Harry Potter was sitting near the pond of the Burrow, thinking about how wonderful it was to be spending another Christmas with the Weasleys. He was an honorary member of the family, with Ron being one of his best friends and of course there was Ginny.
His Ginny.
Harry sighed deeply as he said the words "His Ginny" over and over in his mind. He still couldn't believe that he was one and twenty years of age or that Voldemort was dead for nearly four years. He had a successful Quidditch career—arguably he was the best Seeker in all of England—with a World Cup trophy under his belt. Ron and Hermione were alive and happy together, and more importantly, Ginny's his.
What could a bloke of twenty-one ask for next?
Harry Apparated near the edge of the Burrow with Ron and Hermione, right after the battle with Voldemort. He couldn't trust that it was over, that with the help of his best friends, he was able to defeat the Dark wizard six months after Albus Dumbledore's death.
But Harry didn't want to think about that now—of Voldemort, or those who have died because of him. Harry would always remember his parents, Sirius, and Dumbledore, but he also knew that they would want him to live his life now. They would have wanted him to be happy, doing what he wanted to do, without second guessing if he would be alive a second more. They would have wanted him to be with the one person whose love had propelled him to do what others had deemed to be impossible.
Helping a limping Ron to his feet, Harry walked towards what he imagined would be a happy reunion with the Weasleys—with Ginny.
As they neared the house, Harry stole a glance at a window on the third floor landing. He nearly screamed out her name. He had missed her so much in the last six months. He dreamt of her when he was asleep and longed for her when he was awake.
"Mum," Ron said, knocking on the kitchen door. It was Christmas, and as expected, Mrs. Weasley was preparing dinner, trying to keep some semblance of normalcy despite the war.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Mum. Ron. It's over."
"Ron!" she shouted, almost opening the door. "No. Wait. What are you most afraid of?" Mrs. Weasley asked again.
"Spiders, my family dead, Hermione marrying Krum, and Harry knocking up my little sister: that about sums it up. Mum, can we go in now. It's over. Voldemort's dead. Harry pulverized him to hell and back," Ron elaborated while trying to hide from Hermione's questioning look.
The kitchen door burst open and the three found themselves being pulled into big motherly hugs from Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh, you're alive!" she said, sobbing and hugging them one by one. "My baby boy's alive. I have to call your father and brothers," Mrs. Weasley said as she kissed Ron's cheeks.
"Oh, Hermione… Harry, you poor kids…what happened? Oh never mind that, you must be hungry… I haven't finished with dinner yet. I'll fix you something quick… what else do you need?" Mrs. Weasley mumbled from one thought to the next "Ron! Your leg! What happened?" she exclaimed, noticing that Ron was limping away from her embrace.
"I'm fine, Mum. It's just a broken leg. Nothing a decent Healer can't fix in a heartbeat..." Ron assured his mother while trying to sit. "But I'm hungry, Mum. What's for dinner?"
Mrs. Weasley laughed and cried instantaneously, hugging his son again. "Ron…"
"Mum? What's happening? Why are you crying?" Ginny mumbled as she entered the kitchen.
Ginny looked from her mother to Ron, to Hermione, and finally locked stares with Harry.
"Ginny… they're back… it's over… You-Know-Who's gone..."
Ginny did not hear what her mother had said as her gaze was held by Harry. "You… you're back..." she stuttered, tentative from shock and relief "It's over then?"
He did not answer her. He sprinted towards her, pulled her into a tight, passionate hug, and kissed her senseless. Unconscious of the stares from the other occupants of the room, Harry and Ginny were lost in a lover's kiss, willing all the pain, worry, and fear to disappear, neither one wanting to let go of the other.
After what seemed like an eternity, Harry pulled away from her kisses and held Ginny's face between his hands. "I defeated Voldemort because I needed to do it. I broke off things with you last June because I needed to keep you safe. I didn't owl you because I needed to do it. I kept everything to myself because I had no other choice. For the first time in my life I'm not bounded by anything I need to do. This is the second time I'm doing something for me… Will you be mine again Ginny?"
Ginny closed her eyes, tears slipped down from her eyes incessantly. "Do you really have to ask?"
"What's that stupid grin on you face for, Harry?"
So engrossed in his thoughts, he did not notice that Ron, Fred, and George were standing a few feet away from him.
"Are you thinking— "
"—of our cute, little—"
"—sister?" Fred and George asked Harry, with arms folded, a telltale sign of a protective older brother looking out for a younger sibling.
"Matter of fact, I am," Harry answered rather smugly, anticipating what the Weasley brothers were about to say.
"I'd be careful if—"
"—we were you—"
"—or you'll find yourself—"
"—mooning over Ginny—"
"—like a stray puppy," the twins warned.
"As if he isn't already. Blimey, Harry, there's more to life than Ginny, you know," Ron said, finally joining his brothers' interrogation.
"That's a matter of opinion, Ron," Harry quipped.
"Mental. Totally gone mental." Ron pointed at Harry while shaking his head. "Where's Hermione, by the way. I haven't seen her—"
"In the last five minutes," the twins said, finishing Ron's statement.
Harry, Fred, and George howled hysterically. "What? What did I do?" Ron demanded of the three. "You're all gits, you know that? I'm going to look for Hermione now." Ron walked away with a confused look on his face. "Barmy. All three of you." He shouted when he was about five meters away from Harry and the twins.
"Well, I'll go and look for that cute, little sister of yours," Harry informed the twins after being able to control his own laughter.
"No funny business Potter—"
"Or we might just try out new product on you—"
"It'll make your bits go kaboom… if you know what we mean." They winked at Harry as they walked further down the lake.
He found Ginny fixing the Christmas tree and humming a Christmas song. For what seemed like the millionth time that day, he allowed himself to be completely drowned in the sight of her: flaming, waist-length, red mane, smooth, freckled skin, angelic face. Harry could have stared at her forever and be happy in doing so.
He walked towards her, wrapped her in a bear hug. "Hey, Freckles," he whispered as he inhaled her all-too-familiar flowery scent, "I missed you."
Ginny entwined one of her hands in his but she continued to hang ornaments on the tree. "Harry, you were only out by the pond for about thirty minutes." She stole a sideways glance at him. "Did Ron and the twins drive you batty, so you came back to look for sanity?"
"If there's someone driving me batty, it's you," Harry answered teasingly.
"What, what did I do?" Ginny sounded more amused than anything and then finally turned around to look at him.
"Nothing," Harry said nonchalantly.
Ginny frowned at him.
"Really. Honest. Missing you drove me crazy, so here I am."
"Okay, Potter. Whatever you say," she consented, kissing the tip of his nose. "I've just finished decorating the tree, what do you want to do? Mum said that dinner won't be ready for another hour or so."
Not wanting to be disturbed by the entire family, Harry pulled her down near the hearth and hugged her again from behind. He felt Ginny lean her head on his shoulder. "Let's just stay here until dinner starts. Your brothers could be detrimental to our relationship sometimes." He rested his chin on her shoulders while he clasped their hands together.
Ginny turned to look at him again and asked, "And why is that?"
She noticed Harry's eyes turned slightly darker than its usual emerald green, and Ginny knew what his answer would be.
"Well, with your brothers around, I couldn't very well do this without getting my head chopped off." As if waiting for a reprimand, Harry brought his lips down to hers. Chaste, deep, teasing, or passionate, their kisses always made him deliriously contented.
"You have a point there, Harry," Ginny affirmed several minutes—or could have been hours, days, sunlit days—later. Sighing, she faced the fire and nestled deeper into his embrace.
"What's that for?" she asked after Harry exhaled a deep breath.
"I was just thinking." Harry shoved aside some stray hair away her shoulders.
"About what?" Ginny continued to look at their intertwined hands. She noted how small hers seemed to be when being held by his.
"About what a bloke like me could ask for next. Especially that I seemingly have everything that a twenty-one-year-old wizard could ask for." He released another deep sigh. "And do you know what I came up with?"
Ginny shook her head as she anticipated his answer.
"I want to have a family of my own. I want to have kids, who would make me go crazy, much like how the twins make your mum go crazy. I want a son who's nutters like Ron." Harry took her chin to make her look at him. "I want daughters with your red hair, sons with my messy one, their eyes either chocolate brown or green. I want a lopsided house like the Burrow. I want to wake up everyday with a fiery goddess wrapped in my arms, whose love and passion make me go weak on the knees by the mere act of putting Christmas ornaments on a zigzagging pine tree. I want a future I always thought I'd never have. I want a future with you Ginny." He closed his eyes as he waited patiently for her to collapse into his arms or to flee from his fierce embrace.
"Harry…" she whispered so softly it could have been the wind. "Open your eyes, look at me." She held his face and then kissed him on the forehead.
With eyes swimming in unshed, hopeful tears, Harry succumbed to her request and gaze deep into her eyes.
"Do you really have to ask?" she said before kissing him deeply.
Laughing, they continued to give each other chaste pecks on any and every part of each other's faces. The noise must have been too loud as all of Ginny's brother came to her rescue, or to what they might have wanted to be her rescue.
"Oi, Potter, what are you doing to my baby sister?" demanded Bill.
"Yeah, I have an untamed Hungarian Horntail I could let lose on you, you know," Charlie added.
"Remember what we told—"
"—you earlier about your bits?" the twins continued to threaten.
Ron looked rather picky. "What are you doing there all cuddled with Ginny for?"
"And, Ginevra, why did you allow him to hold you like that. It isn't proper," Percy, who made peace with his family a month after Voldemort demise, finished for his brothers.
The couple—with Harry's chin still resting on Ginny's shoulder, and Ginny's face upturned to his—had identical wide grins on their faces and ignored the Weasley men.
"Well, aren't you going answer us?" Bill raised an eyebrow to the oblivious couple before them.
"So, Harry, would a New Year wedding be too early for you?" Ginny asked her husband to be, purposely ignored the collective gasps from her brothers.
"Wedding? What wedding? Who's getting married? Harry! Ginny!" Ron was the only one who was able to mutter a response.
"That would be perfect," Also purposely ignoring Ron's questions and menacing looks, Harry took out a black velvet box. "Let's make this official then."
Ginny nodded in agreement.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley, will you make me the happiest man alive and agree to be my wife?"
"I'd be honored, Mr. Potter."
Harry slipped a diamond studded, eternity ring on Ginny's finger and kissed her.
To hell with her brothers! Harry thought as he deepened their kiss.
All six of her brothers, accidentally or intentionally dropped the glasses they were holding, shouted, "MUM!"
All that Harry and Ginny heard were the groping and stuttering men in the room as they tried to explain to the rest of the family why they were contently cuddled in front of the fireplace, without any cares for the rest of them.
"In tearing myself from you, it is my own heart I pierce."
- Love Letters: A Little Anthology of Passion