Prompt – I told my sibling/parent/friend I have a bf/gf so they'd stop trying to set me up with people but now theyr'e coming to visit and I'm in too deep. I need a fake bf/gf/ASAP!
Ginny Weasley walked up the stairs to her flat feeling utterly exhausted, having just come from practice with the Holyhead Harpies.
With her flatmate, Luna, off travelling with her father, Ginny was left to fend for herself in regards to food and household chores. The latter was not a problem, having been brought up a daughter of Molly Weasley, but the food was another matter.
Oh sure, she'd gone to the Burrow last Sunday for the designated family dinner and had returned home with a basket groaning under the weight of left overs and a few extra things her mother had prepared for her. But that was a whole five days ago, that food was gone and she'd been forced to visit the local shops for dinner that night.
As she trudged up the stairs, she really tried to get enthusiastic about the healthy stir fry she'd decided on at the shops...and failed drastically.
She had just arrived at her floor ( the 7th, wouldn't you know), when her cute new neighbour stuck his head out his door, looked around and seemed relieved to see it was her.
"7G, I was hoping it was you!" he cried.
"What up, 7H," she replied cooly, despite the fluttering of heart. He'd moved in three weeks ago, a welcome change from the old lady with the cats.
" I know we've barely spoken since I moved in, and I blame you for that, but I really need a favour," he said.
Her eyes narrrowed. "How is it my fault we've barely spoken?" she asked frostily.
He put a hand on his heart. "I'm the new guy. You should have been over here, welcoming me to the building, suggesting ways of getting the cat smell out of my apartment, filling me in on the other tenants."
"I say 'hey', when I first saw you," she defended, " and I wouldn't have the first clue about cat smells. As for the rest of the tenants...try and avoid 2B. Umbridge is the worst if you have parties or make a lot of noise. There, are we done?" She continued to her flat.
He grinned. "Yep, we're now officially BFF's, and now I don't feel weird about asking for a favour."
" You're asking me for a favour?" She turned, amused. "What's in it for me?" First rule she yhad learned growing up with Fred and George.
"How about an all you can eat dinner and endless pints," he suggested.
She unlocked her door, tossing her unappealing bag of groceries inside, then shut it quickly, and leaned against it as she looked at him.
"Tell me more, 7H," she grinned.
He grinned back. "Call me Harry."
" So let me get this straight. You've moved out on your own away from your family, and you've told them you've got a girlfriend so they stop trying to set you up...and now they're coming to the city to meet this amazing girlfriend...who doesn't exist," summed up Ginny, as they walked to the pub where his family waited.
" Ah, but she does now...that's where you come in," said Harry. "We'll go to the pub, I'll introduce you, my family will want to know everything about you, we'll have dinner and leave, and next time I talk to my parents, I'll tell them we broke up."
"For the record, I'm dumping you," insisted Ginny.
He looked amused. "Nah, they'll never buy that. They know I'm adorable, so I'll have to be the dumper, not the dumpee."
"What reason will you give, I mean, I'm pretty amazing, you're lucky to be fake dating me, you know," she quipped. " I can't think of one reason you'd dump me."
"Oh, I don't know," he shrugged. "What's the one all the celebrities use – irreconcilable differences."
"Isn't that the pub up there?" asked Ginny, gesturing. We'll probably need to hold hands when we walk in," she said.
He grabbed her; their hands fit perfectly. "Just in case they're looking out the window."
He squeezed her hand as they neared the entrance. "Ready?" he asked.
"Bring it on," she told him, and he opened the door for her.
She scanned the crowded pub, already seeing a dark haired man gesturing to them to come over.
"That them," she asked, and he looked over, waving to the people at the table.
He placed an arm around her waist and together they walked over.
"Ginny, this is my mum, Lily, dad, James, sister Violet and last but not least, my godfather Sirius. Family, this is Ginny," he introduced.
"Hi Ginny," they all chorused; Violet breaking into giggles.
"Cute," she told them, sitting down as Harry slid her chair in, before taking the seat next to hers. "Did you practice that?"
" Only a dozen times," said James. He passed her a menu. "Hungry?"
"You have no idea," she told him, missing the wink between James and Harry.
/*/*
"So how did you actually meet?" asked Lily, butttering her bread as they waited for their meals. "Harry mentioned you lived in the same building but that was it."
"Well I live opposite him, so naturally, being the good neighbour I am, I went over to welcome him to the building, filled him in on all the tenants and offered to help him with the cat smell in his flat," she said, smiling at Harry.
" Good, I refused to visit till that smell was gone," said Sirius. "I'm going to order some pints, who's drinking?"
"I will," said Violet.
"What she means is, she'll have a Butterbeer," James told Sirius, before looking at his daughter. "You're not 17 for three more months," he told her.
She huffed and crossed her arms. " It's not fair, I just want one," she whined.
"Actually, I'll have a Butterbeer too," said Ginny, smiling at the younger girl. "I'm in training for the Harpies," she told them.
"The Holyhead Harpies. I LOVE THEM," squealed Violet, drawing attention from other tables.
"What position do you play?" asked James, while Sirius left to get drinks.
"Chaser, although I have played Seeker at Hogwarts. Gryffindor," she said quickly, as both James and Lily opened their mouths to ask the obvious question.
"Gryffindor AND a Chaser. I'm liking you more and more, Ginny," chuckled James. "Lily, anything you want to ask?"
"What was your favourite subject at Hogwarts?" asked Lily.
"Charms. Professor Flitwick is such a good teacher. I mean, I did pretty well in most of my subjects, but I really liked Charms," she replied.
" I wish we went to Hogwarts," sighed Violet, looking at her older brother.
"We were home-schooled by a close family friend," Harry filled her in at her curious look.
"My brother's and I were too, till it was time to go to Hogwarts," nodded Ginny.
"Brother's? How many?" asked Sirius, placing a glass of Butterbeer in front of Violet then Ginny, while a waitress placed pints on the table for the others.
"Six," said Ginny. "I'm the youngest and only girl."
"Blimey. Good luck, Harry," he said to his godson.
/*/*
While Ginny had enjoyed the freedom of living in her own flat, albeit with Luna, after her first twenty years at the Burrow, she was accustomed to strange noises at all times of the day, of brothers barging into her room, of the ghoul in the attic moaning throughout the night, and of a hundred other things she obviously took for granted while she lived there. In other words, she missed her family, a lot.
But being here with the Potters felt like being part of the family, the easy going banter, the Violet teasing that never went too far, the anecdotes of Harry that James and Sirius couldn't wait to share with her, the invitation from Lily to come visit them in Godric's Hollow, the suggestion from Violet that she could come stay the weekend with her brother some time, and the three of them could go out.
So for the next three hours, the fake dating seemed anything but fake. There were little touches from Harry but nothing creepy that required a kick under the table. She had never laughed so hard, joked and bantered with James and Sirius like they were old friends, and not the total strangers they really were. Violet was so sweet and obviously adored her older brother and there was talk of another boy, Teddy, who seemed to be related somehow, she just wasn't sure how.
So at the end of the night, it was sad to see them go, sad for the fun night to end. They walked the foursome to the Apparation point close to the pub and amongst all the hugs, the one she treasured most was the one from Harry's mum.
At the same time, Harry was being hugged goodbye from his godfather.
"I like her," admitted Sirius. "And it worked, the whole, parents coming to town, want to set me up, save me by pretending to be my girlfriend routine? I'm a genius."
Harry grimaced. "Yeah, it worked...but now I have a real problem."
"What's that?" asked Sirius.
Harry looked over at Ginny, who was laughing and talking with his sister.
" She's even more amazing than I could have imagined when I agreed to this idea of yours," sighed Harry.
"You're such a drama queen, Harry. I blame your father," quipped Sirius.
"Funny, dad said the same thing when I hugged him goodbye," grinned Harry. His grin fell. "What do I do now?"
"Well, you could have just asked her out like a normal bloke, but no, you Potters can't do anything the easy way, can you? So what was the plan?" asked Sirius.
" I told her next time I spoke to my family I'd tell them I dumped her for some strange reason," frowned Harry.
"A girl like that, she's dumping you, not the other way round," noted Sirius.
"I don't want her to dump me, I like her a lot, Sirius," insisted Harry.
" I think you need advice from your old man, Harry. If anyone knows anything about chasing after the love of your life, it's James," teased Sirius. "Now hug your godfather goodbye."
"I already did," said Harry, but he did it again.
/*/*
He sat on his sofa, thinking about the night. How Ginny had fit right in with his family, how she'd shared stories of her life, of growing up with twin brothers who liked to prank, of her love of flying, of her determination to play well for the Harpies or die trying.
There was a knock at the door and he got up to open it, stepping back as Ginny barged in.
She wrinkled her nose, pulled out her wand and waved it, immediately the room smelled fresher.
"Er, thanks," said Harry, running a hand through his hair, something he did when he was nervous.
"So," said Ginny, sitting on his sofa, " tell me about all these girls your family is trying to set you up with."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, right. Well, um, let's see, there was um...Mel...and Geri. Emma and um...oh yeah, Victoria," he blurted.
"Harry, you just named the Spice Girls," said an amused Ginny. "Your sister's favourite Muggle group. Want to try again?"
"Nope," he said, not willing to dig himself even further in the lie.
"Good answer," she replied. "So, what was tonight all about then?"
" I've been trying to catch you to ask you out ever since I moved in and you said 'hey' to me," he admitted. "I told Sirius about you and he suggested the fake dating idea."
"So your parents and sister had no idea?" asked a wary Ginny.
"No, and after tonight, they'll be crushed when I tell them you dumped me," he said.
"For the record, I haven't dumped you...yet," she warned.
He looked hopeful. "What does that mean?"
" I liked your family and I had a really good time tonight. I – I like you too, Harry," she confessed.
"So you'll go out with me again?" he asked, whooping when she nodded.
"However..." she cautioned.
"Yeah?"
"We need to get back at Sirius. And I have just the idea..."
/*/*
The owl tapped at the window incessantly, waking a half drunk Sirius from his bed.
"This better be ruddy important," he growled as he took the letter from the owl.
The owl flew away and Sirius shut the window. He opened the parchment, immediately looking at the sender's name, relaxing when he saw it was from Harry.
He got back to bed to read it, but only got as far as the first two line before he jumped out of bed.
"ELOPED? And he wants me to break it to James and Lily? Fucking hell, they'll kill the messenger," he cried, as he shoved his cloak on over the clothes he'd worn earlier and had fallen into bed, too tired to change.
"All I know is, they better name their firstborn after me," he growled aloud as he prepared to go and break the news to his oldest and dearest friends.