This little one-shot soaked in fluff is set in Harrys 6th year, Ginnys 5th, and they're in Grimmauld Place. I wrote this when I was a lot younger and have just gone through and edited the atrocious grammar. I haven't changed the story, though, because I quite like reading things I wrote back then. Enjoy!
A Smile After So Long
"Ron! Give it back! That's not funny!" I screamed and he rolled his eyes before throwing the book back into my hands.
"You're such a book worm, Ginny—you're turning into Hermione!" He laughed, turning to walk off but Hermione now blocked his way with a glint in her eye.
"What was that, Ron?" She asked and I grinned—Ron was in for it now.
"Er—"
"I'm going to read—see you!" I called happily and made my way upstairs and into the big attic. Number 12 Grimmauld place had been cleaned well, judging by the space in the room and the sun streaming in through the windows. I flopped down on an old couch and coughed as dust covered me. Oh well, a little dust didn't hurt.
I opened my book and lay back on the couch. The words blurred before my eyes before settling into a mess on the page that was not able to be read. Frustrated, I threw the book on the floor and stared at the ceiling. Guess I wasn't in a reading mood.
I wonder where everyone is? Obviously Ron and Hermione were fighting downstairs, judging by the noise. I smiled as I heard Hermione yelling at Ron below me and it was then that I heard a snigger behind me. I sat up from my position on the couch and peered over the back, straight into piercing green eyes.
"Harry!" I gasped, jumping slightly. "You gave me a fright!" He smiled at me but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Sorry Ginny, didn't mean to," He said, shrugging and sitting down beside me. "How come you're up here?"
"Reading." I pointed to my book on the floor and he picked it up to read the title.
"Reading? While your book is on the floor?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and I laughed.
"I couldn't be bothered," I said and he smiled. "Why are you up here, Mr Potter?"
"Me?" A sad look came over his face and he looked away from me. "I like coming up here to get away from it all. I hate being in this house—everything reminds me of…of Sirius."
"But that's natural after you've lost someone. That's normal."
"I know it is, but it feels like it's worse for me, I don't know why but I feel so depressed all the time. Ron and Hermione don't make it any better when they're fighting all the time," He said sadly, with a hint of anger in his voice. "What about you Ginny? Hows your life? Better than mine I expect…"
"Well, I suppose…not really," I trailed off.
"Why not?"
"Dunno, just been feeling really low and down lately. Apart from Hermione getting Ron this afternoon, I haven't laughed or smiled for ages. The whole war is getting to me—I hate it," I said quickly and sighed.
"That's exactly how I feel." He mumbled. Silence took over for a second and I desperately tried to think of something to cheer us both up.
"Well…we could do something about it…" I said and he looked at me, hope in his green eyes.
"How?" He asked.
"Let's get out of here—do something fun, something stupid, something that'll get us into trouble!" I fumbled over my words with excitement and we sat up from our slouched positions in unison.
"That's a great idea—I've got my cloak—where can we go? What can we do?" He said and a smile lit his face, matching mine.
"Well, even just leaving the house will get us in trouble, so that's that. Then we need to do something fun…I know! The park down the road—you know the fountain? Lets swim in it!" I said and he grinned even wider.
"It's warm enough, too, for once. What about something stupid?" He questioned and I thought for a moment.
"Lets put washing liquid in it so it foams up, and then swim in it again or something!" I suggested wildly and jumped up, worked up with childish excitement.
"Now?"
"Yeah!" I near-yelled. "While it's still sunny!"
Caught up in our excitement, we rushed out of the attic, my book left lying forgotten on the floor, dust falling where our bodies had just been. We hurried down the stairs and into Harry and Ron's shared room where he pulled out his Invisibility cloak and covered us in it. We crept downstairs and went into the—thankfully—empty kitchen. I slipped out from under the cloak and rushed over to the cupboard and found a box of washing liquid and snuck back under the cloak just as mum came in.
"Hang on Arthur! I think it's in here!" She called and searched in the cupboards, mumbling to herself before sighing and leaving the kitchen.
"Come on. Dad's leaving—we can now too. Quick!" I whispered and we snuck out of the kitchen and went to the front door where mum was kissing dad goodbye.
"Be quick, Arthur!" She whispered and opened the door. We rushed out before dad could even step out and made our way down the street, invisible. When we looked back, grins on our faces, number 12 had disappeared and so had dad. I looked at Harry who grinned down at me.
"Lets go!" I said. The park wasn't too far away; we would be there in about ten minutes.
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" He asked as we turned a corner. I looked at him; I could tell he wanted to. Something in his eyes told me that he needed something like this to take his mind off all that had gone on recently and I knew I needed it, too.
"Yeah—I haven't done anything fun for ages!" I said and he grinned at me.
"Thanks Gin," He said softly and my smile faded slightly, my all-too-familiar nerves kicking in at his softer tone.
"What for?"
"Showing my how to be happy again. Ever since—last year, I haven't been able to be happy. At all. Now you've come and shown me how to laugh." He blushed slightly, as if embarrassed to be saying these things to a girl but I smiled up at his face.
"You're very welcome, Harry. I've always been here for you in more ways than one. I just don't think you ever realised I was there," I said quietly, looking away, although it wasn't that easy when you were trapped in invisibility cloak. We arrived at the park and hid behind a tree before stepping out of the cloak and hiding it behind the tree. I took the washing liquid and we walked over to the fountain where water was pouring down the front.
"You do it," Harry said but I shook my head and pushed the stuff into his hands.
"You need fun more than little old me," I said. He took it and poured it into the water, which immediately began to bubble and foam. The scent of lemons filled the air quickly and for a moment, I wondered if we should have stayed at home.
"I didn't think it would do that so quickly…" Harry said and I grinned evilly. "Why are you grinning like that Ginny?"
"Why?" I said and he nodded slowly. I put on an innocent face and smiled. "No reason. Just smiling."
Without him realising it, I pushed him into the fountain and he got covered in water and bubbles. I laughed hysterically before he did the same and pulled me in.
"No! What—" My mouth filled with a heap of bubbles and I splashed about trying to get above the water. Harry laughed at me from his position on the side of the fountain. The foul taste of detergent filled my mouth and I spat angrily.
"Waters quite warm today, isn't it?" He said and I glared.
"Yes, it is." I said stiffly but then grinned. The bubbles continued to grow so that we had to get out. If we stayed in, they would have covered us. We grinned at what we had done and I made my way over to the swings and sat down. My clothes were soaked in water and bubbles but the sun soon dried them off. My hair was all over the place, not at all straight like it was that morning. Harry came over and sat on the swing next to me, a grin on his face as he stared up into the sky.
"That was awesome," He said and I smiled.
"Sure was…" I said. He looked at me with a strange expression on his face. I raised an eyebrow in question and he cleared his throat.
"Gin, what you said before…that I never realised you were there; what do you mean?" He asked and my smile disappeared, the nerves rushing back in an instant.
"Well, if it wasn't obvious already, I'm in love with you. Have been for ages but you never even seem to realise I'm there," I said, then let out a yelp when I realised what I had just told him. I stood up and made to leave the park but he caught up with me at the fountain. The bubbles were now all over the grass and people in cars were staring as they passed. I silently hoped they didn't make the connection to the two teenagers standing next to the fountain.
"Ginny—wait. You can't tell me something like that then just leave without saying anything!" He grunted in annoyance and turned me to look at him.
"Fine! I'm sorry—sorry for how I feel. Okay? I'm sorry I realised what a wonderful, smart, kind, loving person you are and I'm sorry—sorry I ever met you!" My anger (a terrible Weasley trait) had got the best of me. Harry looked at me as bubbles met our feet and continued to grow, causing them to slowly crawl up our legs, tickling our skin as they went.
"You can't be sorry for something as ridiculous as that! We have met each other, we are friends and - well, if you - er - what I mean to say is that -"
"What are you saying?" I interrupted, as the bubbles met our waists. I found it hard to discern if it was the bubbles causing the odd sensation in my stomach or if it was something else.
"I'm saying that I love you. But—you know, if you are still sorry you ever met me…I can try and forget my feelings for you," He said and I rolled my eyes. It was my turn to feel annoyed. What a typical Harry Potter thing to say.
And as the bubbles rose up even further, Harry leaned forward and planted a kiss on my lips. It was awkward, tasted of lemon detergent and was much too wet - as first kisses go, it was pretty perfect. I felt my cheeks blush as he pulled away and the feeling in my stomach swooped.
"Oi! You two!"