It was one of the happiest dinners Harry ever remembered having. Halfway through the meal, Bill disappeared for several minutes before returning with several bottles of expensive Firewhisky and after that, the party got decidedly more festive.

While George and Fred got most of the table involved in a complicated drinking game whose primary purpose seemed to be to get everyone drunk in as short of an amount of time as possible, Harry held back, taking sips instead of gulps and banishing the liquid in his glass whenever no one was looking. Next to him, Ginny quietly transfigured her whisky into water after two glasses and the two of them giggled to each other as everyone else got more and more pissed.

Finally, when other family members began stumbling into the sitting room for what Fred promised was "an even better part two of the game", Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and the two of them slipped outside into the cool night air.

The quiet dark closed around them quickly, safe and private after the loud raucousness of the Burrow's kitchen.

"I think we're headed for a repeat of the last big family dinner at the Burrow," Harry commented as they walked towards the orchard. Ginny's fingers had intertwined with his so naturally he could barely recall that they hadn't walked this way in months.

"Then we're going the wrong direction, the garden is behind us," commented Ginny dryly. Harry could just see the smirk on her face in the moonlight.

"D'you want to . . .?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Do you?" asked Ginny.

"Not really, not right now," said Harry honestly. Strangely, it felt incredibly good to not want to shag Ginny right now. "Let's just walk," he said.

"Good," said Ginny. She squeezed his hand and he could hear the smile in her voice.

As they walked through the orchard a few clouds parted and the moon came out, bathing the trees in a pale glow. From behind them there was a pop and then a loud whistling sound. A second later, the green glow of fireworks exploded over the Burrow, spelling out the words "You Lose" in big letters.

Harry looked at Ginny, eyebrows raised. "I don't even want to know," he said.

"I think ignorance is bliss," Ginny agreed. "But we should probably avoid going back for a while."

Harry was so relaxed, he wasn't even sure what he wanted to do. Walking with Ginny was just lovely, and he assumed she was just as content as he was, if the happy sighs she kept making were any indication., which was why he was rather surprised when she suddenly slipped her hand out of his and bounded away.

"Ginny?" Harry was confused. The moon was hidden in the clouds again and it was very dark in the trees. "Where'd you go?"

The only answer was the thunk of something hitting him on the top of the head. "Ow!" he said, rubbing his hair. "Where are you?"

The next missile plopped onto his shoulder and when he looked up at the giggle that came from almost directly above him, he tripped over a tree root and fell into a muddy patch of earth. "Oof," he said, simultaneously rubbing his shin and the elbow he'd landed on.

"Harry?" Ginny's worried voice floated over him and he heard a heavy thunk. "Lumos," she said, and then she was there looking down at him, her face a mixture of concern and guilt.

"I was hiding in the treehouse," she said in a small voice. "I . . . I thought it would be . . . funny. And that maybe you'd want to climb up too?"

"Humph," said Harry, feigning anger. "I'd have thought you'd have learned by now that trees and I don't exactly mix." He paused. "Let me amend that. Trees and I don't mix when I'm actually up in them."

"Maybe it's only when you end up in one on accident," said Ginny. "It might be an entirely different experience if you climbed one on purpose."

Harry looked up into the branches, barely visible in the faint moonlight. "No, I don't think so," he said. "I mean, I was firmly on the ground and I still ended up falling into the mud."

"Yeah, sorry about that," said Ginny with a touch of sheepishness. "I guess it was one of those ideas that was better in my head than when I actually tried it." She brushed her hand across Harry's front. "Are you really hurt?"

The feel of Ginny's hand on his chest was awfully nice. "No, not that bad," Harry admitted. "Still, you certainly managed to get me all dirty." He grabbed Ginny around the waist and hooked one foot around her ankle until she tripped, both of them falling back onto the ground together. They rolled around together for a minute, kissing and tickling and laughing.

"Harry!" protested Ginny, laughing. "I have mud in my hair now."

"So do I," said Harry, kissing her soundly.

Another burst of fireworks interrupted their snogging. "What a wanker!" this display proclaimed.

"Not anymore, I'm not," said Harry dryly, as they watched the sparklers fade away into the night. He was lying in a pile of damp leaves, Ginny on top of him, and it suddenly occurred to him that they really had no reason to sneak around anymore. Not that shagging in odd places was so bad, some of the time, but the ground was rather cold and wet, and there was at least one stone digging into his arse, making the entire experience less than wonderful.

"Do you think your family is drunk enough for us to go back to your room?" he asked.

"Let's hope so," Ginny muttered, climbing off Harry and standing up. "Because I'm freezing out here."

Whatever game Fred and George had invented seemed to still be in full swing when Harry and Ginny crept cautiously back into the Burrow's kitchen. The table was clearing itself – slowly – and raucous laughter could be heard from the living room.

Ginny put her fingers to her lips. "Quick," she whispered, pulling Harry towards the staircase.

Once they got to Ginny's room and shut and locked the door and set silencing charms, Harry relaxed and grinned, taking his girlfriend in his arms.

"Much better," he muttered, kicking off his shoes and shuffling with her towards her bed.

"Ugh, Harry, we're covered in mud," said Ginny, wiggling out of his grasp.

Harry looked down at where the two of their bodies met. There did seem to be an awful lot of dirt, and leaves, and even an errant twig or two.

"Are you a witch or what?" he said. "Scourgify it."

"There's no way I can get rid of all this mess," said Ginny. She gave him a look. "Can you?"

"No," Harry admitted. "I'm rubbish at most cleaning spells."

Ginny was quiet; she seemed to be listening to the noise downstairs. After a minute, she nodded to herself.

"Shower," she said.

"What?" asked Harry.

"We need to take a shower," said Ginny. "Before they figure out we're up here."

"Together?" asked Harry? The idea was both arousing and slightly worrisome. It was one thing to shag Ginny in the garden after getting thoroughly pissed – particularly when their entire relationship had been based on sex – but quite another to take a shower together in her parents' home completely sober.

"We don't . . . have to," began Harry. If he admitted it to himself, he really, really wanted to, all of a sudden.

"I know," answered Ginny. "But do you want to?"

Harry barely paused a second. "Hell, yes," he replied.

One minute later they were in the Burrow's sole bathroom.

They looked at each other for a minute, expressions of identical glee crossing their faces.

"Ummm, dessert time, I guess," said Harry.

Ginny was already busy pulling his shirt out of the waist of his trousers and over his head. "Yeah," she muttered, now working on his zipper.

Harry reached for her, running his own hands up underneath her shirt to the bottom of her breasts. Ginny shuddered and finished with his fly; his trousers fell down around his ankles and he stepped neatly out of them and then pulled her to him and buried his face in her neck.

Ginny relaxed into him and they swayed together for a minute. Harry's erection grew against Ginny's leg as he worked at the back of her bra, struggling to unhook it.

He was rather proud of himself that he got it undone before she had to help. She pulled her jumper over her head and Harry pulled the rest of her bra away.

"You really are dirty," he commented. Ginny had somehow managed to get a streak of dirt down her chest, in between her breasts. His own neck and shoulders felt tight with dried mud and he quickly wiggled out of his shirt and boxers to stand naked in front of her.

Ginny grabbed his erection with one hand. "I think this is the only clean part of your body," she said. She reached past him into the shower and turned on the water.

"Are you sure?" he said playfully. "It looks like it might need some cleaning to me."

Ginny rolled her eyes and pulled Harry into the shower. "Help me with the mud, Harry," she said.

He was glad to oblige. Picking up the bar of soap, Harry lathered up his hands and then slowly rubbed them across Ginny's breasts. He was trying – more or less – to wipe away the mud, but the way her nipples hardened beneath his fingers was much more satisfying than noticing whether she actually was getting clean.

"Give me the soap," she said. A second later she was sliding her own slippery hands up and down Harry's chest, down his stomach, and to his penis. He shivered and stepped closer to her so that they were both under the warm spray. Ginny tipped her head back to let the water course down her chest. From that angle, Harry couldn't help but lean down and kiss her neck, pressing into her until her back was against the tiles of the shower.

"I love showers," he said happily. He picked up a bottle of shampoo and squeezed some into his palm. "Can I wash your hair?" He asked.

Ginny nodded. She was still leaning against the back of the shower and her eyes were closed. Harry rubbed the shampoo through her hair gently until it was full of white lather. There was enough to attend to himself as well and he gave his head a few rather ineffectual swipes before moving both hands back to Ginny's waist. She tipped her head back again to let the shampoo run down her back and on impulse, Harry suddenly knelt in front of her. He was close enough that the water from the shower head sprayed his own back and flecks of water bounced off Ginny's shoulders and breasts and hit him in the face. He rested his head against her stomach, kissing it lightly. Ginny shivered and shuffled her feet wider apart.

Harry backed up so that he could see better and moved his hand down Ginny's stomach and across one thigh. His hand was still rather soapy and he contemplated cleaning Ginny in some more interesting places, but stopped suddenly.

Ginny looked down when Harry pulled his hand away. "What's wrong?"

Harry tried to look up but the water from the shower kept getting in his eyes. He spoke to Ginny's belly button instead when he answered her. "I don't like the taste of soap."

"So?" Ginny began, and then understood what he was saying. "Ohhhh." She shrugged. "So don't wash it then. I don't think I got any mud down my pants or anything."

"Okay," said Harry. He rinsed off his hand before leaning forward and pressing his mouth against her curls. He let his tongue delve and explore, tasting a mixture of water and Ginny. She shivered when he found her clit and moved her hands down to grasp at his shoulders.

The floor of the tub was slippery; Harry grabbed Ginny's arse with both hands to keep from falling over. He sucked gently while he regained his balance and then tickled her nub with the tip of his tongue. Above him, Ginny inhaled sharply. She must have swallowed some water because a second later she started coughing.

"Are you okay?" Harry pulled his head away from her.

"Fine," she panted, grabbing his shoulders more firmly and pulling him back to her. "Don't stop."

So Harry didn't. He swirled his tongue around Ginny's clit, and, once he felt balanced, moved one hand until he could slip a finger inside her.

She cried out and tightened around his finger as Harry started moving it in and out. His knees were getting sore but he didn't care – he'd gotten his tongue and hand working in tandem and Ginny was thrusting against him erratically. She was moaning an intense "uh uh uh" as she writhed against him and if Harry could have done it without slipping, he would have thrust his erection against her leg.

A second later, she climaxed, grabbing the back of Harry's head and holding it firmly in place against her. He could feel tiny spasms around the finger he still had inside and the shuddering jerk she gave as he licked her clit one last time almost knocked him off balance.

Harry pushed back onto his heels and then sat down on the bottom of the bathtub, watching fondly as Ginny came back to herself. She finally opened her eyes and looked down at him, a huge grin stretching across her face as she saw Harry sitting patiently, gently stroking his jutting erection.

Without a word, she lowered herself onto him and he groaned with relief. He wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist and planted several kisses across her chest.

"I love you," he said between kisses. "A lot."

"I love you too," Ginny replied. "And I'm glad we're still sneaking around to have sex in crazy places once in a while."

"Dessert," Harry agreed, sucking on one wet breast as Ginny began rocking above him. "We'll have to thank your family for getting too drunk to notice we're gone."

"I doubt we're fooling everyone, " said Ginny. She was pushing into him more insistently and Harry lifted his bum off the bottom of the tub and balanced her on his hips. "I think my mum knew, at least. And probably Hermione."

"Mmm," replied Harry. He didn't really care, to tell the truth. He had everything he wanted now.

"I can't believe no one has needed the loo," remarked Ginny. She was rocking faster and Harry didn't bother trying to answer. He doubted she expected one anyway. She leaned forward to kiss Harry's neck and the shift in position brought Harry almost to the edge.

"Faster," he muttered, squeezing his legs around Ginny's back. She obliged, moving up and down more quickly in time to his thrusts.

"Almost there," he grunted. And then he was, holding her as tightly as possible as he came. He tensed every muscle, feeling Ginny contract around him with another orgasm of her own.

"Oh," she said. "Wow." She leaned back enough to look at Harry, a delighted smile on her face. "Thanks," she said. "I didn't expect another one."

"I think it's the water," said Harry. There was just something extremely sexy about Ginny in the shower. The water glistened off of her skin and her wet hair lay heavy and dark around her face. "You made me want to work harder."

"I'll have to remember that," said Ginny. She grinned up at the spray still raining down on them, as they slowly extricated themselves and stood up. "One nice thing about having sex in the shower," she said, "is that you don't need a cleaning spell afterwards."

"Yeah," said Harry. He pushed aside the shower curtain and peered out. "Uhh, Gin? There aren't any towels."

"Huh?" Ginny looked out too, shivering slightly in the cooler air. "We forgot to grab some from the closet. You'd better Accio them."

"You summon them, " said Harry. "I didn't bring my wand."

"Neither did I," said Ginny slowly. "Uhh, Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"How did you set the locking and silencing charms then?"

Harry froze. "I didn't." He smacked his hand against his forehead. "I can't believe we forgot them again."

"I'm sure no one heard anything," said Ginny.

"Yeah, sure," said Harry. "Or else they're all gathered around the other side of this door with a bunch of fireworks that spell out "Harry and Ginny just shagged" in big, multi-colored sparkles.

"Nah, Fred and George wouldn't waste their multi-colored fireworks on us. A light-up sign maybe, but not the fireworks," said Ginny with a teasing grin.

"Great," Harry groaned. He put his ear against the door. "I don't hear anything."

"I'll check," said Ginny. "I can assure you that none of my brothers has any interest in seeing me naked."

"And they do me?" asked Harry faintly.

Ginny cracked open the bathroom door and peered out. "Coast is clear," she said. "Let's run."

Before Harry could answer or even think about it, Ginny had flung open the bathroom door and was racing naked back to her bedroom. Harry had no choice but to follow. Despite the fact that he was mortified at the thought of running through his girlfriend's house without a stitch of clothing on, he had to admit that he rather enjoyed the sight of Ginny's bare arse bouncing in front of him.

They made it back to her room and collapsed, laughing onto her bed. Harry snatched up his wand and set every locking and silencing charm he could think of on the door, then performed a contraception spell on Ginny and, for good measure, himself. Only then did he relax.

"I can't believe we didn't get caught," he sighed contentedly. They were sharing a pillow and strands of Ginny's wet hair were curling against Harry's neck.

"Maybe they left," said Ginny. Just then another burst of fireworks lit up the sky outside Ginny's window.

"Maybe not," she amended.

Harry turned so that he was lying on his side facing Ginny. She shivered and he reached down and grabbed the quilt that was folded at the end of her bed and pulled it over them.

"Better?" he asked.

"Mmmhmm," she murmured.

Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny and kissed her hair. Normally, lying naked in a bed in such close proximity to his also naked girlfriend would have been a reason to begin round two of their lovemaking, but it didn't really feel necessary right now. Cuddling was awfully nice on its own.

"I missed this," said Ginny, guessing Harry's thoughts.

"Me too," said Harry, nuzzling he neck.

He was almost asleep when he felt Ginny stir beside him. "Harry?"

"Yes?" he mumbled.

"We left our muddy clothes in the loo, didn't we?"