Chapter 2- Flying, Swimming, and Picnics
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
~Green Day
Harry appeared later in the day with a two suitcases full of robes, some Muggle clothes, books and his broom. That was all he owned. He was putting his clothes in the closet of the guest room when Ginny knocked on the open door. Harry looked up.
"Stop unpacking, you can do that at anytime. Grab your bathing suit, you're coming with me," Ginny said.
"But-"
Ginny cut him off. "What, don't you have a bathing suit?"
"Yes, but-" Ginny once again did not let him finish.
"Then go put it on. You should wear warm clothes over it, because it's kind of chilly outside. We'll be riding our brooms. I'll be waiting downstairs." And with that, she left. Harry obeyed her request, and put on his bathing suit and over it a pair of jeans and a long sleeved fleece shirt. He then walked down the stairs and found Ginny in the hall with his broom along with hers. She handed him his broom and motioned for him to follow her outside.
They mounted their brooms and Ginny led the way. She was right, it was cold. Harry wondered if she was crazy. It was 57 degrees outside, and she wanted to swim. Before Harry could question Ginny, they came to a waterfall and a large pool of water beneath it. There were huge rock formations surrounding the pool of water.
"Wow," Harry said, overwhelmed.
"I know, isn't it great?"
"It's beautiful, how'd you ever find it?"
I was just riding around of my broom one day when I saw it," Ginny explained. "It gets better though." Ginny started to take off her pants and shirt, revealing a plain, black, halter-top bathing suit.
"Nice bathing suit," Harry said. "You look good in it."
"Thanks, come on, lets go swimming," Ginny replied.
"Err...if you haven't noticed, it's sort of cold out here," Harry said, not making any moves to take off his clothes.
"Stop being such a baby Harry."
"Doesn't the word hypothermia mean anything to you?" Harry asked.
"No," Ginny replied simply. "Now if you don't go in by yourself, I'll be forced to push you in, clothes, shoes and all."
"Alright, fine," Harry mumbled as he removed his jeans and fleece and put them on a rock. His swim shorts were dark blue with red and orange flames coming up them.
"Ooh, sexy Harry," Ginny said when she saw his shorts. "You're so hot you're on fire." She burst out laughing at her own joke.
"Shut up," Harry replied, but he too was laughing. 'I should have known she was going to make fun of my shorts. I should have worn the dark green one,' he thought.
Harry finally took off his glasses and put them on top of his clothes. "I can't see anything. There's no way I'm going to be able to jump in."
"Here, take my hand. We can jump in together," Ginny offered. Harry accepted. They laced their fingers and Ginny led Harry to the ledge. "Okay, on three. One. Two. Three." They jumped into the water, which was twenty feet below.
When they resurfaced Harry realized that he wasn't cold. The water in fact was warm. No, not only warm, it was hot, but a tolerable hot. It reminded him of Muggle hot tubs. "It's warm," Harry said, sounding dumb.
"Oh course it is," Ginny said, making Harry feel as stupid as he had sounded.
"Oh, I thought it would be cold." Harry said, partly ashamed for not realizing that Ginny wouldn't have brought him to go swimming in cold water when it was in the high fifties. Ginny laughed, and splashed him. "Hey!" he called. He could no longer see Ginny; she had swum out of his 5-foot seeing range. "That's not fair, I can't see."
"How is that my fault? You should wear contacts, then you could see," Ginny said. Her dad had told her all about them.
Harry had to think back to his life as a Muggle to remember what contacts were. Then he remembered that they were small lenses that you put in your eyes that worked like glasses. "I don't know."
"They would show off your eyes so much better than those glasses. You should at least consider it." While most people say that Harry's eyes are like emeralds, Ginny was one of the few that disagreed. She thought of them more as the color of fresh cut grass, or the color of the signs that told street names. Harry's eyes were bright, emeralds are too dark to ever show the sparkle and light in Harry's eyes.
"I'll think about it. The idea of putting something in my eye sort of makes me queasy," Harry said. "Besides, other than my scar, they are my trademark look. And my hair covers my scar, so without my glasses no one would recognize me."
"Isn't that a good reason to get rid of them? If we're going to rid you of girls for awhile, wouldn't it help if they didn't swarm around you?"
"Rid me of girls? Since when are we trying to do that?" Harry asked.
"Since just now. You know that you don't need another girlfriend who is only in it for the fame. You need to find yourself. The Harry I used to know was full of life, but when I saw you in that bar last night I knew that you've changed, and not for the better."
Harry listened to her words and knew she was right. He didn't even know himself anymore. All of his previous girlfriends seemed to take a part of him with them when they left him. He needed to get himself back, in a sense. Harry decided that his goal was to not have another girlfriend for 6 months. He smiled, knowing that Ginny would help him, and with her help he felt that he could achieve his goal.
Harry and Ginny swam around for little over an hour. When they got out and wrapped themselves in towels Ginny had brought Ginny told Harry that they were going on a picnic. When Harry objected, saying that they didn't have any food or anything Ginny produced a small picnic basket from behind the rock she was leaning on. She told him how when he was gone, she had planned all this. They got dressed and started to hike up the rock hill carrying their brooms and the picnic basket. Harry had wanted to fly, but Ginny insisted they walk, it was better exercise. At the top of the mini-mountain there was a plateau on which they laid the blanket down on and started to unpack the food.
"I've never been on a picnic before," Harry admitted.
"Are you serious?" Ginny asked, disbelieving he had never went on a picnic in his twenty-three years.
"Yeah, sad isn't it?" Harry asked.
"What else have you never done that most people have?" Ginny asked with interest
"I've never really went to a beach to go swimming and stuff, I've never rode on a bike, and I've never went camping."
"Interesting," was all Ginny said. 'I know where our next trip will be to. He has got to go to a beach. I bet he'll love it there,' she thought.
Ginny pulled sandwiches out if basket and handed on to Harry, along with a flask of pumpkin juice. She took out some juice for herself and placed it on the blanket next to her sandwich. She then took out a container of fruit salad, two bowls, and two forks. She scooped out some fruit for Harry and herself. "Thank you," he said when she handed it to him. They sat and ate is silence, taking in the view from their plateau. They sun was beginning to set in the West.
"It's beautiful," Harry said, talking about the sunset.
"Yeah it is. I come up here after work sometimes to relax," Ginny told him.
"I can see why."
When they were done eating their dinner Ginny said, "We better get going soon, it's getting dark and we don't want to get lost on our way back." They packed up their things and found their brooms. Ginny levitated the picnic basket and towels as they flew back to her house.
"Ginny?" Harry asked quietly on their way back.
"What Harry?"
"I just wanted to thank you from bringing me. And thank you so much for being my friend. I haven't had any friends since the end on Hogwarts."
"You're welcome. I've very glad I saw you at the bar."
"I don't know where I would be if I hadn't seen you in the bar," Harry said.
"Neither do I," Ginny said. Then, so softly that Harry couldn't hear, she said, "I don't know where you would be if we hadn't met, and I don't want to think about that, because I wouldn't want you to be with anyone else."
~*~*~*~
I would like to thank moonshadow, yaqui, LiLDoodle, and harypotrfan for reviewing the first chapter. Got an idea? Tell me. More will be up soon, please review, it would mean a lot. Have a great day! ~Kori Bischoff
It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
~Green Day
Harry appeared later in the day with a two suitcases full of robes, some Muggle clothes, books and his broom. That was all he owned. He was putting his clothes in the closet of the guest room when Ginny knocked on the open door. Harry looked up.
"Stop unpacking, you can do that at anytime. Grab your bathing suit, you're coming with me," Ginny said.
"But-"
Ginny cut him off. "What, don't you have a bathing suit?"
"Yes, but-" Ginny once again did not let him finish.
"Then go put it on. You should wear warm clothes over it, because it's kind of chilly outside. We'll be riding our brooms. I'll be waiting downstairs." And with that, she left. Harry obeyed her request, and put on his bathing suit and over it a pair of jeans and a long sleeved fleece shirt. He then walked down the stairs and found Ginny in the hall with his broom along with hers. She handed him his broom and motioned for him to follow her outside.
They mounted their brooms and Ginny led the way. She was right, it was cold. Harry wondered if she was crazy. It was 57 degrees outside, and she wanted to swim. Before Harry could question Ginny, they came to a waterfall and a large pool of water beneath it. There were huge rock formations surrounding the pool of water.
"Wow," Harry said, overwhelmed.
"I know, isn't it great?"
"It's beautiful, how'd you ever find it?"
I was just riding around of my broom one day when I saw it," Ginny explained. "It gets better though." Ginny started to take off her pants and shirt, revealing a plain, black, halter-top bathing suit.
"Nice bathing suit," Harry said. "You look good in it."
"Thanks, come on, lets go swimming," Ginny replied.
"Err...if you haven't noticed, it's sort of cold out here," Harry said, not making any moves to take off his clothes.
"Stop being such a baby Harry."
"Doesn't the word hypothermia mean anything to you?" Harry asked.
"No," Ginny replied simply. "Now if you don't go in by yourself, I'll be forced to push you in, clothes, shoes and all."
"Alright, fine," Harry mumbled as he removed his jeans and fleece and put them on a rock. His swim shorts were dark blue with red and orange flames coming up them.
"Ooh, sexy Harry," Ginny said when she saw his shorts. "You're so hot you're on fire." She burst out laughing at her own joke.
"Shut up," Harry replied, but he too was laughing. 'I should have known she was going to make fun of my shorts. I should have worn the dark green one,' he thought.
Harry finally took off his glasses and put them on top of his clothes. "I can't see anything. There's no way I'm going to be able to jump in."
"Here, take my hand. We can jump in together," Ginny offered. Harry accepted. They laced their fingers and Ginny led Harry to the ledge. "Okay, on three. One. Two. Three." They jumped into the water, which was twenty feet below.
When they resurfaced Harry realized that he wasn't cold. The water in fact was warm. No, not only warm, it was hot, but a tolerable hot. It reminded him of Muggle hot tubs. "It's warm," Harry said, sounding dumb.
"Oh course it is," Ginny said, making Harry feel as stupid as he had sounded.
"Oh, I thought it would be cold." Harry said, partly ashamed for not realizing that Ginny wouldn't have brought him to go swimming in cold water when it was in the high fifties. Ginny laughed, and splashed him. "Hey!" he called. He could no longer see Ginny; she had swum out of his 5-foot seeing range. "That's not fair, I can't see."
"How is that my fault? You should wear contacts, then you could see," Ginny said. Her dad had told her all about them.
Harry had to think back to his life as a Muggle to remember what contacts were. Then he remembered that they were small lenses that you put in your eyes that worked like glasses. "I don't know."
"They would show off your eyes so much better than those glasses. You should at least consider it." While most people say that Harry's eyes are like emeralds, Ginny was one of the few that disagreed. She thought of them more as the color of fresh cut grass, or the color of the signs that told street names. Harry's eyes were bright, emeralds are too dark to ever show the sparkle and light in Harry's eyes.
"I'll think about it. The idea of putting something in my eye sort of makes me queasy," Harry said. "Besides, other than my scar, they are my trademark look. And my hair covers my scar, so without my glasses no one would recognize me."
"Isn't that a good reason to get rid of them? If we're going to rid you of girls for awhile, wouldn't it help if they didn't swarm around you?"
"Rid me of girls? Since when are we trying to do that?" Harry asked.
"Since just now. You know that you don't need another girlfriend who is only in it for the fame. You need to find yourself. The Harry I used to know was full of life, but when I saw you in that bar last night I knew that you've changed, and not for the better."
Harry listened to her words and knew she was right. He didn't even know himself anymore. All of his previous girlfriends seemed to take a part of him with them when they left him. He needed to get himself back, in a sense. Harry decided that his goal was to not have another girlfriend for 6 months. He smiled, knowing that Ginny would help him, and with her help he felt that he could achieve his goal.
Harry and Ginny swam around for little over an hour. When they got out and wrapped themselves in towels Ginny had brought Ginny told Harry that they were going on a picnic. When Harry objected, saying that they didn't have any food or anything Ginny produced a small picnic basket from behind the rock she was leaning on. She told him how when he was gone, she had planned all this. They got dressed and started to hike up the rock hill carrying their brooms and the picnic basket. Harry had wanted to fly, but Ginny insisted they walk, it was better exercise. At the top of the mini-mountain there was a plateau on which they laid the blanket down on and started to unpack the food.
"I've never been on a picnic before," Harry admitted.
"Are you serious?" Ginny asked, disbelieving he had never went on a picnic in his twenty-three years.
"Yeah, sad isn't it?" Harry asked.
"What else have you never done that most people have?" Ginny asked with interest
"I've never really went to a beach to go swimming and stuff, I've never rode on a bike, and I've never went camping."
"Interesting," was all Ginny said. 'I know where our next trip will be to. He has got to go to a beach. I bet he'll love it there,' she thought.
Ginny pulled sandwiches out if basket and handed on to Harry, along with a flask of pumpkin juice. She took out some juice for herself and placed it on the blanket next to her sandwich. She then took out a container of fruit salad, two bowls, and two forks. She scooped out some fruit for Harry and herself. "Thank you," he said when she handed it to him. They sat and ate is silence, taking in the view from their plateau. They sun was beginning to set in the West.
"It's beautiful," Harry said, talking about the sunset.
"Yeah it is. I come up here after work sometimes to relax," Ginny told him.
"I can see why."
When they were done eating their dinner Ginny said, "We better get going soon, it's getting dark and we don't want to get lost on our way back." They packed up their things and found their brooms. Ginny levitated the picnic basket and towels as they flew back to her house.
"Ginny?" Harry asked quietly on their way back.
"What Harry?"
"I just wanted to thank you from bringing me. And thank you so much for being my friend. I haven't had any friends since the end on Hogwarts."
"You're welcome. I've very glad I saw you at the bar."
"I don't know where I would be if I hadn't seen you in the bar," Harry said.
"Neither do I," Ginny said. Then, so softly that Harry couldn't hear, she said, "I don't know where you would be if we hadn't met, and I don't want to think about that, because I wouldn't want you to be with anyone else."
~*~*~*~
I would like to thank moonshadow, yaqui, LiLDoodle, and harypotrfan for reviewing the first chapter. Got an idea? Tell me. More will be up soon, please review, it would mean a lot. Have a great day! ~Kori Bischoff