Loving is a journey with water and with stars, with smothered air and abrupt storms of flour: loving is a clash of lightning-bolts and two bodies defeated by a single drop of honey.
-Pablo Neruda
For DeadWoodPecker
The Names of Birds & Other Things:
Harry packed the picnic basket with care. He wanted everything to be perfect for the surprise birthday celebration he had planned for Ginny. It was August 11th, and the weather, for once, was accommodating him. There had been a bit of a heatwave through their part of England the last few weeks, but today was cool and cloudy, with a gentle breeze. Harry was hoping this meant that the heatwave was over, and autumn would soon be returning.
But not before he and Ginny got to have one last hurrah in the summer sun, he hoped. She had been away from home a lot, training with the Holyhead Harpies. And he'd been away, himself, busy with work. Thank Merlin they lived together, or Harry would never get to see his wife.
But today, today was the day. He had asked Molly for recipes of all of Ginny's favorite summertime foods and painstakingly made them at the Burrow so that his wife wouldn't cotton on to what he was doing. Ron had even helped with baking some fresh blackberry and custard tarts for him. Harry had the tarts, some chicken salad sandwiches, tarragon and salmon sandwiches, and different cheeses with cream crackers. He had also made some pork pies that Molly had insisted were her 'little girl's favorite'. A couple bottles of Butterbeer, and of course, some chocolate cake for the birthday girl.
He also had a thermos of hot coffee he'd brewed nice and strong, just the way his wife liked it. Harry was a milk and sugar man himself, but he knew Ginny said she liked it hot and black. Just like his hair.
Harry smirked to himself and then looked at the clock by the door. It resembled the one at the Burrow, only this one just showed Harry and Ginny. Ginny's was pointed to "Quidditch," but he knew she was due to get home at any moment. She'd just had to go in for a quick team meeting, and then she had promised him she would be all his.
He ran upstairs and grabbed their favorite blanket from the bed, shrinking it down so that it fit in his pocket. He ran a hand nervously through his hair as he heard the downstairs door slam.
"Harry! I'm home!" Ginny called out, and he stuck his head outside the bedroom door.
"I'll be right down," Harry answered, and then went to the side table by the bed, where he had hidden her gift. He shrunk that down as well and smiled to himself. He hoped she liked it.
Harry came down the stairs and saw his wife, looking remarkably fit and wind-blown from her broom-ride home. As always, the familiar swooping motion of his stomach made him pause as a soft growl was heard from the monster in his chest. Harry and Ginny had been together for a few years now, but his chest monster still acted as though it was the very first time. He smiled as he went to her.
"Hello, wife," Harry said as he pulled her into his arms. She'd been peeking into the picnic basket, and he wanted to distract her. He kissed her soundly, and she moaned softly at the back of her throat.
"Well, well," Ginny said as she pulled away. "Hello to you too, husband. Is this for us?" She nodded down at the basket. "Is this the surprise you've been telling me about? You cooked? And made it so we don't muss the house at all, and I'm not stuck cleaning up after my own birthday party?"
Harry pursed his lips at his wife's gentle reminder that her last birthday surprise had not been a smashing success. He'd thrown a massive party for her at their house and had then been called away to work at the last minute. Unfortunately that had meant leaving Ginny with a full house of drunk family members and a huge mess afterward. It hadn't been his best moment as a husband, Harry had to admit. That's why this year, he was making it low-key. And all about Ginny.
"You and me, Mrs Potter, are going to escape to the countryside and enjoy a nice, stress-free lunch with a lot of snogging and possibly more if the birthday girl plays her cards right," he said, twitching his eyebrows suggestively at her. She laughed and threw her head back.
"Oh, do tell. Are there treats?"
"Of course, Ginny. I'm gonna be there, after all."
Ginny snorted. "Of course, Harry. Well, come on, then. Where are we going?"
Harry smiled at her. "Think you can keep up with me? I've been told I'm pretty quick on a broom."
Ginny wrapped her arms around his shoulders, nuzzling her nose against his neck. "Yes, but out of the two of us, I'm the actual professional Quidditch player. I've got…skills." Ginny's voice went lower on the last word, and Harry felt his body respond. Perhaps going somewhere was overrated, after all. He could just carry her upstairs and throw her on the bed, come to think of it.
Ginny laughed when she saw his expression. "So eager. No, you are not getting out of it that easily. Come on, I deserve a picnic with my husband on my birthday."
"Too right, but I reserve the right to continue things after."
"Of course. As if I'd let my birthday go by without a fantastic shag," Ginny said playfully. She moved her hand down his front, her hand grazing what was already his burgeoning excitement, squeezing him. Harry sucked in a deep breath, his eyes drawn to her lips.
"Then stop man-handling me and let me get on my broom before it's too painful for us to go anywhere," he said, pointedly. Ginny grinned and pulled her hand away.
"Lead on, Potter. And don't worry about me not keeping up; I can fly rings around you."
Harry laughed, shrunk down their picnic supplies, and they moved outside to where their brooms rested against the inside door. Ginny grabbed her Starsweeper 4, and Harry reached for his Firebolt. Not the one he'd had from school, of course, but a later model. He still enjoyed their brooms the best.
"Ready?" He asked as they slipped their gloves on, and Ginny pulled her Quidditch goggles out of her pocket. Harry cast an Impervious Spell on his glasses, just in case, and then adjusted it so they would stay on his face.
Without waiting for her to acknowledge his question, Harry kicked off from the ground and felt his heart soar as it always did. He had not flown in a few weeks, and it still felt like coming home to an old friend whenever he did. He knew Ginny was right behind him and decided to teach her a lesson. After all, what else was a birthday good for if not for learning something new?
With just a slight press of his hand, his Firebolt took off, streaking across the sky in a glorious rush. He led them up higher and higher until the earth below them looked like a giant green blur. He glanced behind him and was unsurprised to see Ginny at his heels, a giant smile on her face. He turned back around and then tilted his broom down, pushing it even faster. When he leveled out, Ginny pulled up alongside him, and smirked at him. Harry felt the cooling summer air on his skin and the push of the wind at his back and felt thrilled that he could share this with her. There was no else who quite got him like Ginny did – in every single way.
They flew side by side, and Harry slowed his broom down until they were gently flying together, perfectly in sync. He leaned over and kissed her cheek as she wrapped her arm through his. They had long ago mastered the art of couple-flying, as Ron liked to call it, whenever they did this.
"Told you I could keep up," Ginny said, laughing in his ear. Harry winked at her.
"That you did, but I also wasn't trying to actually lose you. It wouldn't do to go on this picnic by myself now, would it?"
"No, I guess not. Where are we going?" Ginny said, looking around to determine where they were.
Harry nodded to something they could just make out on the horizon. "See that blob of red in the distance?"
Ginny looked and nodded. "Race me?"
Before Harry could even agree, she took off, and he swore. With a slight push, his Firebolt followed her, but Ginny was too good a flier to get overtaken that easy. Harry had to admire his wife's skill as she lengthened her lead. Her broom wasn't faster than his, but she was making it look as though it easily was. Digging in, he aimed for the space ahead of her and pushed himself and the broom faster. Ginny swerved and dodged, moving gracefully on the wind. Harry shook his head at her and couldn't help but laugh. She was bloody brilliant.
They came upon the farmhouse as he finally pulled alongside her and nodded at her to head down. They both landed gracefully and looked around. Ginny smiled at him.
"I reckon we'll call that one a draw. Who's place is this?"
"A mate at work loaned it to me for the day. It's his family's strawberry farm. We're all alone, and there's water. A nice pond fit for swimming just over that hill."
Ginny brown eyes filled with mischief. "Oh, really? Can we go skinny-dipping later? I may need to cool off after watching your moves in the air, Harry."
"I know what you mean," Harry said, grabbing her around the waist. "I forgot just how good you are on a broom, Gin. Made me realize it'd been a while since I'd seen you in action."
Ginny kissed him, and Harry's body responded. He didn't think he would ever get over her. Not that Harry wanted to. No, she was his, and he was hers and good god, he liked it that way.
"Come on, I'm starving," Ginny said, her eyes traveling downward. She looked back up at him. "The faster we eat, the faster we can…do things."
Harry chuckled as they joined hands, and he started leading her toward the large sycamore tree where he had decided they would eat their lunch. It was the shadiest spot and offered a lovely view of the pond and the surrounding area.
"Do things? Why, Mrs Potter, are you saying you're going to have your way with me out here in the wilds of Dorset?"
"If you play your cards, right, I suppose. It depends on what you got me for my birthday, Harry. I'm not quite that easy, you know."
They found a sweet spot under the tree, and Harry re-enlarged everything, spreading their blanket underneath them. Ginny removed her gloves and then kicked off her shoes, wiggling her toes at him. She lay back, her hands above her head, and watched him set the food out. She took one of the Butterbeers he handed her and took a long drink. He smirked at her, and then they started eating.
"Nice job on the pork pies, love. Mum's recipe?"
Harry nodded. "And I made everything myself too, except the tarts. Those are from Ron."
"They're good," Ginny said, licking her fingers. "My brother is a git, but he sure can bake."
Harry shook his head and lay down next to her. She finished her tart and joined him. He brushed her hair off of her face.
"So, is this birthday better than the last?" He asked her.
"Definitely. No George getting pissed and trying to fight Percy, and no Mum singing aloud to Celestina Warbeck on the wireless. Just me and you is the best way to spend this day."
"Then I'm glad I thought of it," Harry said, kissing her. They were soon moving together on the blanket, pushing food and plates out of the way. Ginny turned them so that she was on top and smiled down at him.
"Are we really alone here?"
Harry stared up at her, feeling breathless. "Yeah. I cast a few spells to make sure no one bothered us."
"Shame," Ginny said, moving her hand down his chest. Her warm brown eyes flashed at him. "I think I kind of like the idea of getting caught with you. Some wayward farmer walking around the fields and he spies us, making love. And he can't help it, but he watches us." She lowered her head down to his and kissed him, pushing her tongue into his mouth. Harry felt his heartbeat speed up.
"I never knew you had such voyeuristic tendencies, Gin," Harry said, his hand straying up under her shirt.
Ginny threw her head back and laughed. She smiled down at him. "Remember that time you thought you caught me having a wank in the bedroom right after we were married?"
Harry thought back and then smiled, remembering. "Oh, yeah, that was hot. Wait, are you telling me you were doing that knowing I would walk in on you?"
Ginny raised an eyebrow at him and licked her lips. "What do you think?"
Harry sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "I think my wife is a little minx, is what I think. Come here."
Ginny moaned as he shifted beneath her and his erection came in contact with her lower body. "There are so many things you don't know about me, Potter," she whispered, her breath hot against his skin.
"Oh? Like what?" Harry said, starting to remove her shirt.
"Like I just want to watch you wank as I do things to myself, and we both drive each other crazy with desire."
Harry grunted and then pulled his own shirt off over his head. Her nails traveled down his chest, teasing his nipples. Her tongue was between her teeth as she hungrily gazed down at his body.
"Well, the birthday girl can do whatever she pleases," he said, warming to the idea. Ginny's eyes widened and dilated, and she looked so incredibly turned on that he was sorry he hadn't said it sooner.
"Let me watch you," she said softly, pulling on his earlobe with a tug of her teeth. She sat back and rested on her arms, her breasts rising and falling as she breathed. He stared at the black lace of her bra and swallowed roughly.
Harry slowly undid his jeans and gazed at his wife as he did so. Ginny stared back, as though hungry for any sight of him. He was going to remove his jeans, but she shook her head. "No, keep them on. I want to think you're so keen for me that you couldn't even wait to get undressed."
Nodding, he slipped his hands in between the flap of his boxers and took himself in hand. It was evident he liked what they were doing. Ginny licked her lips as her eyes were drawn downwards. Harry started to stroke himself slowly, feeling his skin heat – not with embarrassment as he'd have thought, but with lust.
Ginny brought her own hand up to her breasts and started teasing her nipples. Harry watched her, his mouth going dry. Two small peaks appeared underneath her bra, and he longed to put his mouth around them. She flicked her hair over her shoulders, a red blaze of light in the shade of the tree, and Harry sucked in a breath. She raised her eyebrows wickedly at him and moved her hand downward until her fingers inched under the rim of her jeans.
"How hard are you?" She whispered, sitting up on her hind legs. Harry could only blink at her as he paused his actions. Ginny's fingers had just skimmed below the waistband of her jeans, and her hand was making its way towards her center.
"I asked you a question, Mr Potter," she said, her voice sounding gruff to his ears. He started stroking himself again, and shuddered as her hand movements became more pronounced. He couldn't see anything, but damn if he couldn't just imagine what she was doing to herself.
"So hard for you, Gin," he said softly, gazing back up at her face. He loved her so much sometimes, it was frightening in both its complexity and its simplicity.
Ginny lolled her head back, and Harry watched her hair hanging behind her, its fiery tresses igniting something deep within him. Her hand was working faster now, and she was moving back and forth for more friction. Harry felt his body become wet with need and used it to lubricate his hand for faster stroking.
Ginny brought her head back up and opened her eyes to pin him with a blazing look, and Harry swore as he came unexpectedly. He pumped himself as she watched, her skin taking on a heated glow. He watched as she arched her back as her hand stimulated her own body even more.
He leaned forward to catch her as she pushed herself too harshly, and she came, crying out in his arms. He crushed his mouth to hers. Harry moved his hands up her back and into her hair as she steadied herself in his lap. When they finally pulled apart, Harry rested his forehead on hers, breathing heavily.
"Gods, woman. You have the best ideas. Never let me say otherwise."
Ginny giggled and then looked up at him, smiling. "I love you, Harry."
"Likewise," Harry said, kissing her again.
"Should we swim?" She asked after a moment as they both came down from their high.
"Thought you'd never ask," Harry said, laughing. They both got up and trotted down to the pond, which had a short pier hanging over it on the right. They removed the rest of their clothes, leaving them in a heap upon the wood. They soon both dove into the water.
Harry relished the coldness of the water on his skin. When he came up for air, Ginny was treading water next to him. She smiled.
"It's a bit colder then I thought," she said, shaking her head. Harry moved over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I can warm you up," he said, trying to sound sexy. Ginny chuckled, and he felt her hand moving around his waist.
"So soon, Harry? You know you're not a boy of seventeen anymore. Best pace yourself."
"You are incorrigible," he said, laughing. He pushed away from her and then splashed at her, which only caused Ginny to retaliate in kind. They were soon both laughing so hard, they had to stop for fear of drowning. They swam over to the pier and rested. Harry lifted himself up and then reached his hand down to Ginny, pulling her out of the water. She smirked at him as he blatantly stared at her nakedness.
They sat there with their feet dangling over the edge, naked as the day they were born, and Harry felt deeply happy and complete. He kissed her head as she rested it on his shoulder.
"This may be the last birthday alone we have for a while," Ginny said after a moment. Harry looked at her.
"Why? Thinking of inviting the whole team next year? They could probably handle the pond, but wanking under the tree might get a bit crowded…"
Ginny laughed and hit his shoulder with her own. "Harry! That's not what I meant. Um. I have something to tell you. Don't freak out, okay?"
Harry frowned, feeling as though his happy bubble had just burst. "What? What is it, Gin? You can't say something like 'don't freak out' and make me not freak out! It's like the law or something. What's going on?"
She pulled away from him and sighed, squinting at him through the sun. She stood up and put her hand down to help him up. He took it and watched as she grabbed their clothes, feeling his heart starting to panic, just the tiniest bit.
"Come on, let's head back to the blanket. I don't feel like fighting the sun out of our eyes when I tell you this."
They sat back down under the tree again, and Harry slipped his jeans on, not wanting to sit around naked for whatever she had to tell him. Ginny threw her shirt around her shoulders and grabbed her knickers, pulling them on. She reached for his hand, and they just sat there, for a moment, completely silent. Harry kissed her fingers and leaned his head down.
"What is it?"
Ginny bit her lip and then smiled, rather shyly, in Harry's opinion. "You know how we had a team meeting this morning?"
Harry nodded, feeling relief that whatever she had to tell him it had to do with work. "Yeah, you said Gwenog called it to talk about next season."
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, we're losing a player…a chaser, actually." She gave him a speculative look.
Harry frowned. "So, Valmai is leaving?"
Ginny shook her head. "No…but someone is… due to just finding out that she's…pregnant."
Harry's frown deepened. "But you said a chaser was leaving so…" Harry stopped. He swallowed roughly as he looked at her. He felt as though his entire lunch was about to come back up.
"But that means…you…we…I…Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, suddenly looking at her stomach as though he'd never seen it before. And in a way he hadn't – he'd never known there to be the start of another person in there. A baby. They had made a baby. A baby.
"Yes, Harry, that means that me, you, and us, have made a baby." She bit her lip as she looked at him. "Is that all right?"
Harry could only open and close his mouth like a fish at her. "All right? All right? She asks me if it's all right. Ginny, that's bloody fucking fantastic!"
He practically grabbed her into his arms and kissed her with all he had. Ginny finally broke the kiss, laughing at him and shaking her head.
"If you hadn't responded exactly like that, I'm pretty sure I would have broken out in tears," she said wistfully.
Harry gazed at her as though seeing her for the first time. His fierce, beautiful, amazing wife was having a baby. His baby. They had created a life. Suddenly Harry couldn't take it and stood up, needing air.
"Harry?" Ginny asked, her voice sounding worried. But he couldn't look at her for the moment – everything felt too raw.
"Oh, love, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I ruined the day. I should have waited to tell you," Ginny went to him, hugging him tightly.
Harry shook his head. "No, it's not that, it's just…a family, Ginny. We'll be…a family. I'll have my own family."
He blinked at her, willing her to understand and smiled as comprehension dawned on her face. Ginny smiled back at him, and her eyes looked watery.
"Yes, you'll have a family. Our own little bundle of joy who will poop all the time and cry all the time, and we'll never have a moment's peace and…oh, Harry." Ginny kissed him, and he felt it was the sweetest kiss they had ever shared. His hand wandered down to her stomach and he felt his heart flutter in utter joy.
Ginny was suddenly becoming more demanding with her mouth, and he let her push them towards the tree, only wincing slightly as his head hit the rough bark. Ginny used the leverage at the bottom of the tree to push herself up into his arms and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist.
"Take me, Harry, make love to me, fuck me, do whatever you want to me, I just need you inside me now."
Harry never disobeyed his wife when she wanted something, and he could tell she really wanted him. Ginny was running her hands through his hair, rubbing her breasts against him, and he slipped a finger into her knickers, finding her sex wet and warm. She moaned at the back of her throat as he fingered her, moving his thumb in lazy circles over her. She pushed her hips forward, and then they were both reaching down to unzip his jeans, rather carefully. They smiled at each other when he was, at last, free, and he slipped seamlessly inside her, joining with her completely. They both stilled, enjoying the sensation, and then Ginny was writhing against him, and Harry held onto her even as he began to let go of himself. He thrust as much as his position would allow him, and Ginny let out a low and guttural moan.
"Yes, love, yes," Ginny panted in his ear, spurring him on. He held her underneath her arse and moved his mouth along her neck.
"Use your hips," he whispered, and she complied, pushing into his with all of he might. After a few moment, Harry felt his strength starting to falter and captured her lips in a kiss. "I'm going to move us down, hang on," he said, and Ginny nodded at him.
He lowered them to the blanket and then pulled out of her. Before she could even begin to complain, he turned her over and then entered her from behind, suddenly needing to really thrust inside of her. Ginny grunted in pleasure, and it did things to his insides to hear it, and Harry reached out, grabbing her breasts from behind. He teased her and rubbed the soft pads of his fingers against her nipples, causing her to moan with abandon.
"Oh god," Ginny murmured, and Harry agreed with her. He set a blistering pace for them, but she followed him – as she always did- every thrust, every movement, Ginny matched him equally until Harry wasn't even sure where she began, and he ended. He could feel her tightening around him and he desperately pulled on her hips, his fingers digging into her skin.
She cried out his name as she came, convulsing around him in glorious release. Ginny threw her head back, and her hair snapped at him, but he could only marvel at it as his own body finally exploded deep within her. They collapsed together, utterly spent, and Harry could only hear the pounding of his heart in his ears and the same thought in his head.
He pulled her to him, ducking her head under his chin. "We really made a baby?"
Ginny laughed against his chest and then looked up at him. "Well, probably not the way we just did it, but yes, we made a baby. About six weeks ago."
Harry thought back and couldn't remember six hours ago, let alone six weeks. He sighed happily and hugged her body to him.
"Happy Birthday, Gin. Although I have to say, I think you're the one giving all the gifts today."
"Then there'd better be cake in that picnic basket for afters, Potter," Ginny said sleepily.
Harry smiled and let her drift off. He watched her breathing, still marveling at her. At the two them together.
His eyes strayed upward, and he saw a strange bird watching them from the tree above. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought it must be a woodpecker. It was black and white with stripes and a red breast. It looked at them as though intrigued by what they'd been doing, and Harry couldn't help but laugh. It startled the bird, and it flew off a few moments later. Harry mused to himself that he'd have to start learning things like the names of birds and how to do things like tie a nappy. Because he was going to be a Dad, and Dad's had to know about those types of things, didn't they?
Ginny mumbled something incoherently against him and he held tightly onto her. He couldn't believe he was going to be a father. He couldn't believe Ginny was going to be a Mum. But it felt right, to him. They were ready. And at any rate, they had nine more months of just being Harry and Ginny, and he was going to enjoy every minute of it and make sure that she did too.
O-o-o-o-O
Author's Note: Hello! This is my new side project of stolen moments from Harry & Ginny's life together - just scenes that have come to me as I'm toiling away on my opus, In Essence: Undivided. There will be no formal order to these one shots and I will move about in time (as it is a big ball of wibbly-wobbly stuff, don't you know?) from young H/G to older H/G. There will be some fics with the kids and some without. Just me flexing my fan fiction brain and I thought I would share. This collection will be ongoing. I can't promise it will be updated all the time, but I wanted a place for all these 'scenes' I have in my head of Harry & Ginny living their life together.