Chapter 25: Electric

3 months later

Ginny slipped the thick straps over her shoulders and smiled at the feeling of the soft silk chiffon against her skin. Surveying herself in the mirror, she smoothed down the pale coral fabric. With a satisfied nod, she tucked a piece of her free-flowing hair behind her ear, grabbed her bag and left the room. She took the stairs quickly, her heels clicking against the stone, and knocked firmly on Harry's door.

"Thank Merlin, my savior!" he greeted her brightly, ushering her into his room and holding out his tie with a pleading look on his face.

"You're hopeless," she grinned, swinging it around his neck and stepping up close to him to loop it into a neat knot. "Why don't you just learn the spell? I don't know it, but I'm sure Hermione does."

"She's tried," he answered sheepishly, "But I'm not sure I've got it exactly right, and I'm wary of doing an incorrect spell on something wrapped conveniently around my neck."

Ginny laughed and pulled the last bit of the tie through its loop. She patted it and smoothed down his collar. "There," she nodded. "Perfect."

"Thanks," he said, and when she glanced up at him, she saw him regarding her with a contemplative look in his eyes. She felt herself blushing, and she stepped back quickly and swallowed.

"Oh!" she said suddenly, a little more loudly than she had intended, "I have something for you to help me with, too." She reached into her bag and pulled out a thin, gold chain. "The clasp is an absolute nightmare."

Harry took it and she spun so he could fasten it. "How panicked do you think Hermione is right now?" he chuckled.

"Hermione! What about Ron?" she said, laughing aloud. "Hermione's a perfectionist, so she's probably worried sick, but Ron has always been a blubbering idiot when it comes to the two of them."

"I can't believe they're getting married," he said, and she could feel him shaking his head. "There, got it," he added. He pulled his hands away, his fingertips brushing lightly against her skin, and Ginny felt herself shiver ever so slightly. It had been like this for a week, and Ginny had been refusing to accept it. Every blazing green glance and every brush of their hands was like a charge.

She shook herself, and with a determined breath, she turned to face him and smiled brightly.

"Are you worried about becoming the third wheel?" she teased.

He grinned and shook his head. "With the two of them? Nah. I've been the third wheel since fourth year."

She smiled at that and glanced at the clock on his wall. "We better get going. We have a panicking bride and groom to get down the aisle."

They Apparated some distance from the Burrow and walked the rest of the way, relishing the beautiful day. Winter had ebbed away and been replaced by a bright, clear Spring. Ginny breathed in the fresh air and reveled in the warmth of the sun on her skin. The Burrow came into view before them, and she could see the twins, Charlie, and Percy setting up rows of white chairs in the grass next to the house.

"Don't forget the aisle!" she called as they came up to the house.

"Got it!" Percy said, lifting his hand. A long white strip of fabric unfurled from the tip of his wand and wove its way in a graceful arc from the back door of the house and down between the chairs to the arch of pale coral-colored flowers at the front.

"Perfect," Ginny said, giving him a thumbs up and heading into the house, Harry at her heels.

Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen with a brown-haired man and woman that she didn't recognize. From the awed expressions on their faces as they watched her mum transfer batches of appetizers into the oven, Ginny could only assume that they were Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"Wonderful, you're here!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as they came in. "Ron and Hermione have been asking after you two. This is my youngest, Ginny. And you know Harry, of course," she added, turning to the Grangers. Mrs. Granger smiled politely and Mr. Granger stood to give them both a firm handshake.

"How's it going?" Ginny asked brightly.

"Smoothly," her mum answered, smiling. "I set Hermione up in your room, Ginny. She's up there with Fleur right now. And Ron's with Bill and Arthur in his room, Harry."

They nodded and started up the stairs. At the landing, Ginny turned to Harry and winked. "See you on the aisle, Potter," she quipped.

He laughed and bounded away to the higher floor.

Ginny knocked lightly on the door to her old room and peeped inside. "It's me!"

"Ginny!"

Hermione was radiant. There was no other word for it. She was beaming. Her hair had been tamed into gentle curls around her face and her dress fit her perfectly.

"Hermione," Ginny sighed, feeling sentimental tears pricking at the corners of her eyes and giving her friend a tight hug.

"Doesn't she look beautiful?" Fleur asked, coming up to set another hairclip in place.

"Yes, she certainly does," Ginny said. "And there's baby Vicky!" she said, holding out a finger for her niece to grab. "Fleur, she's getting so big!"

Fleur sighed. "I know, it iz going too quickly. When you and Ronald start having babies," she said, turning back to Hermione, "my advice is to cherish every second because they grow so fast."

"I think it's a bit too soon to be talking about that," Hermione laughed.

"How are you feeling?" Ginny asked. "Nervous? Excited? Ready to go?"

Hermione exhaled deeply. "Your mum is just finishing up the food, so that should be all set," she began, ticking everything off on her fingers. "And your brothers are setting up outside. Oh! I hope Ron doesn't forget where I put his jacket. It's in the closet on the left hand side -."

"Harry's got Ron covered," Ginny said quickly.

Hermione exhaled again and swallowed. "I think that's everything then. The guests should start arriving any minute now."

Half an hour and two calming breathing exercises later, Fleur headed downstairs to take her place among the guests. Ginny put her hands firmly on Hermione's shoulders. "Your dad'll be up in a second. I'm so happy for you, Hermione." She smiled and gave the older girl a quick hug and peck on the cheek before leaving the room.

There was a soft knock on the door, and a sentimental-looking Mr. Granger came in. "I'll give you two a moment," Ginny said, giving Hermione a wink and heading downstairs. The kitchen was empty, her brother and Harry having already taken their places under the flower arch at the end of the aisle. Outside, she heard the music start up and she grabbed her bouquet from the tabletop. She heard Hermione and Mr. Granger coming down the stairs, and she waited to give them a quick nod before she opened the back door of the house and started down the aisle.

A hundred pairs of eyes turned to her and she smiled cheerfully, taking slow steps to the beat of the music. She saw a few unknown faces in the crowd, but they were mostly familiar. Neville, Hannah, Dean, Luna, Parvati, Padma…her parents, brothers, and their dates took up most of the front rows. Her gaze swung forward to Ron, looking a little nervous and fidgety at the end of the aisle, and then to Harry, who was standing next to him. Their eyes locked. He grinned broadly, and she felt it again – that charge that set her heart pounding a little harder and pulsed down to her fingertips. She smiled back.

"You've got some nice footwork, Teddy!" Ginny laughed, twirling the turquoise-haired boy around on her finger. He giggled wildly.

"Again!" he demanded, and she continued to whirl him around.

Evening was melting into night, and the stars were just beginning to twinkle in the sky. The ceremony had been beautiful, and now the champagne was flowing and the dance floor was filling.

"Hey, Teddy boy, do you mind if I dance with your date here?" She looked up to see that Harry had come up next to them.

"Uncle Harry, Auntie Ginny can spin me!" Teddy announced happily, twirling again.

"I can see that," Harry laughed.

"She can spin you now, though," he said solemnly, stepping back.

"Thanks, munchkin," Harry said, ruffling Teddy's hair, which immediately turned jet black to match his godfather's.

"Baby Vickyyyyyyyyyyy!" Teddy yelled as he zoomed away in the direction of his fellow little one, arms outstretched in his miniature suit like an airplane.

"He's really taken to her, hasn't he?" Ginny commented.

"Yeah," he grinned, spinning her expertly. The music slowed and Harry drew her close. They began to sway to the music. "Although I think at this point it's mostly the novelty of having someone smaller than him."

"Wouldn't it be cute if they grew up and fell in love?" he mused, looking over her shoulder to watch Teddy making faces at a giggling Victoire.

"Isn't it a little early to be making those kinds of predictions?" she teased.

"Hey," he said, raising his eyebrows at her, "Which of the two of us was right about Ron and Hermione, hm?"

"Touche, Potter," she admitted, laughing and glancing over to where Ron and Hermione were dancing, her chin resting snugly on his shoulder. "You know, any outsider would've said they should never have worked…not with the way they bickered."

"Well, you know what they say," Harry smiled, stepping back and spinning her in a slow circle. "Opposites attract and all that."

"No," Ginny said thoughtfully. "It's their similarities that make it work, not the differences. Problem is, their differences are too obvious – all the arguments and the yelling. They drown out all the stuff they have in common: bravery, strong personalities, loyalty…." She looked up and met his eyes. "It's their friendship that makes them perfect for each other."

He held her gaze, green against brown, searching. "Ginny," he said suddenly.

"Hm?"

"I'm going to do something incredibly stupid, but I don't want you to be angry."

She opened her mouth to make a quip – something about how he was always doing stupid things, and when did she ever complain, but she didn't get a chance, because before the words had left her lips, he bent his head and kissed her.

In an instant, everything around her, the entire dance floor, all of the people, even the music, blurred into a haze. She felt herself kissing him back, and the charge was back, running through her veins and making her skin tingle. But then he was pulling away, and Ginny stumbled a little as their surroundings came flooding back in. His arm around her back steadied her.

"Maybe we should go talk…somewhere else," he said quietly. She looked up and was immediately very aware that people were staring. Hermione's eyes were wide and Ron's face was beet-red, his mouth opening and shutting like a fish's. Most of her family and a good number of their Hogwarts friends were watching them too, varying degrees of shock on their faces.

"Yeah," she managed to answer, "Maybe we should."

"Come on." He took her hand and led her at a quick pace off the floor. They didn't speak for several minutes as they crossed through the tall grass headed up the hillside. Finally, they stopped beneath the big oak tree overlooking the Burrow yard. She sank down onto the ground and Harry sat down next to her, a few inches away.

They sat in silence for a moment, and Ginny was forcibly reminded of that last time she had been here, watching the lights and listening to the sounds filter up from the party below and waiting with a pounding heart for Harry to speak. Harry seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing, because he cleared his throat to speak.

"Remember the last time we were here?"

"Yeah," she said, glancing over at him. "After Bill and Fleur's wedding."

"Mmhmm," he replied thoughtfully. "I liked this one better, I think. Not that Bill and Fleur's wasn't beautiful, but this one didn't have the whole…."

"Menacing Dark Lord anxiety?"

He laughed. "Exactly."

There was a pause. "So," Ginny said finally, "About that kiss…."

Harry smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry…if it was out of line, but…." He stopped short and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look, Gin, I'm just going to say it." He turned to look at her, his green eyes dark with determination. "The last time we were here, after Bill and Fleur got married, I still had feelings for you. I know I had just broken it off," he said quickly, "But I wanted to tell you – I should have told you – that I still wanted to be with you."

"So why didn't you?" she asked.

"Menacing Dark Lord anxiety?" he replied, and she smiled.

He exhaled deeply. "But I can't make the same mistake twice. I don't know what you think about all this…I can read you like an open book except when it comes to how you feel about me," he said, grinning ironically. "But I've kind of thought that over the past couple of days that something had changed. And I don't know what Ron or Hermione or anyone else has told you, but I want you to hear it from me, and I don't want to waste another opportunity by letting it go unsaid and hoping that it'll all just work out on its own." She found that she was holding her breath, but she didn't look away. "I want to be with you, Ginny. I think we were great together, and I think we could be again, and I want to try."

She bit her lip, unsure exactly what to say and suddenly very aware of how intently – how expectantly – he was looking at her, searching her face. They'd been dancing around it for days, even weeks, she knew, but this was the first time he had asked her for an answer. He had been direct and open and honest, and now she had to do the same.

"I'm sorry," he murmured hesitantly, "Was that too much information all at once?"

"No!" she said quickly, and she was surprised at her own conviction. "No, it's not too much information." She paused and swallowed. The charge was pounding through her now. "I think you're right," she said softly.

He blinked and leaned in closer. "About us?" he whispered.

She nodded. "About us."

He smiled and closed the distance between them. "Good," he replied, and then he kissed her again.

Fifteen minutes later, when they walked down the hillside and crossed back toward the party hand in hand, multiple heads turned to watch them.

"Apparently we've caused quite a stir," Harry whispered.

"You let me handle Ron," she said back, marching them determinedly up to her brother, who was even redder than he had been when they left.

"Ron…," she said slowly, steeling herself for a row.

He spluttered, obviously trying to find the right words, but when they didn't come he just threw up his hands and sighed. "Oh, what do I know!" he huffed. But then he pointed a warning finger between them. "Just don't muck it up, either of you," he finished.

Harry snorted beside her and Ginny grinned. "We won't," she replied.

By the time they Apparated back to Hogwarts, it was far past midnight.

"We've got to work on your timing, Potter," Ginny laughed as they wound through the halls, his arm around her. "Any more public first kisses and I think Ron'll have an aneurysm."

"He took it pretty well," he said, grinning brightly.

"Indeed."

They came to her room, and she opened the door. She hesitated in the threshold, and Harry bent to give her a lingering kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gin," he said softly.

"No, wait," she replied, catching him by the arm as he turned to leave. He looked back her quizzically. She smiled. "Stay."

He blinked twice, and then understanding crossed his features, and her breath caught in her throat as he hesitated.

But then he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, and a single thought crossed her mind with perfect clarity before everything blurred again and she let him press her back into the room and toward the bed: it was electric.

Author's Note: I know I'm probably going to get a lot of angry reviews, but Draco and Ginny got loads of fluff at the beginning of the story and now Ginny and Harry need at least one chapter of it too. And for those of you who are going through Draco withdrawals, you'll be happy to hear that our favorite Slytherin makes an appearance in the next chapter :) Please review, and again, be gentle!