Chapter 4: The Next Morning

Ginny Weasley woke up in warm arms with a pounding headache. Her and whomever she was with wasn't wearing any clothing. The appartment definitely wasn't hers. What in the world did I do last night? Ginny wondered. She couldn't have gotten that drunk, could she? She would never sleep with a stranger, and she remembered seeing her siblings and old friends, so she knew they would never let her do anything stupid. Ginny turned around to get a look at the person who was holding her in his arms. The first thing she saw was a scar on the forehead. It all came rushing back to her, and she suddenly had a warm feeling inside of her. She wasn't ashamed at all of what had happened last night. Turning the rest of her body over, she lightly kissed the lips of the sleeping wizard next to her. "Morning," she whispered into his ear. Harry opened his eyes slowly. He couldn't remember much of last night either, and he too, had a splitting headache. All he could see was a face that appeared to be smiling and long, fiery red hair. Oh Merlin, what did I get myself into last night?! He quickly reached his hand out to his nightstand to grab his glasses. His glasses revealed the beautiful woman he slept with was Ginny Weasley. He remembered what had happened, but only vaguely. Harry definitely wasn't planning on it happening, he knew that, but he didn't regret it either. He smiled at her and ran a hand through her messy bed-head hair. An awkward silence then set in. What were they supposed to say to each other now? They were both naked and well aware of they did the night before. Ginny gave a nervous laugh and attempted to break the silence. "Well, if I had known when I was eleven years old that I'd end up in a bed with Harry Potter..." They laughed weakly, following a painful pause. Harry then spoke up. "Ginny, how exactly did we get from the bar... to here?" he asked.

"Well we apparated, of course!"

"No no, that's not what I mean. One minute we were talking at the Three Broomsticks, and then I wake up and we're... together. How...?" He was lost for words. Ginny smiled and brushed her hand on his cheek. "Well..." she said. "Like this..." She leaned over and gently kissed his lips. The rush that he felt last night when they kissed for the first time happened all over again. Harry didn't want to stop. It had been much too long since he had this. All those years that he was worried about getting hurt again didn't even matter to him at that moment. All he knew is that he did not want the feeling he had to ever end. Harry rolled over on top of Ginny and continued to kiss her, knowing quite well of what would happen next. Needless to say, it was one of the best mornings he ever had.

Ginny left around 10am because she had to begin her first day at St. Mungos at noon. Harry decided to give Hermione a call and let her know what happened. He knew that she and Ron had been begging him to meet new women. Wait until they hear that it was Ginny of all people! He thought he would do Ron a favor and let Hermione tell him, considering he may not like the idea of his best friend sleeping with his sister. In general, Harry didn't think Ron would really want to know about his sister's sex life anyway. He dialed their number quickly, knowing Hermione would be the one to answer the phone. She was the only one who really knew how to use it! "Hello?" she said as she picked up the phone.

"Hey, it's Harry. Guess who just left my appartment?"

"Ginny?" Harry could almost hear the grin Hermione had plastered all over her face over the telephone. "How did you know?" he asked.

"We all saw you snogging with her at the bar last night. When we saw that she left with you, we had a feeling you'd be having a good night!" she laughed.

"So Ron knows too?"

"And Fred, and George, and Bill, and Cassandra."

"Well... I guess news travels fast around here."

"Well it does when you're locking lips in front of a bar full of Weasleys! Anyway Harry, I was actually going to give you a call, but since you did it first, I'll just tell you now. There's going to be a barbeque today at the Burrow and Molly wanted me to let you know about it. They would have sent an owl as usual, but Errol seemed to be looking very ill today."

"Oh, okay. Sounds like fun. What time?"

"I think they're expecting us at around three," she said.

"Okay, I'll be there. Maybe I can pick up some dessert on the way there."

"Great, I'll see you then!"

"Okay then... bye." They both hung up the phone. Harry then went to the bathroom to shower and shave, getting ready to face the day. He then had a haunting thought... did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley already know about him and Ginny? Would they by the time he got there? He hoped with all his might as he walked into the shower that Fred and George, along with anyone else who knew, wouldn't say anything to anyone about it. Harry wasn't ready to just jump into a relationship, so he especially wasn't ready to tell everyone about what happened between him and Ginny last night.

Harry showed up at the Burrow around 3:30, carrying an apple pie that he bought from the bakery. He knocked loudly on the front door. Molly Weasley opened the door to greet Harry. "Oh Harry! How good it is to see you!" she said warmly.

"I brought a little dessert," Harry said, handing Molly the pie. "Oh, you know you don't have to do that, sweetie!" Mrs. Weasley set the pie down on a table next to the door, leaving her arms free to hug Harry and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Come in! Come in!" she said to Harry. Mrs. Weasley took the apple pie into the kitchen, where Ron and Hermione were helping with dinner. He stepped in and saw an abundance of red hair. Percy and his fiance, Penelope, were talking with Mr. Weasley over by the fireplace. Charlie, his wife Evelina, and their three children (Isabella-4, Ethan-2, and their four month old, Rosalyn), all with flaming red hair like the rest of the Weasley children, were all on the couch watching the tele. Claudia was the only Weasley so far that seemed to escape the red hair. Next to the couch was Bill and Cassandra in the loveseat, and on the floor were Fred and George, playing with Bill and Cassandra's two year old son, Edward and little Claudia. When they saw Harry, the four who had seen him last night gave wide grins, knowing very well of what happened. Harry could have sworn he saw Fred give him a little wink and George made a perverted hand gesture when his father and mother were looking away. Harry immediately went over to them. He leaned in and whispered, "Don't say anything!" He walked away quickly to avoid a drawn out conversation about it. The last thing Harry needed was that subject brought up in front of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He didn't even want to think about what Mr. Weasley might do to him if he found out that just last night he shared a bed with not only his youngest child, but his only daughter. Harry doubted he would leave the Burrow without losing a limb or two if they found out. He went into the kitchen, where he could faintly hear Hermione and Ron helping Mrs. Weasley cook. Hermione turned her head as she stirred pasta on the stove. "Hello Harry!" greeted Hermione. "Sleep well last night?" She tried her best to hold in her laughter. Harry smirked. "Never slept better!" he replied brightly, hoping Mrs. Weasley wouldn't have any idea what they were talking about. Mrs. Weasley walked out of the kitchen to tell Aurther to start cooking the chicken on the grill. Ron walked over to Harry and quietly said, "I'd emphasize the 'never slept' part if I were you!" Hermione and Ron laughed. Harry looked completely mortified. "You guys can't say anything about this! And Ron, I'm surprised you're not the one ready to throw my arse into the Atlantic with a bludger tied to me, considering she's your sister and all! The last thing I need is your parents knowing about it!"

"Come on! You and Ginny! My parents would love the thought of you as a son-in-law!" beamed Ron.

"Shh! Keep it down! First of all, we're not really even dating, so don't start that bloody son-in-law nonsense. Second, me and Ginny still have a lot of talking to do, and I don't think it would be nice if rumors started about me and her when we haven't even discussed it on our own yet."

"But Harry, you told me she had just left when you called, and it was a little after 10. Surely you two had plenty of time to talk this morning..." said Hermione, a bit confused.

"Well... er... you see... Ginny and I... didn't accomplish that much... talking... this morning..." Ron and Hermione's jaws dropped. "Harry! You can't be serious! Again?!" exclaimed Ron. Harry's face turned a shade of crimson, and he shyly looked down at the floor. Hermione was in a fit of giggles, yet she thought it was very sweet what Harry and Ginny seemed to have between them. If Harry was going to be sleeping with women again, she was glad it was with Ginny and not just any girl.

Outside, Mrs. Weasley set up two picnic tables for everyone to eat at. Harry's mouth watered when he saw the barbecue chicken come off the grill. There was also macaroni salad, tomato salad, and a basket of potato chips that everyone had been picking on for the past half hour. Since a majority of everyone at the table all had ministry jobs, it was the hot topic during dinner. They discussed who they wanted for the next Minister of Magic. Nearly everyone agreed that Mr. Weasley would be perfect for the job, however, Percy felt he could do just as good of a job, if not better. Harry felt that Mr. Weasley deserved the position more, though. He had paid his dues with the Ministry for years, and he treated everyone like gold. Not only that, he wasn't making nearly enough as he should have been. If anyone deserved to have an important position with the ministry, it was Mr. Weasley.

Around 8:30, Ginny came back home from work looking exausted. Her eyes widened when she saw Harry was there. She blushed remembering being with him earlier that morning. Ginny hoped that no one else knew about it, as she would have hated to have to explain to her parents why she got drunk and woke up in a strange bed. Surely her father would lock her in her old bedroom and never let her out. She slowly walked up to him, not knowing exactly what to say to him. "Hi Ginny," Harry said breathlessly.

"Hey Harry," she replied. "Do you want to go out back or something where we can talk?"

"I think we better." They slipped out of the house together into the Weasley's backyard. The two of them sat down at the picnic table where dinner was served earlier that day. "So..." Ginny said, lost for words.

"So..." said Harry, awkwardly. "Some night that was last night," he blurted out.

"Yeah... well... and this morning," said Ginny. They laughed at the memory.

"The thing that's bothering me is that I haven't been with a woman for five years, as you already know, and it's just really scary getting back into this again," he confessed.

"Well, I understand. It hasn't been easy for me, either. Ever since my fourth year, I've been convincing myself that I only thought of you as a friend... and then all this happened. I don't know what to think of it!"

"But I er, have to admit... I haven't felt that good in a long time."

"Same here." There was a short pause as the two gazed into each other's eyes. Then they both looked down at the ground and laughed nervously. "So then... what do we do now?" asked Harry.

"Well... we could go out again... if you want to, that is."

"Yeah, I want to... I'd like that very much."

"Me too," said Ginny. "I think we'll take it a bit slower though... no more morning surprises for a bit, 'kay?"

"Deal," said Harry, laughing. "It's a lot easier doing this dating stuff when you're liquored up, isn't it?" he said jokingly.

"Oh, I know it!" Harry touched her face, and lightly kissed Ginny's soft lips. Ginny squeezed his hand, getting up from the picnic table. They went back inside and had some tea with the rest of the family. Harry and Ginny tried to act as if nothing was different between them. Fred and George teased Harry and Ginny with kissy-face motions. Harry quickly walked over to the trouble-making twins and took them aside. "Listen you two, you can't breathe a word about me and Ginny!" Harry whispered sternly.

"Oh come on, Harry, you're no fun!" said Fred.

"Way to rain on our parade, Potter!" said George.

"Not a word, you guys. Ginny and I are taking things very slow, and neither of us are ready to let anyone know about it. So you need to promise me that you won't tell anyone who does not already know about us, you got that?"

"Oh fine," Fred said dissappointed.

"Damn... I had so many jokes about you wanking over Gin--"

"Shh!" Harry said, throwing his hand over George's mouth. "If your father finds out about what happened last night, I'm a dead man."

"Fine," George promised, rolling his eyes.

The rest of the night went much smoother. Fred and George kept their word, and turned their attention their newest item at their joke shop--boxer shorts that would fart every time you sat down. It was pretty late at night by the time everyone had left the Burrow. As usual, Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a kiss on the cheek and told him to stop by any time. Mr. Weasley told Harry to get back to him about the cellular phones that he promised he could get a good look at. When Harry apparated back to his appartment after saying goodbye to everyone, he was surprised to see that Ginny standing right in front of him. "Oh Ginny!" he said, smiling. "What are you doing here? I thought you went back to your place."

"Well, I wanted to say goodbye to you properly without worrying about everyone else."

"I was hoping you would say that," he said, walking to her. Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry and kissed him deeply and passionately. Harry ran his fingers through her hair, breathing in her purfume. "Well..." said Harry. "I'd ask you to stay, but..."

"Yeah, I know. I probably shouldn't. Not yet." Harry nodded. He couldn't help but think that it would be nice to fall asleep with her in his arms without a ton of firewhiskeys in his system. But they both promised each other to take it slow. Harry reminded himself that he went from swearing off women to dating his best friend's sister in only one night. It was going to take time for him to feel completely comfortable. "Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? I get out of work around 6pm. Are you free?"

"Yeah, I have the morning shift tomorrow, so I'll be out by the afternoon. 7:30?"

"Perfect. I'll be at your appartment by 7--"

"How about I just meet you here?" Ginny asked, cutting him off.

"Well, okay, if you'd rather do that," said Harry. "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

"There's this nice place in Hogsmeade called Madme Fiona's Eatery."

"Sounds great. We'll do that. Well... goodnight, Ginny."

"Goodnight, Harry," she said, kissing him sweetly on the lips. Ginny apparated back to her appartment and Harry wandered into his bedroom, where he changed into his pajamas and drifted off to sleep.