The first days
Harry stirred and stretched, feeling the smoothness of the new sheets. Remembering where and with whom he was, he slowly opened his eyes. Yes. There she was. The sun was peeking through a crack in the curtain and made her hair an aura of shiny copper mist. He didn't know if he could reach out and touch it, or leave her to her sleep.
She took a deep breath that caused a bare shoulder to shift out of the sheet. He couldn't resist. He leaned over and gently brushed her skin with his lips. With a soft sigh, she rolled over and met his eyes with a smile.
"Good morning." Ginny whispered.
"Hi." Harry said back.
It seemed they couldn't find more words to say. Or maybe they didn't feel the need to say any more words. It just didn't matter anymore. Just a smile, a reach in for a kiss, a…
Ginny gave a horrified screech and jumped out of bed. "No! My breath!" She cried as she ran to the bathroom.
Harry laughed, then breathed into his palm to test his own. Not too bad, for now. He stood and reached for his dressing gown. Upon opening the door, he called for Kreature.
"Yes Master?"
"Could we have some tea and toast? Just leave it out the door please."
"Of course, Master." And the old elf snapped away.
Harry turned back to his room and heard the shower going. He was tempted. But did he dare? Would she…They were so new at… What if she…The wedding was just last night.
"Harry?" Ginny's voice sounded through the water.
He walked back, with a little bit of hope. But thinking she only needed some soap or something.
"Yes, Babe." He stayed out of direct eyesight, not wanting to embarrass her.
"I'm getting lonely."
Well. That settled that. It didn't take long for the dressing gown to flutter to the floor.
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Awhile later, Harry poked his head out the door and noticed a tea service set right outside, just as he had requested. Touching the side of the pot, he was surprised to find it still quite hot. He lifted the domed lid and found the toast fresh and hot.
Mentally thanking his elf and magic in general, he carried it to his bride.
She was walking out of the dressing area while buttoning her blouse. "Harry, have you noticed, the Sign is already faded a bit." She looked up. "Tea!" She half ran to the small table on which he had set the tray. "How did you know?"
"How many years have I known you?" He laughed. "You like plain tea and toast first thing, then a little later, you want a real breakfast with yet more tea. Right?"
"Right. I didn't think you noticed."
"Sweetheart, I've noticed you for far longer than you know. Now, let's see if you've noticed something about me. How do I like my tea?" He teased.
"Well. I would have said with a full spoon of sugar, but since Umbridge, you've changed and want only a half. You also like the tiniest dollop of milk just before your first sip. Right?"
"The way you say it, it sounds quite silly, but yeah, you're right." He laughed, as he added his tiny dollop.
"But why? I could never figure that out." She drained her cup and reached for a slice of toast.
"Easy. It cools the first sip enough to not burn my tongue without too much dilution. I've got it down to a science." He brushed a crumb off her lower lip then couldn't resist and had to follow it up with a full kiss.
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Later, they wandered downstairs, searching for some breakfast, then realized it was lunchtime. Unembarrassed, Kreature set bowls of creamy asparagus soup in front of them, followed by chops and salad.
"Kreature, this was fantastic. Thank you." Ginny said heartedly as she wiped her lips on a cloth.
"Would Mistress need anything more?" The old elf croaked as he bowed deep.
"No, thanks. Oh, and we'll be going out for supper tonight. How about you join your friends until tomorrow." She suggested with a smile.
"Mistress is so kind." He turned and started right in on the washing up, forcing the scrub brush to move in dizzying motions.
Harry leaned in, "Going out tonight?" He whispered.
"You didn't see him last night, did you?" She answered.
He shook his head. He remembered seeing only one person amongst the hundred or more there.
"I caught him haranguing the hired caterers for not taking care of his master properly. He insisted on arranging the trays of food, so they were in top form for your high status. For ten days, he has been working non-stop with Mum in getting the whole of last night set up in time. Not to mention helping Seamus with this house. Harry, can't you tell, He's knocked off his feet?" Ginny whispered forcefully.
"I…I…" He sat back and really looked hard. The little guy did seem tired. His ears drooped more than usual. He seemed to limp a tiny bit on the right. "You're right."
"I usually am." She said with a cheeky grin.
He kissed her on the nose then spoke loud, "Kreature, Please, If you'd like, take time off and not come back until the end of the week. We'd like some privacy. Honeymoon and all. Don't worry, if we really need something, we'll call."
At first, the elf was overcome with shocked outrage, then a calm reality hit him, and he bowed in gratitude. "Thank you Master, Mistress. Kreature is most grateful." He turned back to his work, but if his Master and Mistress could have seen his face, they would have seen a determination that would be shocking.
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They walked hand in hand out of the house and onto the sun lit street. The June weather was glorious, but they knew it wouldn't last for long. It was England after all.
"So, you sent him off to his friends?" Harry swung Ginny's hand, as if they were kids. He really felt like skipping too, but that might have seemed a little silly for London. "He has friends?"
"He's been helping set up that freed elf community up in the Highlands." Ginny looked at their reflection in a shop window and marveled that the world didn't stop and smile with them.
"But he's not freed. I offered, but he refused." Harry was confused.
"Ahh, but you offered, that's what counts." She tried to point out the obvious.
Harry didn't want to waste time on boring philosophical debates of elven lives. No! He wanted to do something fun, something to make Ginny happy. "So, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know. I literally don't know. What is there to choose from?" She leaned on a lamp post to adjust her shoe while waiting for the light to change.
"Well, we can't do anything in Diagon Alley unless we want to become front-page news." Harry tried to think of different diversions as they crossed. "It's hard, you know. I never had money or time or anything. The Dursleys never even let me go to the cinema with them."
"Then that's where we'll start!" Ginny hopped up onto the sidewalk with glee, "The cinema. How do we go about it?"
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The next morning, Harry slipped out to fix Ginny her tea, only to find a tray already waiting just outside the door.
Harry could only smile and shake his head. Kreature's devotion to his bride was going to become legendary.
She paused as she came out of the bathroom, still drying her hair with a towel. Wearing only a barely tied dressing gown. "You made tea awful quick."
"No, it was waiting for us already. I think your friend, Kreature feels your morning tea is exempt from our edict to go on holiday." Harry laughed as he handed her the note.
She smiled and reached for the cup Harry had poured for her, "Well, it would be an insult to refuse the gift, wouldn't it?"
"I would think so." He reached for a toast triangle.
As soon as the hot beverage eased down to her core, she sighed, "That hits the spot. So, what's up for the day?"
He leered up and down her slightly opened dressing gown but didn't say a word.
"I meant outside this house, creep." She said with a grin. Though she did let the belt loosen just a little.
"Oh, in that case, I'm short on ideas."
"I know what I want, I want to go flying. But we don't have any brooms." Ginny tired of standing, sat next to Harry on the edge of the bed.
"If we show up in Diagon Alley to buy anything, it would be a madhouse. I don't know where to get our hands on any."
"George took his and Fred's when he moved back to the shop, maybe he'd let us borrow them. Should we ask?" She stood and moved towards the door.
"Sounds like a plan, but may I suggest you dress first." He motioned down to the now fully opened gown. "While I love the view, he might not appreciate it as much."
"Yeah, right. Give me a sec." She started to head towards the large dressing area.
"Hold on. Uh, while you're here, May I appreciate the view more?" He gave her a look that melted her to her toes.
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"The brooms? Sure. I need to dig them out first. They're probably in the cellar somewhere." George looked behind him and Ginny could see the edge of a blanket and a dark foot move quickly out of range of the floo. She guessed Angelina stayed over again. "With the way business is booming, I'm not going to be using them anytime soon. We're not opening for another two hours so I'll head down right now and look. I'll Floo when I got them." George's head moved out of the flames and they died down to regular embers.
"Should we pack a picnic? I don't want to stop just to come home to eat. You decide where to go" Ginny turned towards the larder, already planning what to pack.
"Definitely not the Burrow. Honeymooning at the family home is not my thing, you know?" Harry laughed.
"My thoughts exactly." Ginny laughed, shoulders deep in the cooler, "We'll be there soon enough for Sunday dinner."
Harry thought for a moment then the perfect spot came to mind. "Grab a warm jacket. I got the perfect place."
"Where?" She asked as bread began to be slathered with butter.
"Last year, soon after Ron left, Hermione and I spent three days on a cliffside in the Shetlands. No one was around. We saw a dragon way off in the distance, but that was all."
"Let's do it." She let Harry finish slicing the corned beef (Ron may have hated it, but Harry and Ginny loved it). She ran up the stairs to grab jackets and other flying gear.
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The sun shone bright, but the wind cut with a chill Ginny wasn't used to, even at Hogwarts. She was very happy she had brought her winter jacket. Flying high above the sub-arctic land and sea gave her a thrill unlike she had ever known. The craggy cliffs, the spraying seas, rough beaches and rolling hills. All blended together in a wild, beautiful, chaotic place that she would want to visit again.
They even came upon two dragons over an uninhabited tiny islet. Norwegian Ridgebacks were rare this far from the mainland. Ginny made note to talk to Charlie about them. They might be nesting. Good for research.
Together, they flew from island to island, relishing the freedom of the flight, the freedom from responsibilities, freedom from expectations. Flying high enough not to be seen, or at least to be mistaken for birds.
Harry became a little frustrated at how old and slow the battered, borrowed brooms were, but beggars couldn't be choosers. An idea did start to form in his mind. An idea that might come to fruition for Ginny's time at school.
When their picnic was a long-forgotten history, they hid the flying gear and joined a tourist group in a tiny fishing village pub for dinner. Hikers were common in the summers, so no one thought anything of two young strangers popping up unannounced. As much as they wanted to stay for another day, the few rooms in town were already booked, so the two newly-weds returned home sunburnt, wind burnt and happy.
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She awoke first. A rarity, as she loved her sleep. According to the faint light coming from the gap in the curtains, dawn was just making an appearance. She slipped silently out from the sheets and tip toed out the door.
Kreature liked to have her tea ready every morning, but she was going to be ready first. Besides, she was going to prove that she was almost as good a cook as her mother. Harry had never had a full meal cooked solely by her.
When Kreature popped into the kitchen and found her mixing pancake batter, he mumbled and stuttered, but Ginny only laughed and suggested he set the table.
She flipped the pancakes and made sure there were at least six perfect ones out of the full batch. Like always, the first few off the griddle were always compost worthy.
Kreature hung at her side, ready at hand. She nodded to the bowl of eggs, mentioning she was going to poach them. In a thrice, he had them ready to slide into the boiling water at her signal.
When the pancakes were grilled to perfection, and the bacon was heated, Ginny heard a faint cry from the upper floors. Harry was calling for her.
"Kreature, could you tell him I'm down here, please?" She said as the eggs slipped into the water bath. By the time he came down, breakfast would be on the table.
"So, the little homemaker, are you?" Harry whispered in her neck as she poured juice.
"I've been known to handle a pan now and then." She giggled as he tickled her ear. "Just don't expect this to be a daily occurrence."
"Deal." He kissed her and sat at the table.
Kreature, ever the pragmatic one, took the eggs out and placed them on the serving platter. It was a good thing he was there. Can't have master's breakfast ruined.
"After breakfast, what should we do?" Harry asked as he sat.
"We could go back to the Shetlands again." Ginny said, mopping the last of the yolk up with her bacon.
"Don't you want to try something new?" Harry asked.
"Truthfully?" Ginny seemed hesitant.
"Yeah."
"Do we have to do something?" She leaned back in her chair and looked at him, afraid he wouldn't understand.
"We don't have to do anything we don't want to. But why do you ask?"
"Well, Hermione had a whole schedule all written out for her and Ron. Do we have to?"
Harry pushed his chair away from the table and held his arms out for his bride, "Come here,"
She curled onto his lap. "Remember what we promised each other not so very long ago? We make our own choices, right?"
She kissed him deep, "Right! If society says we have to do something and we don't want to, then we aren't going to do it, right?"
"Right." Harry held her tight and stood with her in his arms, "So, what do you really want to do?"
"Do you really want to hear the answer?" She said slyly.
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Okay then, I'll tell you. What I really want to do is have a quiet day at home with my husband. Read a book, have a nap, play a board game or two. Maybe finish that wrestling match we started last night."
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They did do something the next day, Harry took Ginny on a tour of his many camping sites of the previous year. He needed to work the darkness out and she needed to hear the story before she heard it in the trials. Going from place to place, she gained a better appreciation of the closeness he and Hermione and Ron shared. She'll never deny that to them.
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The days had flown by as fast as the brooms. Knowing that it was probably the last day alone in their home ever again, Friday was spent at home. They even asked, no, commanded Kreature to leave for the day so they could enjoy perfect solitude for this short time.
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Saturday morning woke them with a crash. Harry bolted from sleep and grabbed for the nightstand, struggling to reach for the wand. His hand touched his glasses first. Ginny sat up and leaned over him, her wand in her hand, ready for whatever was to come. With the world in focus, wand finally ready, Harry first saw that they had forgotten to close their bedroom door in their haste the night before. The second was a glimpse of Hermione's bushy hair struggling to wrestle a large box up the next flight of stairs.
"Bloody Hell, 'Mione. Did you have to buy every book in that shop?"
"It's not that bad. Push harder. I think the corner is stuck on the balustrade." She puffed out a breath and pushed.
Harry could hear the sound of cardboard giving up on life, and what sounded like a library worth of books tumbling down the stairs.
He also heard his brother-in-law start in on his favorite offensive phrases when Ginny waved her wand and gently slid the door closed with a barely audible snick. They were again wrapped in complete silence.
"Well, They're back." Ginny tried not to sound disappointed. They knew it would happen. Today, Ron and Hermione move into their suite on the second floor. Tomorrow, they had family dinner at the Burrow. Monday, Luna moves in on the top floor. The trials start the 22nd. Their idyll was at a close.
They had five, full, perfect, solitary days. Days to look back on. Days that no matter what, no matter how hard, how hectic, no matter how painful, sweet or tiresome, they could always remember with a smile. Though they started out so very young, with very little choice, together they will build their lives their way, no matter what.