THE ONE WITH THE END
Disclaimer: Anything you see or recognise is not mine….
Fifteen minutes later and Ginny was still in the powder room as she and Luna and Freda - who had joined them during that time - attempted to console Chris who was thoroughly despondent about the route her heart had taken.
Just then the door was flung open and who else to step in but Sirius Black himself. Chris stopped midway in her pacing, frozen in her tracks. She felt something absolutely weird in her finger and toes, a sensation so threatening and strange she wanted to turn and run away from him.
"I thought you'd be here." He addressed Chris, his brow knitted in a slight frown.
"I thought I told you to leave me alone!" Chris snapped at him, already riled up by his mere presence.
Ginny, Luna and Freda who were seated on the cushioned bench were happily watching this exchange between Chris and Sirius.
"Well, you know I never listen to you." Sirius stated, matter-of-factly.
"Is that what you came here for? To fight with me?" Chris asked, irritated.
Sirius took a step closer to Chris, ignoring the three pairs of watching eyes, and smiled at her, one of his trademark swoon worthy grins.
Seeing Sirius' grin, Freda softly murmured to Ginny and Luna, "I think I just came."
Ginny was mortified but could not respond for Sirius had just taken another step closer to Chris, who was looking more and more like some caged wild animal.
Leaning down to increase the intimacy of the moment, "I'd rather fight with you than make love to anybody else." Sirius told Chris.
"That's so sweet." Luna whispered.
"Lucky bitch." Freda muttered, shooting dark looks at Chris.
Ginny, however, was watching the tension seep out of Chris' face as she stared up at Sirius, a slight smile playing on her lips.
"Fine, so what shall we fight about?" Chris asked, a teasing glint in her eye.
"How about who is going to bring the strawberries and whipped cream the next time we meet?" Sirius suggested, glad that he was able to get this beautiful witch on his side. Remus had been right – honesty was the best policy.
Ginny had just exited the washroom, Luna in tow, leaving Chris and Sirius to explore the realms of their new found friendship with retorts and snappy comments.
Freda had gone off to find Zedka, hoping to ask her best friend to introduce her to one of her handsome cousins.
"Uh-Oh." Luna muttered, warningly. Ginny followed the direction of Luna's gaze and instantly cringed.
Blaise Zabini was sauntering towards her, his dark gray eyes shining from too much alcohol, his dark brown hair framing his chiseled face in waves. A few days ago, Ginny would have found the mere sight of him absolutely delectable but right now she wanted him and his fire whiskey breath out of her face.
Unfortunately, Blaise was not going anywhere. Ignoring Luna, he looked down at Ginny, grasping her hands in his, "Ginny, just listen to me, please. I've been going crazy. I can't stop thinking about you, and thinking about what an idiot I've been."
Ginny pulled her hands out of Blaise's grasp, her lips pressed together in a thin, grim smile. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. It's over between us."
Blaise was not going to give up. "Come on Ginny, we belong together - you, me, those genuinely tiny knickers of yours. If I can't make it with you then I can't make it with anyone."
"That's not a good enough offer for me." Ginny told him, sharply and firmly. She attempted to walk away but Blaise blocked her way.
"What are you doing?" She asked, exasperated.
"Kissing you." He replied with a handsome smirk as he backed her against the wall, placing his large hands on either sides of her as he trapped her between them. Ginny, taken by surprise, could barely react as he pinned her against the wall with his tall, broad frame.
Even before Luna, who had been standing nearby and keeping an eye on the unfolding scene, could pull out her wand and point at it Blaise, Harry – him with the quick quidditch reflexes and Moody's 'Constant Vigilance!' Auror training – seemed to appear all of a sudden less than a foot away from Blaise, his wand pointed at the Italian wizard's face.
"Step away from Ginny, Zabini." Harry spoke in a clear, authoritative voice, his face an unnatural mask of nonchalance.
Blaise, being the Slytherin that he was, hid his surprise at finding himself facing the end of Harry Potter's wand.
"Why should I?" He sneered, leaning even closer towards Ginny who was feeling rather aggravated.
She detested having Harry defend her as if she was some damsel in distress but this situation seemed to give her no other choice. Blaise was standing so close to her that she barely had room to pull her wand out and hex him to Azkaban.
"If you don't, I'll curse you." Harry stated, the tightening of his grip on his wand the only indication of his rising anger. He barely noticed the crowd of curious observers gathering around them.
"I don't bloody care." Blaise said smugly, trying to press his lips against Ginny's. Ginny turned her face to the side so Blaise only got her cheek and at the same time, by reflex, raised her leg and kneed him in the groin.
"OW!" Blaise doubled up in pain, "You nasty bitch."
"You asked for it." Ginny told him.
She was about to whip out her wand out and hex him for good when Harry stopped her, grabbing her arm. Much to her chagrin, he shook his head, gesturing for her to stand behind him with Luna.
"Let me handle it." He stated rather than asked.
Ginny had no choice but to relent. However, she was already preparing a long lecture to give him afterward for attempting to defend her honor when she was very much capable of doing it herself.
He stepped up towards Blaise. "I should have done this years ago." Harry told him, tucking his wand back into his dress robes.
"Done what?" Blaise asked, straightening up, blinking furiously from the slightly decreasing pain in his nether regions.
"This." Harry said, before he punched Blaise in the jaw, hard.
Blaise staggered backwards, from the unexpected assault. "Ow. Fuck me, that really hurt. What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Blaise touched his jaw, glaring at Harry.
"This." Harry punched Blaise again, even harder.
"I'm not a Zabini for nothing y'know!" Blaise growled, throwing himself onto Harry, bringing him down on the floor. He managed to land a punch on Harry's jaw as they tussled on the ground.
It was at this juncture that Vincent Cappadora who had been standing in the crowd of onlookers, yelled out loud for everyone else in the reception hall to hear, "FIGHT! Come on then, it's a real live fight!"
Ginny closed her eyes briefly not believing what this was escalating into – Harry and Blaise were still on the ground wrestling with each other, all the other guests including her brothers were joining the crowd to watch and she had no idea how to explain why Harry had been so affronted on her behalf without delving into the details of the wonderful sex they had engaged in barely an hour ago.
"Whose side are we on?" Ben Cappadora, Vincent's older brother, who had wiggled his way to the front of the crowd asked.
"Zabini's of course. He's our flesh and blood." Paul Madriani replied.
"But he did dump Ginny and anyway, Harry killed Voldermort." Fred who had joined the Italian men in front, pointed out intelligently.
"You're right, it's a tough one to call." Dominick Tempesta agreed.
Ginny caught sight of Ron and Hermione making their way towards her. She grabbed Ron's arm as he stood beside her, "Please, stop them Ron! I don't want them dead or worse!" Ginny pleaded, desperately.
"Are you kidding?" Ron shot his younger sister an incredulous look. He glanced at the mesh of limbs on the ground that were Harry and Blaise, "No way am I going in there."
"Ask Bill or the twins," Ron nodded towards their elder brother standing some distance away, looking thoroughly amused.
Bill caught his youngest sister's eyes and shook his head, smiling, "I always hated Zabini, and you know it."
Fred and George were busy cheering Harry on with the rest of the crowd and also very much preoccupied with making bets as to who would win the fight. Hence, neither of them displayed any desire to stop the fight.
"We have to do something!" Ginny exclaimed.
Before anyone could suggest anything though, Blaise had disentangled himself from Harry and got off the floor with a bloodied nose, bruised jaw and torn dress robes. He took off instantly, Harry at his heels. Everyone watched with abated breaths and wide eyes as Harry threw his weight on Blaise from behind, pushing him into the champagne fountain and landing on top of him with a splash, startling the bartenders nearby.
"Oh my goodness." Ginny breathed, at her wit's end.
"It's amazing the clarity that comes with psychotic jealousy." Luna muttered quietly only for Ginny to hear.
"What are you gonna do now? Drown me in sixteen inches of champagne?" Blaise asked, between heavy gasps for air.
Harry paused for a moment, "Yes!" He said, a manic glint in his eyes. Then, the fighting ensued.
Teresa, Blaise's younger sister, having just joined the crowd, "What are they fighting about?" she inquired.
"I think it's over Ginny." Freda told her, watching the two men wrestle each other in the fountain, wishing fervently that one day, two just as good looking men would fight over her.
"Bizarre what some men find attractive." Teresa commented, shooting Ginny a contemptuous look.
Ginny was too worried about Harry to bother staring a catfight of her own with Teresa.
"They're going to kill each other." She cried. "Someone should stop them."
Uncle Joey who had been standing beside her all this while, quietly observing everything, finally spoke up with a twinkle in his good eye, "Don't worry about Potter. He'll live. It's Zabini I would worry about if I were you but then again, he needs a good arse whopping anyway. Besides, that which does not kill us, makes us stronger."
Blaise, already losing steam and weighed down by his drenched robes, paused between punches to ask Harry, "If you love Ginny so much, Potter, why don't you tell her?"
"I'll bear that in mind." Harry commented, coldly.
Blaise hesitated before retorting with a smirk, "Otherwise, she'd definitely shag me."
Harry moved forward to punch Blaise when a loud shrill intimidating whistle caused him to stop. Everyone turned around to see a red faced Molly Weasley, accompanied by Arthur, Patrick and Sylvia, making a beeline towards the fountain.
"WHAT is going on!" Molly fixed Harry with a glare that could have sent him straight to the gallows.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Sylvia Bernoulli boomed, in an even louder voice than Molly. None of the Weasleys, not even Remus, knew that Sylvia was capable of such a frightening display of anger and such a thunderous voice.
"MALO, MALO! ABSOLUTELY PAZZI!" She exclaimed, pulling Zabini by his ear as he stumbled out of the fountain, drenched in champagne.
"AND YOU!" Molly thundered at Harry who cowered in front of her after stepping out of the fountain. "YOU MAY HAVE KILLED VOLDERMORT BUT YOU ARE NOT EXCUSED!"
"DESSA, BLESS HER SOUL, WOULD BE ROLLING IN HER GRAVE TO SEE HER ONLY SON LIKE THIS!" Slyvia Bernoulli was admonishing her nephew.
Both Arthur and Patrick were taking an obvious backseat, twiddling their thumbs as they stood with the crowd, hoping their wives would not call them in for back up. There was complete silence in the entire dining hall as everyone watched, enthralled by the sight of two harmless looking elderly witches rant and rave at the Man who killed Voldermort and the most Eligible wizard of Europe.
"CANNOT BELIEVE YOU'D DO SUCH A THING! YOU! HARRY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!"
"STUPIDA BOY! STUPIDA!" Sylvia glowered at Blaise.
The two fully grown, sopping wet, male wizards stood before the older witches, whimpering apologies and pleading for forgiveness.
"Doesn't look like they're going to start fighting again, are they?" Fred asked, hopeful with anticipation.
"Don't think so, mates." Thomas Tempesta, Charley's father, commented a tad sadly.
"The misery! The exquisite tragedy! The Susan Hayward of it all!" George exclaimed dramatically.
Ginny shot them both a dirty look. At the rate her mother was going, it looked as if she was going to expel Harry from the family and that was not going to work in either Harry's or Ginny's favor. Fortunately, the reason behind their fighting was not being broached, with both Harry and Blaise keeping mum about it. It was sometime before Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Bernoulli decided that both men were likely never to repeat such actions ever again and so they ceased their scolding.
As the crowd dispersed and most people gravitated outside to the terrace where the carriages were waiting to take them back home, Ginny ensconced a thoroughly dazed and sheepish Harry before anyone else got to him. Harry shook his head at Ginny, in an attempt to stop her from giving him an earful as well.
Ginny glared at him furiously. "The only reason why I'm going to forgive you and not nag your ear off for what you did is because I've just had a rather graphic shag flashback – you do have a genuinely gorgeous bottom." She stated, her lips twitching from the effort not to smile.
Harry was momentarily taken aback and also somewhat pleased, "Right, well, thank you."
"What was that all about, mate?" Ron asked, coming up from behind Ginny, Hermione in tow.
Harry shrugged, "All that pent up rage against Slytherins."
Ron nodded, understandingly.
"It's more than that." Hermione said, shrewdly. Fortunately, she was more focused in fixing Harry's torn clothes and minor bruises with a few useful charms.
Just in case though, Ginny decided to fall upon the well used diversion of changing the topic of the conversation so as to prevent Hermione or Ron from probing Harry any further. "Weren't you telling me earlier, 'Mione, that you wanted Harry to have a look at the book of names to help pick a name for the baby since you and Ron can't agree on one?" She asked Hermione who finished fixing Harry up..
Harry's appearance gave no hint that he had been involved in a brawl a few moments ago but he still felt a bit sore in certain places, particularly his jaw where Zabini had socked him several times. The last thing he wanted to do, right now, was to pick a name for the baby but the warning look Ginny shot him when he opened his mouth to protest made him clam his mouth shut, instantly.
"Yeah, did you give him the book, Ron?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, I did, before the bachelor party last night." Ron said, promptly turning on Harry, "Did you have a look at it?"
Harry shook his head, guiltily.
"Harry! You're the godfather!" Hermione cried out, completely scandalized by Harry's seeming lack of interest in her baby.
"It's not that, Hermione, I've been busy with this wedding and all…" Harry attempted to placate her.
"I have an idea – why don't we do it now itself, seeing as we don't have much time, the baby being overdue and all. Besides, the dinner reception is practically over." Ginny suggested. Harry shot her grateful look. She had salvaged him from receiving yet another lecture.
Hermione nodded agreeably.
"Let's head back to the house. The book is in my room, exactly where you left it." Harry said to Ron, sheepishly, obviously having not even touched it. Hermione shook her head reprovingly but held her tougue.
"I still like 'Emerald-Mist' best." Ron persisted, as they walked back towards the house.
Hermione who was walking beside him, shook her head, "Have you completely lost your marbles, Ron? I think 'Nicole' is more sensible."
Ginny and Harry who were walking behind them exchanged amused glances. Harry leaned towards her as they neared the house, "Can we name our baby Emerald Mist?" He asked softly, jokingly.
Ginny shot him a stern look, "No babies. End of discussion."
Harry pouted. As they walked into the house, he muttered loudly enough for Ginny to hear, "Well, I'll just have to swap your birth control potion with some harmless draught without you knowing it."
Ginny stared at him in shock, before bursting into incredulous laughter. "I don't believe you," She gasped.
"If I want something, I go all the way to get it." Harry smirked.
Then, just to drive home his point and also because they were all alone in the hallway - Ron having gone up to Harry's room to get the book himself and Hermione having gone to sit down in the living room – he pulled her flush against him and kissed her in a way that reminded her that she was his, no one else's.
Sirius was sitting in the living room, smiling smugly about his up coming date with Cris but yet knowing somehow that this was going to be more than just another romantic conquest. Perhaps every man was an island but clearly most men are island chains – underneath they were connected.
He sat there, silently watching his friends, his godson, his loved ones filter into the living room, either exhausted or riled up by all the festivities of the wedding that had drawn to a close, and he felt a strange sense of contentment – for all that life had taken from him, it had given back just as much.
"Y'know the whole wedding night thing is complete pish pash I tell you." Zedka proclaimed as she sat on the couch, her head resting against Remus's chest, "I mean by the end of the whole thing you're just too pooped to do anything, least of all have sex!"
"I second that." Remus murmured, sipping a conjured up bottle of butterbeer.
Sirius shook his head, as he sat languidly in the armchair by the fireplace. "Well there goes my launching of Operation Newly Weds." He declared disheartened.
"Operations Newly Weds?" Harry asked, puzzled, glancing at his godfather.
"To stop the newly weds from having their 'wedding night'." Fred stated as if reciting it straight from a dictionary. Sirius nodded, terribly proud of himself. Remus simply rolled his eyes while Zedka started to laugh.
"Sounds horribly tactical and militant." Remus commented wryly.
Suddenly Ron burst into the living room, face beet red, lips spread into a smug grin. He was holding his wand in his hand but it was not so much the expression on his face but what was hanging off the end of his wand – a pair of lacy peach knickers.
Ginny had a sudden coughing fit while Harry went terribly pale, his face contrasting sharply with his black hair. Everyone else looked thoroughly amused or shocked.
"Harry," Ron began to speak, " What was this doing under your bed?"
"I think the real question is 'whose are these?'" Sirius pointed out ever so helpfully, amused beyond belief by the possibility that his godson was involved in something scandalous. Remus shot his best friend a warning look.
"Eh-" Harry began, unable to form a coherent sentence.
"So, Harry?" Fred asked, leaning forward expectantly.
"Eh, it's, um, mine?" Harry offered.
Ginny snorted. Everyone else looked even more bemused and taken aback save for Sirius who was looking at Harry appraisingly. "I wore a thong once for one of my girlfriends. She said it meant I was secure with my masculinity and in touch with my femininity."
"Sirius! Spare us!" Remus protested.
"I was thinking that this belonged to some girl you were shagging." Ron said to Harry, still holding out his wand with the kickers dangling off it incrimininatingly.
"Yes," Harry closed his eyes as if in great pain, "That would have made more sense."
Just then Luna walked in, having just visited the washroom. She spotted Ron standing in the living room with the women's knickers hanging from the end of his wand.
"Oh, nice undies." She quipped, walking towards the spot on the other couch between Harry and Fred. "Looks exactly like the ones I helped Ginny pick out for the wedding." She added, not realizing the explosive meaning of her words as she sat down.
It took a full minute for her words to sink in. With a loud yelp of protest, Ron shook his wand violently, flinging the underwear across the room and causing it to land right smack on Harry's lap.
Ginny was covering her very red face with her hands while Harry had gone as pale as Malfoy.
"You!" Ron yelled, pointing his wand threateningly at Harry, then pointing at his younger sister, You!"
"You!" He moved towards Harry pointing his wand at him, "And YOU!" Ron spun around, pointing his wand violently at Ginny who was looking increasingly miffed. "You AND you!" Ron repeated, seemingly in some sort of shocked state.
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Ron." George commented succinctly, attempting to put a stop to his brother's hysteria.
"I knew it! I just knew it!" Hermione crowed, triumphantly, "My hormones were so on target!"
"It wasn't your hormones, 'Mione, it was my hair." Ginny told her curtly, ignoring the sulk on her best friend's face.
Luna on the other hand was busy studying the knickers on Harry's lap, "They are really nice, Ginny."
Without waiting for a response from her distracted and annoyed roommate who was sitting on the edge of her seat, Luna turned to Fred beside her, " Don't you think they're nice, Fred? I should get a pair like that in red. You like red on me, don't you?"
Fred shrugged, embarrassed, noticing the amused stares in his direction.
"You guys weren't going to tell us, were you?" Remus addressed Harry and Ginny in an attempt to salvage the situation, despite his urge to continue laughing with his new bride.
"We'd find out anyway." Fred added.
"It's about time, too." George said.
"This is just great, it's wonderful." Hermione gushed, all of a sudden overcome by emotion.
Ron who had been standing in the middle of the room staring wildly at both Harry and Ginny, finally managed to speak, "Bill's going to kill you." He told Harry, at the same time attempting to decide if he was pleased or distressed by the notion.
"No, he's not, Ron." Ginny finally snapped, standing up to face her brother. "He'll be glad for me because he loves me and knows that I'm happy!"
"Yeah, Ron," Harry spoke up as well, rising to his feet, evidently drawing his courage from the sight of Ginny telling her brother off, "And you should be happy for us too! Because I love her!" Harry exclaimed. "Yes, I love her!" He pointed to Ginny, "I love HER!"
Harry stopped after his vehement, passionate rant to look around the suddenly deathly silent room. He realized that everyone was staring at him with utterly amazed looks on their faces, even Luna. Hermione looked as if she was close to tears.
The look on Ginny's face was something Harry wanted to remember for the rest of his life – the shine in her eyes, the flush in her cheeks, the slight smile on her lips, and the radiance about her - all procured from the astounding revelation that he loved her.
Ron was the first to speak, "I didn't know you'll were in love! I just thought it was a shagging thing." He explained, huskily, overwhelmed by all those years of furtive glances in Ginny's and Harry's direction, all that not-so-subtle attempts to nudge his best mate in his sister's direction and vice versa.
Ginny barely heard Ron. She was smiling at Harry with the look of utmost compassion and longing on her face. Ginny moved towards him, everyone else around them falling away, out of her scope, her vision, so that there was only her and Harry now in this world they had created.
Harry smiled down at her as she wrapped her arms around his waist. She buried her face in his shoulder and inhaled deeply into his shirt. The sheer scent of him was erotic. It was funny how smell evoked more memories than any other scent, not sight. Not sound but smell.
"You love me," She murmured softly so no one else would hear, still in complete disbelief.
She looked up at him. Her eyes darted from his eyes to his mouth to the top of his hair, as if examining him for the first time. Back to his eyes. She seemed to be trying to find him. To read him. He knew he would not be hard to read, that it must all be there on his face. He knew he had a foolish look on his face, the stupid expression of bliss.
"Yes, I do Gin, with all the intensity of the southern hemisphere." His words were filled with an infinite passion and tenderness.
Ginny felt as if she was dissolving and melting. Bubbles of desire rose from her gut to her throat and escaped in an involuntary sigh of pleasure. Ginny knew what she wanted – she wanted this moment to be frozen so that she could stay here forever. Ginny smiled at him, touching the corner of his lips with the tip of her finger before kissing him, this time with the knowledge that he loved her as much as she loved him.
There was only one thing that could break their romantic reverie and bring Harry and Ginny crashing back down to earth. As Sod's Law would have it that was precisely what happened - Hermione chose that blissfully peaceful moment to mutter loudly enough for every one to hear, "I think I'm in labour."
...THE END...
AUTHOR'S NOTE
One of you reviewers gave me the idea about the whole naming the baby bit – I can't remember your user name but you know who you are – Thanks a million. This chapter is dedicated to you and your sister and her baby.
Thank you for the overwhelming flood of compliments.
Forgive the grammatical errors due to a lack of beta reader.
'Thanks for not making harry and ginny all happily ever after-ish. It really bugs me when people think that they can have just one kiss and go I LOVE YOU and everything would be all right. Most guys i know would start screaming and running away' – that is EXACTLY what I mean. Besides as many of you have pointed out, they've known each other for years, shared mutual friends, fought in the war together, went through Hogwarts together etc.
Glad you spotted the Monica- Chandler reference – another 'Friends' fan like me!
The kissing thing is from 'Friends'. I loved that kissing episode in Friends..My favourite! One of my favourites. I'm glad that you thought I did justice to it. Some people seem to think it's all very clichéd.
Everyone take note - the 'armpit' quote from my previous previous chapter is from Runaway Bride.
Correct me if I am wrong, but you guys seem to have a lot of fun trying to spot which scene or which lines came from which movie, book or tv series..it's seems like almost a game doesn't it? Lol.
The reason why Harry is reluctant to tell everyone about him and Ginny is not because he thinks they will disapprove but because he does not want to deal with the fuss they will make, just yet. Ginny's brothers' will be repeatedly telling him not to break their sister's heart, her mum will most likely start planning their wedding and not forgetting that the media will be all over the Ginny and himself, wanting more nougats of information about the love life of England's most famous wizard.
I hope I do not come across as being obnoxious by asking for so many reviews. I just value feedback and other people's views – that's all. I am not a very confident writer and am in constant need of reassurance that I am on the right track. Yes, I'm terribly flawed. Lol.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story. I sure had a blast writing it. Thank you all for reviewing and staying with this story despite the long intervals between updating the chapters. I apologise for that.
YES! I'M A REVIEW ADDICT! SO GIVE ME MY FIX!