A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks to all who reviewed, I really really really appreciate it! I hope you like the chapter ;)

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He awoke to the feel of her hair tickling his chin, her soft little heartbeat thudding next to his, the gentle breathing against the arm wrapped around her, and then the sound of a fluttery voice mutter;

"Harry…"

"Mmm?" he responded quietly, not really knowing whether she was fully awake.

"I love you."

She lifted her head, so that her chin rested on his bare chest and her eyes met his. He grinned at her, wondering whether he could even contain such felicity, and said gently;

"You're beautiful."

There was a pause, and then Ginny smirked, "Well, you're a good liar, but morning-Ginny is definitely not a beautiful sight."

"You always look beautiful to me," Harry shrugged.

She wondered fleetingly whether he had any idea how much it had made her melt; the way in which he had sounded so genuine. She leant up to kiss him, and then murmured; "D'you know what I always wanted to do with you? Back when I used to fancy you in first year?"

Harry arched an eyebrow, "What?"

Ginny grinned, her eyes sparkling; "hang on."

She swung her legs over the edge of her cramped bed, crossed to the door and exited without another word, donning a dressing gown as she went. Harry frowned curiously, and then began searching through the mass of discarded clothes scattered across the floor. Having successfully covered himself, he made to head out after her, but found they simply collided in the doorway as she was coming back in. When she stepped back he saw that she was holding his firebolt out to him, and as he took it with a bemused expression she said;

"Flying at sunrise! Up for it?"

Harry smiled; "Yeah, I'm up for it…where's your broom?" he asked, craning his neck.

"Well, I thought," she said tentatively, "we could both go on yours?"

Harry visibly stiffened, his eyes darting between the broom and Ginny's hopeful expression. "Okay…" he said slowly. "But, this broom...it's my pride and joy--"

"I know," she said with a small smile.

"--I mean seriously, we'll have to be really careful. No distracting me…if anything happens to the--"

"Nothing will happen to the broom," Ginny assured him with a nod.

"Good, 'cause it'd be like losing a member of my family…" Harry said seriously.

"You're quite sad, you know that?" Ginny teased, her head tilted to the side.

He nodded, "Given."

She rolled her eyes and said, "Boys."

"Keep doing that and one day they'll get stuck there you know," said Harry wisely as she pushed past him to dress.

She flashed him a grin as she pulled on her jeans, and then paused suddenly in the act of pulling on her t-shirt, looking at him strangely, as though seeing him for the first time. After a frozen moment, Harry asked quietly;

"What?"

Recalled to her surroundings, she shook her head a little and pulled the t-shirt over her head. "Nothing…"

He frowned and took a few steps closer, "You okay?"

She swept her long hair back into a messy bun, and turned away from her tiny mirror to find Harry standing only inches from her. Jumping slightly, she grinned, "Yeah. I'm perfect."

"Mm, definitely," he said softly, planting a kiss on her forehead.

She smiled, and then pointed out, "Sun's coming up. Come on…"

--

She dragged him outside, and he let her sit behind him on the firebolt, let her wrap her arms around his waist, and then they flew up into the skies as the day began to dawn brightly around them. "This is amazing!" he said over his shoulder.

"I'm just full of good ideas," Ginny beamed.

For around an hour they continued over the apple orchard, the meadows they'd walked the previous day, over rolling hills, winding country lanes, and to Harry it felt like the usual incredibility of flying but with obvious bonuses. Her breath teased the back of his neck as they went, and he turned over his shoulder to kiss her, his arm leaving the broom at the front and coming to rest on her lower back. The firebolt came to a standstill, and there they hovered, the kiss deepening until suddenly it began to wobble dangerously;

"Gin!" Harry said exasperatedly, turning back to regain control of the broom. "I told you not to distract me!"

"You say that like you didn't initiate it," Ginny grinned.

"It's not my fault you're so irresistible," he said defensively.

"We'd better start heading back," said Ginny as the sun emerged over a nearby hilltop, bathing the couple in light. "Muggles might see us."

He reluctantly agreed, and swerved so that they were flying back in the direction they'd come from, the wind picking up and whipping their hair off their faces. Harry's hair flew into Ginny's face, willing her to breathe him in, and she happily complied. And then just as they came within distance of the Burrow once again, they heard an ear splitting cry.

"What was that?" Ginny said at once.

"…dunno," Harry said uneasily, picking up speed and heading into a dive. "I'm sure it's nothing.…"

They landed neatly on the front lawn, and hurried to the house. Once inside, Ginny called out;

"Hello?"

"In here!" came two voices from the sitting room; one of them clearly belonging to George. Laying his broom down on the tabletop, Harry followed Ginny into the room to find George and Lee Jordan beaming from ear to ear, talking excitedly. They looked up when Harry and Ginny entered, and George said happily;

"Lee's just agreed to go into business with me!"

Ginny cracked a relieved smile; "That's great!"

Harry nodded enthusiastically and gave Lee an appreciative grin, settling himself on a chair across from them, Ginny on his lap.

"We were thinking of expanding, too," George went on. "Fred and I made such a profit last year…" he choked out his last few words, but somehow there was no mistaking the pride in his voice. Lee placed a hand on his shoulder, and after a moment or so George continued; "We want to buy premises in Hogsmeade, and we were thinking of buying the shop next door in Diagon Alley, to double the size of our original outlet!"

Ginny looked so elated at George's enthusiasm, and Harry gave her a little squeeze around the middle.

--

Breakfast was a pleasant affair that day; George and Lee's news had steadily spread through the house as its inhabitants roused one by one. Even Percy, who believed pranksters should be punishable by law, seemed fairly impressed at how successful Fred and George's business had been going. However, as everyone else was chatting merrily, Ron had 'Twelve Failsafe Ways to Charm Witches' propped up against a tomato ketchup bottle, his eyes darting from side to side as he read furiously.

"Ron?" Harry began.

"What?" he responded irritably.

"You and Hermione are together now...why the book?" When he didn't elicit a response, Harry leant over to read the heading aloud; "Circling Square One: How to charm your witch out of disagreements."

"Ron, that's really quite an offensive book," Ginny pointed out.

"You and Hermione had an argument then?" Harry said airily.

Ron nodded stiffly.

"Where is she anyway?" Harry asked, glancing up and down the table for signs of a mass of bushy brown hair.

"Shower," Ron answered shortly.

"So, what was it this time?" George grinned. He put on a falsetto voice and went on; "Ron, you never pay any attention to me!"

"You're always gawking at Fleur…" Lee carried on.

"Excusez-moi?" Fleur's affronted voice carried up the table just as Ginny snorted into her orange juice.

Ron's ear tips reddened and he said through gritted teeth; "She thinks Viktor was more sensitive of her feelings than me."

Harry and Ginny were exchanging amused looks when suddenly Hermione appeared in the doorway, wearing a scowl and determinedly avoiding Ron's gaze.

"Morning everyone," she said briskly, drawing up a chair next to Harry as Ron hastily stuffed his book away. Harry had the distinct impression Hermione had seen it when she first came in anyway, and thought Ron rather wasted his efforts. These musings were confirmed when she said spitefully, "Stealthy, Ronald, stealthy."

He gave her his worst look, and continued to be grumpy for the rest of the morning, not making any attempts to join in with the conversations surrounding him.

Around midday, just when Ginny had suggested they play some four on four, there was a roar of green flames and everyone spun in their seats to see a woman step out of the fireplace and brush her robes down. On closer examination, Harry realised her to be the woman who had been assigned to protect the Dursleys the previous year. Mrs Weasley approached her and said;

"Oh, Hestia! Lovely to see you dear! Cup of tea?"

"Thanks, Molly," the woman named Hestia replied. "Sorry to barge in on you like this…I just needed a quick word with Harry…"

Mrs Weasley bustled over to her kettle, saying jovially, "Not at all, dear, not at all!"

Hestia's eyes scanned the kitchen, eventually coming to land on Harry, who was once again sandwiched between Hermione and Ginny. As he got to his feet, she gave him a warm smile and said; "Harry, we've just taken your aunt, uncle and cousin home. I've come to let you know that they're all okay, and that your cousin wanted me to deliver a message to you."

"Really?" Harry asked her with mingled interest and disbelief.

"He wanted me to say 'thanks'," she smiled. "Oh, and to give you this…" She rummaged around in her robes pocket, eventually withdrawing a small envelope, and handed it to him. Harry frowned at it curiously for a moment, and then tore it open to reveal a small birthday card, signed;

Happy Birthday, Harry

Dudley

Harry stared at it in shock for a moment, and then laughed slightly; "He never was very articulate, Dudley."

After a few moments Hestia spoke up again in more serious tones; "And there's something else, Harry. Kingsley is sending out a team of Aurors today to track down several escaped death eaters. There have been sightings in the south. He wanted me to ask if you wanted to help…"

Harry didn't hesitate a second before answering with a firm, "I want to help." Ginny's head snapped up at this, and Harry determinedly avoided looking her in the eye. "What can I do?"

"You can come with us," Hestia said, checking her watch. "We've got to be at the ministry in ten minutes, we'll meet the team and then--"

"I'm coming too!" Ginny got to her feet.

"No, you're not," Mrs Weasley intercepted swiftly.

Hestia was eyeing Ginny with a certain degree of respect. "And how old are you?"

Ginny flushed slightly, but answered resolutely; "Sixteen…but seventeen in less than a month!"

"She's not of age, she can't go," Mrs Weasley applied to Hestia desperately.

Hestia heaved a sigh and relented, "She's right, sorry dear, if it were up to me…"

Relief crossed the expressions of both Mrs Weasley and Harry. Observing this, Ginny rounded on her boyfriend; "Oh, so you don't want me to go either, do you?"

Harry shook his head frantically, "No--no, of course I do--it's just, dangerous and everything…you know…"

Ginny's eyes flashed dangerously, "I might say the same thing to you! This is so typical--"

"Sorry to interrupt," Hestia said brusquely, standing between them. "Harry, if you're coming we need to leave now..." She gave him a final meaningful look and then moved back over to the fireplace, stepped into the emerald flames once more, and said clearly; "Ministry of Magic!"

Once Hestia had disappeared in a whirl of ash and flame, Ginny fixed Harry with positively mutinous stare, as if daring him to follow. It was then that Harry realised for the first time just how great the resemblance was between mother and daughter. "Look," he began. "I—"

"--just be careful," she cut across. "You won't be too popular with them right now…"

He gave her a nod, his eyes locked together with hers, and it was as though an invisible beam of understanding shot between them. Harry managed not to remind her of the fact that next to facing Lord Voldemort this all seemed rather trivial, and instead settled for kissing her on the cheek. She gave his hand a squeeze, and he stepped over to the fireplace. He set his birthday card down on the mantelpiece, and stepped into the flames without another word. He called, "Ministry of Magic!", and the last thing he saw before he began spinning uncontrollably was a room full of people, all eyes fixed on him.

--

Harry apparated to the front door in the late evening, sporting a gash across the cheek and a bleeding lip, and pushed it open heavily. Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Mrs Weasley were sitting in waiting for him, and as soon as he crossed the threshold his vision was suddenly impaired by a mass of red hair. She was squeezing him to within an inch of his life so that eventually he choked out, "Gin! I'm fine!"

She stepped back, giving a slightly shaky laugh, and then Mrs Weasley stepped up;

"I'll be the judge of that!" she inspected his cheek, and then raised a wand to it. He felt it glow hot as the skin healed itself.

"Thanks, Mrs Weasley."

"Did you catch them?" Hermione asked tentatively from the table.

He nodded. "It was Macnair, Avery and Mulciber. They've been sent back to Azkaban."

"Well done, mate!" said Ron enthusiastically.

Harry tried to grin, but then winced as his lip throbbed painfully.

"Here," Mrs Weasley said gently, pointing a wand towards the cut. It healed immediately, and Harry thanked her again. "…I really need to learn that one…"

She smiled and went to put the kettle on once more, and Harry and Ginny joined Ron and Hermione at the table.

"So, what happened, Harry?" Ginny asked with wide eyes.

"…well, we apparated to the place they'd been sighted, somewhere near Cornwall…and spread out to search. I had to head a group…eventually we found Macnair in some pub reminiscent of the Hog's Head…" he grimaced slightly.

"You headed a group?" Ron asked in awe as Mrs Weasley brought their tea.

Harry gave an uncommitted head tilt mingled with a shrug. Ginny placed an arm around his shoulders and hugged him sideways as Hermione asked sceptically;

"What, and Macnair just handed himself over?"

"Well, there was a bit of a struggle," Harry replied. "But it was five on one. Eventually, after we'd given Macnair over to the authorities, Kingsley sent a message to say they had a lead on Avery and Mulciber, and--"

But the rest of his story was cut off as there was a smart rap on the door. Harry jumped, and Mrs Weasley bustled over to the doorway, saying hurriedly; "Oh! I completely forgot – I invited Andromeda round for dinner—she's been so upset recently, poor love--"

Mrs Weasley opened the door for Andromeda, and in she came carrying a small baby boy, who was giggling happily as he pulled on her greying hair.

"Andromeda, dear!" Mrs Weasley said cheerily, giving her a one armed hug to avoid squashing poor Teddy. "And little Teddy…"

As Mrs Weasley cooed over the baby, Harry turned to the others; "Where's everyone else?"

"George and Lee went to the pub down the road to celebrate," Hermione said, a tad disapprovingly.

"Percy and Dad are still at work," Ron explained.

"And Bill and Fleur have gone back to Shell Cottage for a bit of 'alone time'," Ginny grinned, drawing inverted commas in the air over her final two words.

Andromeda and Mrs Weasley were now chatting animatedly nearby, and Harry took it upon himself to glance up at Teddy. He looked back him through big blue eyes, and grinned madly from ear to ear. His hair was changing colour every few seconds; now green…now purple…now black…

"And here's Harry!" Andromeda sang, shaking him from his reverie. "Would you like to hold him dear?" she added, looking up at him.

Harry flushed a little, and stuttered, "Oh—no—I'm not very good with babies…I dunno…"

Ginny laughed slightly and got to her feet, taking Teddy in her arms. The baby giggled louder still, grabbing hold of some of Ginny's hair and sucking on it. Ginny shook her head and reprimanded him, chuckling softly, and retracted her hair, throwing it over her shoulder. Harry watched them from afar, entranced by the scene; his girlfriend cradling his Godson…until suddenly she said;

"I just need to pop to the loo; will you hold him a minute Ron?"

She thrust Teddy into Ron's arms, and both Hermione and Harry were surprised to see him bob him up and down happily on his knee.

"What?" he asked them defensively, when he caught sight of their wondrous stares. "I helped look after of Ginny when she was little…"

Hermione's hardened expression softened completely as she watched him, and the next minute she had kissed his cheek and whispered;

"You're forgiven."

Harry grinned to himself as Mrs Weasley appeared at his side, saying; "Come on then Godfather," she smiled. She released Ron of Teddy and held him out to Harry. Harry looked down at the baby slightly nervously, but he simply stretched his chubby arms out to him, his round eyes imploring. "This is Harry, Teddy…Harry…" Mrs Weasley said softly.

Harry ruffled his hair uncomfortably, and when he realised he could prolong the moment no longer, he reached out to lift Teddy out of Mrs Weasley's arms. He held him up in front of him for several moments and wondered what he ought to do next.

"Here," Hermione stood up, taking pity on him. She adjusted Teddy in Harry's arms until he was cradling him more naturally. "Just talk to him…"

"Right," Harry said awkwardly, just as Ginny returned and lingered unseen in the doorway. He stared down into Teddy's wide eyes, and he gazed unblinkingly right back. The baby reached out his tiny hand and tried to remove Harry's glasses. Laughing, Harry carefully took them back and said quietly; "No, no, those are Harry's glasses…without them I can't see a thing…" Teddy giggled, and Harry smiled down at him. "You look at lot like your Dad, you know? Wonder if you'll grow up to be a troublemaker like him and his mates…" he grinned. Sensing someone's eyes upon him, he looked up to see Ginny watching him with slightly teary eyes. She hastened to wipe them dry, and approached him with a smile. He wrapped an arm around her, she rested her head on his shoulder, and the three of them stood there together; swaying slightly on the spot as Harry gently rocked his Godson.

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A/N: Sorry if you thought it was too cheesy! Couldn't resist. Review!