"Seduction" by Desslok

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Chapter 1: Warming Up

For the last time, Harry looked around the dingy cabin that had served as his base of operations over the last year. He and Ron had found it in the woods behind the rubble of his parent's house in Godric's Hollow; it had apparently been a guest cottage and had been spared the destruction of Voldemort's attack. Ron and Hermione had already apparated back to the Burrow, leaving Harry alone to gather the last of his things. 'My most precious things,' he noted, cradling a worn cardboard box in his arms. Sitting down on his creaky camp cot, he idly fingered through the items inside: the photo album Hagrid had given him, little plaques celebrating his Quidditch victories and Gryffindor's house cup, the jumper Mrs. Weasley had sent him during his first Christmas at Hogwarts. Mostly though, the box contained letters. Harry had never received a letter before his Hogwarts acceptance letter, and even that letter had not arrived safely on the first, or even the hundredth try. After that experience, he had carefully saved every letter he had ever received from his friends. The fan and hate mail, of course, did not count.

'I suppose it's time,' he finally thought. He gently pushed the jumper aside to reveal a separate packet of letters, all bound in a red ribbon: the letters from Ginny. He had read them all so many times that the parchment would have long ago wasted away, if not for the preservative charm that Hermione had taught him. Read them all but one. He drew out the last letter Ginny had sent him, the one she had left by his bed while he recovered in St. Mungo's. He turned it in his hands, relishing the anticipation. He had some idea of what it might say, of course, but one could never be completely sure about anything when it came to Ginny Weasley.

Deciding to draw out the tension a bit longer, he instead began to re-read her other letters, from the first one that she had hidden in his bags when he departed after the wedding to the last that he had read, the one she had sent just before the final battle. From the first, she had set the tone of their correspondence. They never discussed their feelings for each other directly. There were few terms of endearment, just a simple "Love, Ginny" or "Love, Harry" at the end. Instead, she told him about her life, first in the Burrow and then at Hogwarts. She complained about her workload, discussed her trials and tribulations as captain of the Quidditch team and later as the head of the DA. She asked his advice on those matters sometimes, but not often. She had her own ideas about how to run things and he respected that.

For his part, Harry wrote to her mostly about Ron and Hermione. Ginny was quite curious about the progress of their relationship and Harry appreciated the outlet for discussing it. He couldn't discuss his own activities in any detail nor his location for obvious reasons. He asked a lot of questions and made shrewd observations about the things she mentioned in her letters. In the end, Harry realized it did not matter what they said in their letters. The simple fact that they each took the time to maintain their connection, despite the distance, said far more than words could. It kept them bound together. Ginny's letters reminded Harry on a daily basis of exactly what he was fighting for and why he would win in the end.

After an hour of reading, he had almost finished the stack. Her last letter before the final battle had broken with their pattern. For one thing, it had been hand-delivered through Ron, who had gone to Hogwarts personally to brief the staff and Ginny (as head of the DA) on what they had learned and his plan for dealing with it. Secure in the knowledge that it would not be intercepted, she had spoken in detail about her plans for the defense. Harry grinned, seeing the bold confidence in her words that he loved so dearly. While leaving her behind had broken his heart, it had turned out to be the right decision for both the intended and also some unintended reasons. In the absence of the Trio, Ginny had grown into a true leader at Hogwarts, outside the shadow of her famous friends and family at last. Harry paused in his letter reading to look once again at the latest addition to his box of memories: a copy of Witch's World Weekly declaring Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley "Co-Witches of the Year." A photo of Ginny on the barricades, her hair streaming in the stiff breeze, graced the cover along with the words "The-Girl-Who-Saved-Hogwarts." He'd never been more proud of her. He looked back to that letter, reading again the final words that had provided that extra spark he'd needed so badly: "All of my love, all of my heart, forever, Ginny."

With a happy sigh, Harry finally turned his attention to the sealed letter. He marveled as always at Ginny's skill with Charms as he lifted it and kissed the red seal. She had ensorcelled all of her letters this way, so that only a kiss from his lips could open them. He didn't know if it was the magic or his desperate imagination, but he always felt that the letters kissed him back, just a little. As he opened the letter, Harry caught a whiff of that unique flowery scent that was purely Ginny. He read it quickly, as it didn't say much.

Hermione told me about your bet with my brother.

Good luck with that.

--G

Harry leaned back on the bed and laughed heartily, if a bit nervously. He should have known that she'd find out. Things were about to get very interesting.

------The next day------

Despite the late hour at which he had finally arrived at the Burrow, Harry still rose with the dawn, as he had nearly every day for the past year. He silently thanked Mrs. Weasley for converting Bill's old room into a guest room for him as he pulled on his sweatsuit and trainers without having to worry about waking Ron. He snuck quietly out of the house and began his daily jog, loping off into the fields and woods. Last summer, Charlie had shown him a great trail that went through the lands surrounding the house. As he ran, Harry let his mind wander to what had happened the night before.

The Weasleys, of course, had waited up for him, even though he had seen them at the hospital just the day before. He'd deposited his last belongings in his new room and shared a quick tea with the family. Ginny had seemed a bit quiet, he thought. Perhaps that was due to the late hour. She'd hugged him gently when he arrived and kissed him lightly on the cheek before bed. Truthfully, he'd been somewhat surprised. He guessed that she must not have minded his bet after all, since she hadn't reacted to his presence more strongly. Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. It had been a very long time since he'd held her in his arms and kissed her deeply, after all. She couldn't have been angry, as one generally knew when they had pissed Ginny Weasley off. There had been an odd twinkle in her eyes, though, that he hadn't seen for a long time and he just didn't know what to make of it.

With troubling thoughts starting to rise, Harry came out of the woods near the end of his first lap. In the distance, he saw a flash of red; someone was standing in the meadow behind the house. As he approached, he realized that it was Ginny. She gave him a friendly wave as he closed in on her and pulled up, jogging slightly in place to keep his blood flowing. He needn't have bothered. The sight of her alone would have been more than enough to keep his heart rate up. She stood in green sweatpants and a white t-shirt, stretching her arms high above her head. As she stretched, the t-shirt crept upwards until it revealed her flat stomach. Harry stared at her, mesmerized.

"Good morning, Harry," she said in a friendly tone, far too alert for so early in the morning. "Mind some company?" She lowered her arms and settled onto the grass, spreading her legs to either side and leaning down between them.

Harry stood silently, struggling to find his voice. Merlin, she was gorgeous, and so flexible! Words caught in his throat as she stood up once again and bent over to touch her toes. She looked up at him with that same dangerous twinkle in her eyes as she stood, turned away from him, and bent over again. The sweatpants clung to her figure, outlining every curve perfectly. Unconsciously, he took a step closer to her, stopping when she rose again and turned back to face him. She gave him a challenging smile and said, "Well?"

With great effort, he regained control of his faculties. "Sure, I don't mind," he replied, proud that his voice only cracked a very little. Since she appeared ready, he jogged off, not waiting to see if she could keep up. If he had thought that running out ahead of her would provide relief, he was sadly mistaken. The images of her stretching, the taut, sleek muscles in her arms and her legs, her hair glimmering in the dawn sunlight, all had been seared into his mind in those brief seconds. Her beauty was an almost physical assault on his senses and his psyche. What had he decided to do? How long had he told Ron? Harry struggled to cleanse himself of his aching desire for her and refocus on his grand plan. He could do this. It was the right thing to do. As he came to terms with the situation, he heard the crunching of leaves on the ground behind him. Moments later, she passed him and he noted two things. First, she had removed the sweats, revealing lycra biking pants that he had never even known she owned. Second, he had no intention of being anywhere other than right behind her for the rest of this jog. This was going to be much harder than he thought.

Half an hour and five laps later, Ginny, followed closely by Harry, pulled up in the meadow once again. The two of them stood for a bit, catching their breath. For the first time since she had passed him, Harry's eyes left her. He found it hard to formulate a coherent thought in his dazed state. He'd known which muscles moved while running, but watching it in action had been something else altogether.

"Catch," Ginny called out, tossing him a bottle of water. She pulled a second from the pile where her sweats and a towel sat on the grass. He took a long drink and turned to thank her, but once again, words died in his throat.

Somehow, she'd managed to find a stray sunbeam. It illuminated her from behind, making her glow warmly. She had just removed her ponytail holder and as he watched, she shook her head slowly from side to side, letting her glorious auburn tresses fall free all around her. Lifting her water bottle, she closed her eyes and let the fluid pour down over her head, leaving glistening droplets on her skin and hair. With one sly peek at him, she bent over forward, brushing her hair out towards the ground and letting more of the cool water fall on the pale skin at the base of her neck. Standing again, Harry noted that some of the moisture had fallen on the front of her white t-shirt, making it cling in all the right places and teasing him with glimpses of what lay beneath.

He dropped his bottle.

"Thanks for letting me join you, Harry," she said in a breathy voice. "I really enjoyed it." With that she turned and bent over (at the waist, Harry noted painfully), scooped up her stuff, and headed back to the Burrow.

She was halfway there before he found his voice again. "Anytime," he called out in a pitch about two octaves higher than normal. She tossed her hair over one shoulder as she looked back to him and blew him a kiss, then she was gone.

"I am never drinking firewhiskey again and I am going to kill Ron," Harry muttered as he slowly trudged back to the Burrow. Dealing with the Dark Lord had been difficult, but dealing with Ginny Weasley was something else altogether!