Title: The Lucky One

Author: Sneezy Mouse

Rating: PG-13 due to implied naughtiness and slight cursing and inebriation.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters; places and references to events and the aforementioned belong to the wonderful mind of J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: I am posting two chapters at once to make up for the long wait. Please, if you haven't already read my bio and/or the last chapter in "In the Rising Consciousness of a Prankster." It explains my lack of updates.

Chapter Nine
L-Words Make You Do Strange Things

When Ginny woke up the next morning, she was curled up in a small, reclusive ball in the corner of her bed. The garbage can from her bathroom was sitting on the side and her desk chair was pulled up on the other side of the bed. A sour taste was in her mouth and her head pounded. It didn't take a genius to know what had happened last night.

Last night… it all came back to Ginny in an instant. She groaned in dismay and flopped her head onto the pillow. The creaking of her bedroom door caused her to lift her head up much too fast and came into a pounding that could, in no way, be considered healthy.

"You're up," Oliver said, smiling at her.

"What – "

"After what I've come to call 'The Stoop Incident,' you appeared to have passed out," Oliver explained before Ginny could ask. "I know I shouldn't have, but I got into your coat pocket and found your keys. I brought you up here and tried to make you a Hangover Potion before I realized I didn't know how to. Rather than poison you, I pulled a trash bin up and decided if you had the need to be sick, you could be sick in that.

"I also pulled the chair up because I head that if someone has the chance of being sick in their sleep, and their sleeping on their back, that the could choke on their own vomit and die. I obviously could not let that happen, so I pulled your chair up and camped out next to the bed to turn you on your side, just in case.

"But then I realized the jeans and shirt you had on might not be comfortable, so I carefully, and with my eyes closed I might add so I didn't violate you any further, I dressed you in your pajamas for more comfort. I was about to make breakfast, as well, if you are up for it."

Ginny blinked a bit, trying and failing to absorb this information.

"I don't think I'm coherent enough to appreciate all of that right now," Ginny said. "I think I'll be safe and just say thanks."

"Your welcome. Do you need anything?" Oliver asked.

Ginny swung her legs over the side of bed and said, "toothbrush. Toothpaste. Maybe a shower." Ginny tilted her head down and gave herself a sniff. "Definetly a shower. Did I puke?"

"No."

"Thank God, something is going right," Ginny muttered quietly, gathering some clothing to take into the shower with her. Before she went into her bathroom she added, "can you stay, Oliver? I'd like to have a talk with you, if that's all right."

"No problem. Do you mind if I turn on the television?" he asked. "While you're in the bath, I mean."

Ginny nodded and walked into the bathroom. Oliver turned into he living room, flipping on Ginny's TV and watched some morning cartoons. By the time Ginny came back out, she was dressed in a sweatshirt and denims, hair spelled dry.

"I was thinking maybe we could go out for coffee," Ginny suggested.

Oliver nodded.

"Sounds good," he said. "Though I don't have a change of clothes."

"Do you smell bad?" Ginny asked, nose scrunched in a disgusted way.

Oliver gave himself a sniff and said, "don't appear to be."

Ginny took him by surprise by leaning into Oliver's body and drawing in a long breath. Oliver had the odd sensation to wrap his arms around her, but he restrained. Ginny pulled up slowly, looked Oliver directly in the eyes and smiled.

"Fresh as a daisy," she commented, then froze realizing what she had done was very intrusive. Why she had leaned in so close to smell Oliver was inexplicable… he did smell very good though. Unfortunately, Ginny realized that when she tried to pull away, they locked eyes and she couldn't seem to move. Fortunately, Oliver did.

"So," He said, pulling his hands up and clapping them like an idiot, "breakfast then?"

Ginny nodded and Oliver felt relieved. Ginny smelled really good from her shower – must've used a fruit shampoo or body wash. He had to let go of her, though, because he didn't want certain things to, ahem, arise while being pressed up against her.

"Let me get my shoes," Ginny said, turning and walking back into her bedroom. Oliver followed her slowly and stood at the doorway.

"Can I ask you something?" he said.

Ginny nodded.

"Did we ever settle our bet?"

Ginny nodded again, walking towards Oliver holding her shoes.

Ginny silenced him and covered his mouth with hers. It lasted for a few moments before Oliver pulled away. He looked at Ginny, shocked. However, seeing her standing in front of him, her hands upon his torso, his at the small of her back, he went back in and kissed her. Ginny threw her shoes away and the crashed into the bedside lamp, breaking it. Oliver and Ginny were to busy falling to the floor, still kissing, to notice.

●

"I'm hungry," Oliver said.

"Of course your hungry," Ginny replied. "You just had sex."

Oliver made a content humming noise and Ginny responded by snorting in amusement and elbowing Oliver in the stomach.

"Now let go of me so I can get dressed," she said.

Oliver gave a bark of laughter as well and released Ginny. When she stood up, Oliver promptly covered his eyes.

"You don't have to do that," Ginny said, pulling on her underwear.

"I know," Oliver responded, eyes still closed. "I'm just trying to be a gentleman."

"Please," Ginny said, "if you had wanted to be a gentleman, we would not have done what we just did… the way we did it."

Oliver's eyes shot open in surprise. Ginny smiled and did a short little hip-swiveling dance… still in just her undies.

"You are…" Oliver began but Ginny cut him off.

"Extremely hungry. Now put your pants back on and let us get some food!"

Ginny began rummaging around her room and located all of Oliver's stripped clothing and threw it towards him. Slightly reluctant, he pulled on his boxers and pants. He began to pull his shirt over his head until he noticed a very large rip in the front. He laughed.

"What?" Ginny asked, now fully dressed again and straitening her hair.

"You little minx," Oliver said, grinning. "You literally ripped my shirt off."

Ginny blushed something fierce, but recovered quickly saying only one word in response.

"Reparo!" And the shirt was fixed. So was the amused grin on Oliver's face. "Shut up," Ginny huffed.

"Can you imagine what would happen if Ron found out about this?" Oliver asked.

"I could imagine it would involve some sort of castration on your part," Ginny responded while walking out of the bedroom. Oliver felt a slight wave of panic but walked out behind Ginny anyway.

They had found a small Muggle café to eat breakfast in. Ginny had begun with a cup of coffee, doused with cream, before ordering a large platter of Belgium Waffles and bacon with a side of scrambled eggs.

"Whoa," was how Oliver responded to Ginny's gorging.

"What?" Ginny said after swallowing a slice of bacon. "I said I was starving. Famished, even."

"While I'm taking that as a compliment, seeing as how you were hungry only after we had a very unexpected shag," Oliver said, causing to Ginny to pause her eating, blush and smile, "I have never seen a girl eat so much."

"Growing up with six brothers I learned to eat as much as you can because they'll chow it all down first," Ginny explained. Oliver nodded. "Also, since you brought up the sex, I hope it answered your question."

Oliver looked puzzled.

"About the bet?" Ginny reminded him. "I decided I was cheating out of the bet, and the stipulations were 'successfully' and it obviously wasn't a success. So we shagged."

"Oh," Oliver said. "Right."

"You did realize that, right?" Ginny said.

"Yeah," Oliver said. "Well, actually, no. I was pretty much only realizing that we were having sex. Now that you bring it up, though…"

"Good." Ginny smiled. "Can you imagine what Hermione or Percy will say if they find out about this?"

"I hope their responses don't end with my castration as well."

"No," Ginny said. "Hermione thinks that we're doing this because of unresolved feelings for one another. I don't think she full comprehends the concept of impromptu shags."

"Really?" Oliver asked.

"Nope. She's only ever dated two blokes before," Ginny said, "and that was Ron and Percy."

"Really? And she's getting married to Percy? She's yet to even see what the world has to offer!"

"I do hope that you are not talking about yourself," Ginny jested. "But I feel the same way. It's like… I don't know. She seems to have a thing for Weasley boys, I must say. One day, I mentioned something about it and she said that over all, she's had a crush on every single one of the Weasley children, sans me of course.

"But don't get me wrong. She's completely happy with where she is in her life. If she, for some unfounded reason, believes that Percy is the one she's destined to be with then more power to her."

"At the same time, though, don't you think she's selling herself a bit short?" Oliver asked, then hastily added, "Not saying that Percy's a bad guy, he is my best mate."

"No, I get what you mean," Ginny responded kindly. "And yes, sometimes I do. I never say anything like that though because if I do, Hermione gets her knickers in a twist and yells at me. For weeks she was convinced I was jealous of her and Percy. I pointed out that Percy was my brother, therefore it would be quite gross if I was jealous."

"Let me guess," Oliver added, "she said you didn't understand?"

"Right in one," Ginny said. "I believe her exact words were, 'fall in love, Ginny, then you'll understand.'"

"Do people in more serious relationships think they have more than us?"

"Well," Ginny responded, "sometimes I think they do. It's fleeting, but when I see my mum and dad, or one of my brothers or Harry with their significant others, I feel a little third wheel-ish."

"If you feel that way, why – " Oliver began but Ginny interrupted him.

"Don't I get a serious boyfriend? I said fleeting, not constant. I don't feel that way all the time. Besides, I'm twenty two. If anyone should be worrying about a serious relationship, it should be you."

"Me?" Oliver said, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, you," Ginny repeated. "You're twenty-seven, Oliver. Where's Mrs. Wood?"

"She lives in Aberdeen," Oliver responded.

"I thought you weren't seeing anyone?" Ginny said loudly. "We slept together… TWICE! And you didn't have the decency to tell me you were seeing someone! But you said before you weren't seeing anyone! Was that some sort of – why are you laughing?"

Indeed, Oliver was fairly tickled by Ginny's outburst.

"Because," Oliver explained, "my mother is Mrs. Wood. She lives in Aberdeen."

"Oh," Ginny said, then blushed in embarrassment. "Oh! I'm sorry. God, that is embarrassing. Of course you would tell me something like that. I apologize, that was really… I don't even know how to explain it."

"You are a really amusing person to be around, did you know that, Ginny?" Oliver asked.

Ginny's eyebrow raised and she asked suspiciously, "why?"

"Because your just like all the other Weasleys," Oliver answered. "You make rash decisions, your emotionally unstable, funny as hell… but you have the ability to maintain actual conversation. Fred nowadays can only talk about his kid, George is so busy with working Wheezes by himself, since Fred will be out of commission when the baby comes. And Percy complains endlessly about Hermione. Or, if he's not complaining, he won't shut up about how amazing she is."

"Well, Hermione is fairly amazing," Ginny said.

"I don't deny it," Oliver replied, "but when all you hear is 'Hermione said this' or 'Hermione is bonkers' or anything to that extent, you are pretty much looking for a Death Eater to appear and Avada Kedavra you."

Ginny laughed.

"Well," she said, "if it makes you feel any better, all Hermione talks about is the wedding."

"That's what Percy says as well," Oliver said. "Does it annoy you as much it does him?"

"Eh," Ginny responded, shrugging. "It did at the beginning, but then I got over it. I mean, this is going to be her day. Despite the fact that she is marrying Percy, it is essentially Hermione's day and she deserves it to be perfect."

"And if it isn't?"

"She'll go batty and murder us all."

The look on Ginny's face when she said this briefly had Oliver wondering if she was actually serious, but the she laughed and said, "I'm only joking. She'd probably laugh it off and be happy she and Percy were together. Also, she – "

A bright flash of light distracted Ginny. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the small dots in her eyes and Oliver turned to try to find the origin of the flash. He found it in the form of a camera held by a woman with a "Witch Weekly Press Photographer" badge around her neck.

"Fuck," Oliver muttered quietly as the woman walked over.

"Oliver Wood," she said, "my name is Francine Flash, reporter for Witch Weekly and – "

"Don't you think you're readers have had enough of me? I can't even go to a bloody Muggle diner for breakfast and you somehow seem to find me."

"I just give the people what the want and all they seem to want is you, Mr. Wood," she replied, smiling devilishly. Her eyes flickered quickly to Ginny who was watching this situation with a small smile on her lips, yet an apprehensive look on her face.

"And who is this, Oliver?" Francine asked.

"Let's go, Ginny," Oliver said, throwing some pound notes on the table.

"Ginny?" Francine asked. "Ginny Weasley? Brother of Ron, ex-girlfriend of Harry Potter?"

Oliver was trying to get out of the restaurant, but when the reporter said something about Harry, Ginny froze.

"Ron was Harry's ex-girlfriend? Well, that's a new one," she replied, lighthearted and amused. The way Ginny was handling the situation at hand was surprising to Oliver.

"I meant you," Francine said, looking Ginny directly in her eye. Ginny met the stare.

"Harry and I never dated."

"But you harbored a crush for him?" she asked. "According to Colin Creevy's bestseller, you were positively obsessed with him for years."

Ginny shot Oliver a little smile that scarily reminded him of Fred and George. She had a plan, and Oliver had a feeling that he was not going to approve entirely of it.

"I got over my crush on Harry years ago," Ginny said. "I'm quite over him. In fact, Oliver, honey, do you think we should say something?"

Francine looked giddy by the mention of the word "honey."

"What?" Oliver said. With another playful look from Ginny, Oliver caught on. "Oh… do you really think we should, Love?"

"I think they deserve it," Ginny said, moving closer to Oliver who placed an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. "After all, the masses of girls out there are going to have to know that they can't obsess over you. Not when you're married."

"Engaged," Oliver said quickly.

"Of course," Ginny said. "But the date will sneak up on is before we know it."

"Engaged?" Francine said.

"I'm sorry, Miss Flash, but we must be leaving," Oliver said. "Big plans ahead of us, you know."

"Oh, yes, quite," Francine responded, but she seemed to already be mentally planning the story of Oliver Wood's surprise engagement.

When Oliver and Ginny had exited the restaurant, both broke out into maniacal laughter. Oliver was the first to speak when he said, "my manager is going to kill me. First, he'll be in a strop for not telling me about it. Then, when I tell him this was all a joke, he'll be in a bigger one for me being so immature with the press."

"Who cares?" Ginny said. "Did you see her when we said we were engaged? She was practically salivating."

"I loathe and abhor the press," Oliver said, "and yet, I play a sport where I am almost automatically branded a celebrity."

"So you have no right to really complain," Ginny agreed. "Wait until Fred and George hear about this! This was a great joke. They'll think it's hilarious. And Percy will start sputtering when he sees this story in the Prophet tomorrow." Suddenly, Ginny's amused expression glazed into a pinched face, as if she was pained.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Mum will read it, too," Ginny said, still pinched. "Shit. She's going to bloody explode if she reads that. Oh, I'll never hear the end of it."

Oliver paused, thinking of a good thing to say and settled on, "but I'm sure the look on Ron's face when he hears about it will be hilarious."

Ginny considered this for a moment, chewing her lip. Soon, she smiled deviously.

"Maybe we shouldn't tell Ron the truth?" Ginny offered. "But he might actually like the idea, though. I mean, if you and I were to be married, that would excuse us sleeping together."

"That's Ron's logic?"

"His logic does not resemble our Earth logic," Ginny replied. "But yes, he might actually like the idea. Hell, he'd probably do a little Irish jig if he thought for a moment a world famous Quidditch player were to be a part of our family."

"Ron does love you something fierce, doesn't he?" Oliver asked.

"There isn't even a question of that," Ginny responded. "Sometimes, though, he can be an extreme git… as you witnessed. But yes, he does love me. He's my brother."

Oliver nodded.

"I should head over to the Burrow, though," Ginny finally said. "I mean, I should try and tell Mum what's going on with our 'engagement' – " Oliver laughed. " – before she hears it from someone else and has the chance to begin planning for our wedding."

"Just as well, I've got practice in a few hours," Oliver said. "I've got to get home and change and then maybe have a bit of a lie down."

"Bye, Oliver," Ginny said, leaning up to give him a peck on the cheek.

"See you later, Ginny," Oliver responded.

Ginny had begun to walk away, but turned around and said, "thanks again for last night. It was a really great thing for you to do."

Oliver nodded and began walking in the opposite direction of Ginny. He stopped and turned to watch as Ginny's frame became muddled in the bustling London shopping crowd. Her red hair was barely a speck before Oliver began walking again, this time with a stupid grin on his face.

Author's Note: Next chapter is up as well, as a treat for all of you readers and fans who waited so patiently.