours…" She trailed off grinning, knowing Harry's fondness for the professor. "She gave me special permission to leave for the weekend. Ron is staying with George for the weekend, so… We have the place to ourselves for a couple days."
"You, Ginny Weasley, are a work of art." She laughed at this and struck a pose that suggested complete inelegance.
"Well, I do try darling." With a laugh, they both sat and began to eat, Harry finally able to quiet his guilt to ask Ginny about her studies. She told him all about their old professors, which of them were pushing the hardest, and Trelawney's latest crack pipe predictions about someone's impending death. It felt good to be around her, and he tried to soak up every moment of her he could. After hours of sitting and chatting about everything and nothing, Harry started to yawn.
Ginny took the cue, and asked Kreacher if he would mind cleaning up. The house elf nodded in assent, and she thanked him kindly. She led Harry up the stairs where they went to separate bathrooms to ready themselves for bed. When Harry emerged from the shower and into his bedroom, Ginny was perched on the edge of his bed like a small bird ready to take flight.
"I wasn't sure where I should sleep.." She trailed off looking at him expectantly, but he merely laid down and opened his arms to her, a silent invitation to join him under the covers. He tried to act cool, but secretly his heart was thundering in his chest.
If he was honest with himself, he hadn't imagined a moment this calm would arise for himself for many years, and he felt at peace with Ginny lying in his arms. He fell asleep quickly, content in his happiness.
…..
The next morning he awoke with a jolt, sitting upright in bed. Ginny still slept peacefully next to him, her auburn hair spilling over the white pillow case, the morning sun lighting peacefully over her figure. He smiled softly and leaned against his pillow to just simply admire her.
He had been thinking a lot recently about how, once upon a time, he had thought girls would never be interested in him. And now, he has the most beautiful girl in the world lying next to him in bed. He felt undeserving, truly. He wasn't sure what good deeds he had put into the universe to justify the gift that was Ginny Weasley, but he planned to spend the rest of his days earning the honor.
He had also found himself frequently remembering Arthur's advice, and he wondered if he should ask to make things more official. After all, she was sleeping next to him in his bed, and she had gone to all this trouble just to see him for the weekend because she knew he was stressed. He didn't want to rush her before she was ready, but on the other hand, he knew that the only thing that would change would be the title.
He guessed he wasn't quite sure how to be a proper "boyfriend". He felt that this was a bigger title than most other things in his life. Sure, he had been a friend, a student, and a wizard for some time, but he had limited experience in the boyfriend department. His only other attempts had, well, ended rather miserably. He supposed he was more equipped for the role now, a few years of maturity, and of course, the lack of war certainly helped his odds.
However, he couldn't shake the nerves that filled his stomach with butterflies when he thought of asking Ginny to be his girlfriend. He didn't want it to be awkward, or forced, yet he felt he couldn't put it off any longer. He wasn't sure when they might see each other in person next, and he didn't want to risk possibly waiting until the winter holiday, when his training would end and Ginny would come home for the end of term. He also didn't want to do it through a letter- that felt completely juvenile.
He decided that he should do it today. Maybe make it special, take her somewhere for dinner, or on a lovely walk through the city. Or maybe both! He wanted her to feel special, just as she had done for him in surprising him in his flat.
Which is why he is completely and utterly chagrined when Ginny rolls over to smile at him in her first moments of wakefulness, and he blurts it out.
"Ginny, will you be my girlfriend?" His face turns red with shame and she seems surprised. He thinks he's really screwed up big time, and he's thinking of the lecture her brothers will give him over this when he sees them next. To his surprise, she's suddenly kissing him sweetly.
"I thought you'd never ask, Potter." Relief. Sweet, sweet relief. They grin at each other widely.
"I was planning something nice Ginny, I swear. I just had to open my big fat mouth. It's just, you were there, looking so beautiful, and I just, it just-" she cut him off bemusedly, shushing him softly.
"It was perfect, Harry." She smiles at him again, and he feels his insides melt. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous, now. He was always at ease when Ginny was around.