Harry had loved the Burrow from the moment Ron and the twins had brought him there the summer before Second Year, but the for the first day visiting for the Easter holiday, he didn't know quite how to be. He'd told Ginny he wanted to tell her family they were together, and he knew - in theory at least - that it was the right thing to do. Reality, with her parents and all her brothers there, was quite a different thing. He'd forgotten quite how muscular Charlie was, or how Bill's talent with curses included casting them as well as breaking them. Fred and George didn't miss a thing and Ron was already watching the way Harry treated Ginny, to make sure that his rudeness towards her didn't return.

Harry didn't even want to think about what her parents would say.

The result of all this was that Harry spoke so little that Mrs. Weasley felt his forehead three different times and asked if he was coming down with something and Ron glared at him when he started to choose a seat at the dinner table as far away from Ginny as possible and cleared his throat over and over until Harry moved closer. Both Fred and George seemed intrigued by Ron's behavior.

"Something go down the wrong pipe there, Ron?" asked George, peering across the table at his younger brother. He nudged Fred. "Ron seems to be trying to convey some sort of secret message to Harry, doesn't it seem so, Gred?"

Fred nodded. "It does. I'm not sure for what purpose yet though, Forge. We'll have to keep an eye on things, I think."

Harry, now sitting right between Ginny and Ron, groaned quietly. Less than an hour he'd been at the Burrow and already the twins knew something was up. He was going to have to try harder to throw everyone off track until he and Ginny were ready to tell everyone on their own terms.

The problem was, Harry had meant what else he'd told Ginny in the broom shed; he didn't want to spend the week not snogging her. Hell, he realized during that first dinner than he didn't even want to spend one night not snogging her. The day before, he'd gone back to his dorm after the Quidditch shed with his mind on what Ginny had told him - that she thought of him when she touched herself - and he'd been in a semi-aroused state ever since. The Burrow only had a single bathroom, so Harry knew that his wanks were likely to be few and far between that week. And while he and Ginny had only gone far enough to make Harry climax three times - while mostly fully clothed, of course - each of those times had been better than what he could do alone, any day. Harry had a feeling that the longer he had to keep his feelings for Ginny a secret, the more reckless he was likely to get trying to sneak some time alone with her, and the more likely it was that they would get caught. So telling everyone sooner rather than later made sense.

But the first night home wasn't the right time, Harry told himself. Molly had just asked him for the fourth time if he was feeling all right, after he'd politely turned down pudding and said he needed the loo. It was some sort of pie with whipped cream on top, and Harry had thoughtlessly turned to his head to the left to answer a question Mr. Weasley had asked him just in time to see Ginny licking it off her fingers. Her eye caught his and that was it. He jumped up, thankful he was wearing blue jeans that kept everything mostly in place, and sidled out of the room and up the stairs. He was already thinking about Ginny licking whipped cream off him before the bathroom door was locked and silenced, and his wank, though rather quick and perfunctory, at least meant that he could join the Weasleys in the sitting room after dinner without embarrassing himself.

Ron sat very deliberately next to him on the sofa. "You're doing it again," he muttered under his breath. Harry looked at him in confusion. "Being a prat to Ginny," Ron continued. "Stop it, before everyone else notices."

At Hogwarts Harry had found it easiest to go along with Ron and promise to apologize. But now, for some reason, the accusation rankled. "I'm not being a prat," he said under his breath. "And I'm sure Ginny would agree; we're fine, Ron." Harry assumed that would be the end of it, but he underestimated Ron's determination on the matter.

"Hey, has anyone else noticed that Harry's being a prat to Ginny?" Ron raised his voice over the general din of the room and everyone grew quiet.

"A prat? What is 'zat?" asked Fleur. She was curled up in the same chair as Bill and Harry was rather jealous that they could be out in the open like that. Ginny also looked rather annoyed at their display of affection and Harry hoped it was more about her desire to do the same with him than her general dislike of Fleur that was making her twitchy.

"It means that he's ignoring her for no reason and generally being an arse." Ron rolled his eyes when his mother tutted at his language but held his ground. He looked at his sister. "Don't you think so, Ginny? I know you noticed when it acted like one back at Hogwarts and I thought you'd worked things out." He turned to Harry and gave him a very deliberate look. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Harry had to believe that Hermione had put Ron up to this. She was home with her parents for two more days before she'd come to the Burrow for the rest of the holiday, and Harry could imagine that she'd instructed Ron to get Harry to have confessed his feelings before she arrived. He didn't know whether to groan or be grateful. Before he could figure out how to answer, Ginny spoke up.

"I noticed that too, Ron. We've been here three hours and Harry has yet to say a word to me." She sighed. "I thought we'd worked out our differences back at school." She turned to Harry. "What's wrong, Harry? Did I do something to you to make you upset with me? Or even just uncomfortable?" Her eyes were wide and guileless and despite knowing better, Harry had a moment of guilt for his supposed behavior. Only the slight twitch of her lips gave her away.

Harry thought quickly. "Actually Ginny, there is something that's been upsetting me. About you, I mean." He gave her an aggrieved look. "You haven't been putting in enough effort at Quidditch practices, and it's starting to affect the rest of the team." He shook his head. "I didn't know quite how to tell you, but I guess Ron took care of that for me." He looked at his friend. "Thanks, I think."

Ron looked confused. "Ginny's been playing great, what are you going on about?" he asked. Harry smirked; obviously Hermione hadn't given Ron instructions for what to do if Harry went on the offensive.

"Maybe you haven't been paying enough attention, Ron, but Ginny's play has been slipping and it's going to cost us the game against Ravenclaw if she doesn't pick it up." Harry looked cautiously at Ginny, hoping she'd play along.

Of course, she did. "Slipping?" she said, the righteous disbelief evident in her tone. "Are you mental? I'm your best Chaser on the team and you know it. If my game is 'slipping' it's only because you aren't a very good captain." She put her hands on her hips. "You didn't even know how to properly heal my back when I got hit by that Bludger last week. I ended up having to go to the Hospital Wing and I missed dinner." She grimaced. "Madam Pomfrey wanted to know what exactly you'd done when you put your hands on me." The innuendo was so blatant that Harry blushed, certain everyone else would catch on. Fred barked a laugh and Harry braced himself.

"Oooh, Harry knows how dangerous it is to get Ginny hacked off; he's as red as a Howler!" The room exploded in laughter and Harry chuckled weakly, pretending to play along.

"Maybe you can get some practice in over the week and turn things around," he said. "I'd hate to have to bring in a reserve Chaser."

"Harry, we don't have a reserve Chaser." Now Ron looked worried. He was looking back and forth between his sister and his best friend, and Harry suspected Ron was wondering if Harry had given up his crush on Ginny when faced with her apparent incompetence on the Quidditch pitch. He stifled a grin.

"Fine." Ginny stood up and stood in front of him. Harry had to resist the urge to reach up and push a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. "If you're that worried about your precious match against Ravenclaw, we might as well start now. You're not afraid to fly at night, are you, Potter?"

Harry was unable to answer for a moment; Ginny's use of his last name was incredibly arousing. He rolled his eyes. "I think I can manage it, Weasley," he said dryly. He gestured out of the sitting room. "I think our brooms are already in the shed?"

He was momentarily worried that Ron or one of Ginny's other brothers was going suggest practicing with them. But then Fleur asked a question about British Easter traditions and nearly everyone's eyes glazed over as they fell all over themselves to answer her. Harry wasn't sure, but he thought Fleur gave him a wink right before he followed Ginny out the door.

Harry waited until he and Ginny were inside the broom shed before wrapping his arms around her and dropping his head to her shoulder. To his surprise, Ginny pushed him away.

"Oh no, I'm not kissing anyone who thinks my Quidditch skills are slipping," she said primly. She walked over and picked up her broom. "You told me I needed to practice, so let's get up in the air."

Harry didn't need to hear the waver in Ginny's voice to know how she really felt. He grabbed his own broom and shrugged. "At least we won't be practicing with Bludgers this time," he said. "Since my hands apparently don't make you feel good when I touch you." He leaned past her to open the door to the shed, brushing his arm against her side. Ginny shivered.

"They're . . . they're going to wonder if they don't see us flying," she said breathlessly. "My family." She turned to him.

"Probably think we're still having a row," said Harry. He stepped closer and Ginny looked up at him.

"A long row," she nodded. Her broom clattered to the floor.

Harry's followed. "We might be fighting so much we won't have time to fly at all," he said, lowering his head to hers.

They never did make it into the air. Ginny pushed Harry against the wall and fit her body against his and it didn't matter that they were standing up in the corner of a rather dusty broom shed in shouting distance of Ginny's entire family. Harry pushed up Ginny's jumper and slipped his hands under her bra - which he'd done before - and then moved one hand to cup her between the legs, which he hadn't. She made a small sound and pushed against him.

"I wish we could lie down together somewhere," Ginny mumbled against his neck. "And that I could take these off." She gestured down at her trousers.

Harry felt a renewed jolt of heat to his groin. "You want to do that?" She'd unbuttoned Harry's jeans on one occasion (and it had been brilliant), but Ginny had always stayed completely dressed below the waist until now. She nodded.

"Somehow, being at home and knowing how hard it's going to be to even get the chance to snog is making me especially randy," she admitted.

"Not to mention that you think of me when you . . . you know," said Harry boldly. He couldn't quite say the word - did witches even use the word wank? Ginny nodded again and even in the dim light of the broom shed he could tell she was blushing.

"You're not going to forget I told you that, are you?"

"Nope," said Harry. "Any more than you'll forget how often I think I you."

Ginny lay her head on Harry's chest. "We'll have to talk about this more when we can actually do something about it," she said. "I don't think this broom shed is good for much more than snogging. I'll have to ask Bill where he plans to sneak off with Fleur."

Harry was immediately on alert. "You're going to ask Bill?" he said? "Don't you think he'll want . . . he'll want to know why you're interested?" If Harry had to pick, he'd say that Ginny's oldest brother was probably the top reason he had for not telling her family about them this week. Bill ranked above her parents, even. And seeing him with Fleur only reiterated the fact that Bill's experiences were definitely not something he'd share with his little sister, particularly if he knew she was asking for personal reasons. Harry shuddered.

Ginny giggled. "I'm just joking," she said. "Bill still thinks of me as a five year old. Although I almost think Fleur suspects something. She was looking at me funny earlier, and for once, I don't think it was to make a dig about the messiness of my hair."

Harry remembered Fleur's wink as he and Ginny had left to go "fly". He nodded. "I think she purposely distracted everyone so we could leave without them following," he said. He brushed his hand against Ginny's hair. "And for the record, I love it when you hair is falling all around your shoulders like this."

Ginny gave him a brilliant smile. "I like yours messy too," she said.

Harry chuckled. "And that's a good thing, because it's the only way I know how to wear it." He leaned down to kiss her.

After a few minutes, he reluctantly pulled away, carefully straightening the front of Ginny's shirt. "I think we'd better end our "row" and head back before someone comes looking for us," he said. They'd already been gone a long time.

Ginny sighed. "I don't think this excuse is going to work again," she said. "We'll have to come up with a different one for tomorrow."

Harry felt a throb of pleasure at the thought of tomorrow, and he nodded. "I'll get working on that right away," he said. "If I insult your Quidditch skills any more, Ron's going to hex me outright. I think I convinced him I'd stopped fancying you because your skills on a broom are so pathetic. Did you see his face?" They were walking back to the Burrow now, standing carefully apart from each other, and Harry was relieved to see that the back door into the kitchen was not crowded with waiting Weasleys.

Ginny giggled. "It's a good thing Hermione isn't here yet," she said. "I don't think she'd have been quite as gullible."

"About Quidditch she might have been," disagreed Harry. "She doesn't know anything about it. It's her biggest fault, as far as I'm concerned."

Ginny nodded. "Good point," she said. They'd reached the back door. "So, how do you want to play this? Did we declare a truce in the broom shed or are we still annoyed with each other?'

From inside the house, Harry heard a shout of laughter and the fainter sounds of Celestina Warbeck singing in the background. He could clearly imagine the cozy scene they were about to walk in on; it was the kind of scene he felt privileged to have been a part of on nearly every trip to Ginny's home and one he knew he'd never take for granted. As fun as it was to sneak off and hope no one would catch on, Harry wanted to soak up as much of the comfort of friends who felt like family as he could, for as long as he could. He had to think only for a minute before stepping up to Ginny and taking her hand.

"I think we made up," he said carefully.

Ginny turned and looked at him. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "If you are."

Ginny gave him a blazing smile. "I'm definitely sure," she said. Her grin grew a little wicked. "And really, how bad could Bill be?"

Harry gulped as he pushed open the back door. "Let's hope Fleur is feeling up to distracting him a bit more."

He gripped Ginny's hand tighter as they walked into the sitting room. The entire family was gathered around Fred and Ron, who sat facing each other, a tiny model of a Quidditch pitch between them and strange looking hats on their head. They were both concentrating intently and as Harry and Ginny walked closer, he could see tiny figures on brooms zooming back and forth, passing a Quaffle and dodging Bludgers, all apparently controlled by Fred and Ron's minds. George was standing behind Fred, whispering in his ear every so often and Charlie was helping Ron. The miniature scoreboard at the side of the pitch indicated that Fred was up by only 20 points.

Harry leaned forward over Fred's shoulder. "The Snitch is right there, above the far right goalpost," he said, pointing.

Fred nodded tersely and scrunched up his eyes. After a second, one of the Seekers broke away and streaked towards the tiny gold dot bobbing in the air. Fred raised his hands in triumph and pulled off his hat while everyone else cheered. He turned towards Harry.

"Thanks; I'm much better at controlling the Bludg . . . are you holding hand with my sister?" Fred's shocked voice carried easily over the rest of the room and silence fell. George twisted around and stared at Harry and Ginny, a slow smile spreading over his face as he saw their clasped hands. Ron's Quidditch players fell to the floor with a clatter. Across the room, Harry saw Fleur lean and in whisper something to Bill. The man glanced at Harry and Ginny with an unreadable expression on his face. He started to stand up and Harry tensed.

"So you finally told her, mate?" Ron's relieved voice cut across the silence.

Harry was relieved too, when Bill's focus shifted to his brother. He didn't sit back down but at least he wasn't pulling out his wand.

"Finally told her . . . Ginny, are you holding Harry's hand? Harry, are you feeling okay? I knew going outside to fly in this weather was a bad idea." Mrs. Weasley apparently thought Ginny was supporting Harry in a time of illness. Ginny huffed with impatience

"Bill, sit down," she said firmly. George, Fred, stop whispering to each other. Mum, Harry's feeling fine, I promise." Ginny turned to Ron and put her hands on her hips. "How long have you known that Harry fancied me?"

Ron sputtered and Harry suppressed a smirk. His girlfriend was absolutely brilliant. She walked over to Ron and peered down at him. "You've known for a while, haven't you? And kept it from me?" The entire room went still, waiting for Ron to answer.

He looked back and forth between Harry and Ginny, and Harry could almost see how much Ron wished Hermione was there to take charge. He shook his head and took a deep breath before facing his sister.

"Since I got poisoned," he admitted finally. "Harry told us - let slip, actually - while I was in the Hospital Wing."

"That's over a month!" George crowed, shoving Fred. "Ron's kept his mouth shut for almost a month! He gave Ron an impressed look. "I'd have expected you to blab before that. At least to us; there's so much material there we could have already put to use."

"No matter,' added Fred. "We'll just get started now. It will make a fabulous story for one of our patented daydream charms - unrequited love from afar."

Harry groaned. "I think I'm more scared of the twins than Bill," he muttered under his breath to Ginny. She squeezed his hand encouragingly.

"Yes, Ron," she said with deceptive sweetness. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ron shrugged defensively. "Harry asked - begged - me not to," he said. "He's my best mate, so I agreed. Besides," he added, looking a little sheepish, "Hermione told me that Harry needed to be the one to tell you himself." He looked at his sister. "Harry told me the same

thing, actually. I just didn't think it would take him this long."

Ginny gave Ron an approving nod. "That's what I would expect you to do," she said. "Keep Harry's secrets. I'm sure things wouldn't have done nearly as well if you'd been the one to tell me Harry fancied me."

Ron let out a relieved sigh that he wasn't about to be the recipient of a Bat-Bogey hex. He shook his head. "It was a very long month. He kept ignoring you and treating you like a prat and Hermione wouldn't let me say anything." He looked at Harry. "So what made you finally decide to tell her? You both seemed pretty hacked off at each other when you left for a fly."

Fleur's pealing laugh rang out. "Zat wasn't a fight, 'zat was foreplay," she said. She turned to Bill. "Didn't I tell you? That Harry 'ad it bad for Ginny, and 'er for 'im?"

Bill kissed her nose. "You did," he agreed. "And I said I didn't believe it." He looked across the room at Harry. "Should I believe it?" he asked. His voice was mild but Harry didn't relax. He squeezed Ginny's hand.

"You should," he confirmed.

"And do you really think my sister's skills as a Chaser need improvement?" Bill raised his eyebrows.

"No, but it sounds like Harry does, if he chased Ginny for an entire month before telling her he fancied her!" Fred gave George a high-five, but Harry kept his eyes on Bill. He shook his head.

"No," he said quickly. He resisted the urge to add a 'sir' to the end. "Ginny's a brilliant Chaser, the best on the team."

"And did you tell her that already?" Bill pressed. Harry nodded.

"I did," he said. "Several times." Next to him, he heard Ginny give a small snort. Harry's eye fell on her parents, who'd been disconcertingly quiet until then.

"I really like Ginny," Harry said, speaking directly to them. "A lot." He realized this was a speech he'd much rather not have in front of the entire Weasley family, but there was no going back now. "I promise . . ." Harry stopped. He'd been about to promise that he'd never do anything to hurt her, but that was a promise he knew he might not be able to keep. Hell, he couldn't even promise that he'd always be there for her, or that he'd watch out for her. "Umm," he stuttered, feeling supremely inept. "What I mean is . . ."

"We know, Harry." It was Bill who spoke, more gently than Harry had ever heard from him before. There wasn't a hint of overbearing older brother in his expression as he looked around the room. Slowly, the other Weasleys nodded in agreement. Mrs. Weasley smiled.

"I'm quite relieved you aren't really sick, Harry," she said kindly. Her eyes twinkled. "I'm not sure I have a potion for someone who's lovesick, so I'm glad you were finally able to tell Ginny how you feel."

Harry wondered what everyone would say if they knew he and Ginny had already been together for weeks. He chanced a glance at Bill, hoping he wasn't thinking about Legilimency at that moment. "Thanks Bill," he said quietly. "And you too, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." Mrs. Weasley waved away Harry's thank you.

"It's nothing," she said. She looked like there was more she wanted to say, but Ginny's father leaned forward instead.

"We trust you," he said simply. "Trust you to do what needs to be done, even when it's not the easy choice, or . . . the safe one." He looked seriously at Harry, and Harry felt a some of the guilt he harbored from daring to date Ginny at all ease. He couldn't say he was completely relaxed about it, but maybe he could pretend for a little while that his nerves stemmed from the fact of Ginny having six older brothers and not because he might be putting her into unimaginable danger.

"Thank you," he said again, looking around the room. "All of you."

"I'd be careful about thanking the twins," said Ginny dryly. "They already look up to something." She turned and smiled at Harry and he almost forgot himself and leaned down to kiss her in front of her entire family. He pulled back at the last minute, and Ginny grinned. "Later," she whispered.

Harry nodded, liking the sound of that. Hopefully there would be many opportunities for later in the future.

A/N: This is my second completed story this week, and it feels good to finish. Working on plans for a few new things. Thanks for reading!