The days since Lupin and Tonks' funeral had stretched into weeks, and it seemed to Harry as though the Burrow was suspended in time and space, in an odd sort of limbo, hovering on the edge of the next phase, whatever shape it would take. Yet even though he felt the sharp corner of September drawing inevitably closer, after all that had preceded it in the past year, he was so grateful for the rest, for this time with Ginny and Ron and Hermione and all the Weasleys, that he allowed himself to sink deeply into it.
His appetite for Ginny was insatiable. He would find himself wanting her at the oddest moments. When she was hurling gnomes across the field, carrying a load of dirty laundry down the stairs, or snorting with laughter at Ron's awkward attempts to romance an often-exasperated Hermione. It could be anything, any small movement of hers, and he would be suddenly transported in his mind to moments they had shared in her room, their bodies hotly entwined. During these episodes he tried to busy himself with something that involved looking down at the floor a lot, to hide his flushed face (among other things). Sometimes he knew she was doing it on purpose, finding subtle excuses to touch him, standing overly close to him to brush an eyelash from his cheek, or grazing his thigh while they sat next to each other at breakfast. Occasionally he would catch Ron's suspicious gaze and, wary of disturbing the tacit peace between them, he would focus fixedly on his lukewarm porridge until the moment had passed, while she maintained a maddening expression of utmost innocence.
Occasionally they would snatch an unexpected moment of aloneness in the crowded house, and she would signal to him to follow her upstairs where they could play out some of the scenarios that dominated his thoughts. Sometimes it was a race to undress each other as fast as possible, a yearning to feel the touch of her bare skin against his own, before they had to join the rest of the family for dinner a few minutes later. They would laugh in these moments, sometimes prohibitively, as they struggled out of trousers that refused to part with ankles, or got robes tangled around doorknobs. Other times they moved slowly, held each other delicately, and it felt to Harry that here he had found a bliss that made everything else bearable.
Everything was a lot of fun with Ginny around. She seemed to have taken over the role of house jester on behalf of Fred and while George was still recovering. She did a great job of it, playing small pranks around the house, often featuring some of the more experimental Weasleys' Wizarding Weazes stock that was stacked up in Fred and George's old room. Everyone found themselves laughing a lot, even George. One day Harry and Ron had been shocked to discover Percy stuck floating up on the kitchen ceiling, after Ginny had 'accidentally' given him a Helium Humbug that had no antidote. "Well at least we know it works, now!" was her refrain. Percy was often the target of these pranks, which he was uncharacteristically good natured about, perhaps because he still felt he was atoning.
Harry was also pleasantly surprised by how little had changed between him, Ron, and Hermione when the three of them were together. Ron would still roll his eyes and call Hermione a know-it-all, and she snapped back with an unchanged sternness. Yet the next moment they'd make up in a dramatic performance, while Harry and Ginny stifled their laughter.
In a moment that Harry had been both anticipating and dreading, Mrs Weasley had finally managed to corner him in the garden to discuss his "blossoming" relationship with Ginny. Luckily, he had recently recovered his unopened copy of Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches from Ron's attic room some days before, and it contained some choice words that turned out to be extremely useful. The conversation was a great success, from Harry's perspective, ending with Mrs Weasley folding him in a tearful hug and saying, "well, welcome officially to the family, Harry!" which made him go very red yet again (it was becoming the norm). He was going to add that he wasn't sure it was quite at that stage, but he didn't manage to get the words out before Mrs Weasley had bustled off back into the kitchen.
"Well," said Hermione's voice behind him, so abruptly that it made him jump, "that looked like it went a lot better than my conversation with her."
"You just needed Warlock Hutton Swinglehurst and his twelve charming ways" said Harry, but under his breath.
"Pardon me?" Replied Hermione shrewdly.
"Nothing!" Said Harry. Continuing quickly, he asked, "why, what happened when you spoke to her?"
"Well," she replied with a sigh, "I think she still remembers those ridiculous Rita Skeeter articles from the Prophet during the Triwizard Tournament… she seemed to think I might really be interested in you!" She laughed and then, catching his eye, said quickly, "I mean, no offense! But you're like a brother Harry, you always have been".
"No, no, it's fine, I feel exactly the same…" He smiled at the echo of his conversation with Ron after his destruction of the locket horcrux. "I'm sure she'll come around, Hermione, you're great together, and it's pretty obvious how happy Ron is." Right on cue, Ron walked jauntily out of the kitchen door holding a pile of clean laundry and wearing an enormous grin. With a little a hop and a skip, he waved his wand and the washing began pegging itself up haphazardly.
"One thing I've been wondering," Ginny chimed in from behind, surprising them both, "is why Mum's suddenly being so lovey-dovey with Phlegm recently… have you noticed?" She settled herself comfortably underneath Harry's arm.
Making a mental note to become more aware of his surroundings, Harry replied "she's still called Phelgm is she?" at the same time as Hermione said, "I have actually. I wonder why…"
"Hoping to take notes from Phlegm to get in Mum's good books?" teased Ginny, grinning widely, and making Hermione blush faintly.
In the daytimes they entertained themselves by playing quidditch, chess, or exploding snap (when they could persuade Hermione away from burying herself in books, a state which Ron expressed low-level but continual outrage). When summoned, they helped Mrs Weasley with cooking, de-gnoming, bedding, and other household tasks. In the evenings they would gather by the fire in the living room. Sometimes they read from Fred's book, which often had them in fits of laughter as well as tears. A few people had sent photos to accompany their stories and Ginny had found spaces inside to stick them. Other times they would chat quietly or listen to the wizarding wireless.
Bit by bit, Harry and Ginny had been sharing with each other the true and terrible stories of what had happened in the previous year, Ginny at Hogwarts, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione on their hunt for horcruxes. For his part, Harry was determined that Ginny should know the whole story. She was stoic when listening and while sharing, but Harry could see it cost her to relive those moments under the Carrows. He was furious and horrified to hear some of the things that she had gone through. It was a relief when the whole tales were told.
George and Ginny continued to spend a great deal of time in Fred and George's old room, and when Harry enquired what they were up to, she was evasive, saying airily that they were just cooking up new ways to prank Percy. During these times he sought out Ron and Hermione's company, though had since learned his lesson about knocking on the door first, after an unfortunate incident involving a goofy-looking Ron and a thoroughly flustered Hermione.
One other highly enjoyable aspect of Harry's new existence was his frequent trips to Andromeda's house to spend time with his godson. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had all accompanied him, but he had been over there alone now several times. Holding Teddy in his arms and watching the smile on his face and the changing colours of his little tuft of hair was one of Harry's favourite things to do.
Unfortunately, reality came crashing down sooner than he had hoped.