Life Happens Chapter 30: Moments, a harry potter fanfic

A/N Here we are again at another opening authors note...I can't believe that this is chapter 30! Can you believe that when I first started this story I thought that everyone would think that this story would be complete rubbish since this is my first thing I ever wrote and that I would get bored of the whole fanfiction thing and quit after a month or two...and now here I am over a year later far from bored...so thank you guys for keeping me from boredom...Also I need to give a big thank you to my awesome new beta PeskyPetunia I'm excited to have a beta again and I'm sure you all are too...

August twelfth dawned as a mild summer morning, but Harry Potter didn't see it as he was still fast asleep having overindulged in a bit too much firewhiskey the night before at the surprise birthday party everyone at the camp had thrown for Ginny the night before.

At least he i was /i asleep, that is until he was woken up by a sudden weight on his chest. He opened one eye slowly, testing the brightness of the room, and when he saw that the curtains were still blessedly closed, he warily opened his other eye to find a red head straddled across his stomach and starring down at him expectantly.

"I never thought I would see the day where I would wake up before you," Ginny said with a smile.

"And why are you up so early?" Harry asked softly as his own voice was sounding abnormally loud in his own head.

"It's almost ten-thirty," she informed him. "Not exactly what I would call early."

"It is on Saturdays," he muttered, using her own words back to her as he closed his eyes again.

"Especially if you're hungover," Ginny countered as she climbed off of him so that she could grab the potions that she had set on the night stand earlier. "I figured you would feel like you were hit by the Knight Bus this morning, so I took pity on you and made these before I woke you up."

"What happened last night, why in the bloody hell did I let myself drink that much?" he asked as Ginny helped him sit upright with the efficiency of a Healer.

"Well as it so happened, you decided to play a very unfair game of 'I have never' with a group of people who were bound and determined to get you absolutely pissed." she explained with only the very smallest hint of amusement. "Here, take this one first, it's for the nausea."

Harry took the bottle obediently, only shuddering slightly as he swallowed the concoction. "If I wasn't already nauseous, the taste of that potion would change that."

"Wait until you taste this one," she said handing him a second vile. "It's for your headache. There is a reason I gave you the nausea one first." She watched him take it and only laughed a little bit at the faces he made, before instructing him to lie back down until the potions took effect. "I don't know why you didn't stop playing when you saw which way the game was going. I mean the questions were more than a little biased. For example, 'I have never defeated one of the most evil wizards of all time,' and 'I have never survived a killing curse,' or 'I have broken the record for catching the snitch in the most consecutive games.' I think that you might have finished off that whole bottle by yourself. Feeling better yet?"

Harry tentatively opened his eyes again once more. "Actually I am," he told her sitting up and swinging his feet off the bed. "Thank you Peanut, you're very handy to have around. I think I might keep you."

"Oh well thank you Monsieur," she replied sarcastically. "That's so very generous of you."

"Yezz," Harry joked in an exaggerated french accent, "my generouzity ez well known en all ze world. Zat ez 'ow I gets ze ladiez."

Ginny was going to respond with a smart comeback, but decided just to laugh instead. "Come on then Don Juan, go take a shower, we have plans for today," she joked as she stepped into the walk in closet.

"But Don Juan was from Espana," Harry called with Spanish accent.

"Fine the Casanova," she replied.

"Italia," he responded changing his accent once more as he walked to the bathroom.

"Would you just get in the shower, before you become a great lover to no one!"

"Fine, fine," Harry laughed, "whatever the lady requests."

While Harry showered, Ginny got ready. Turning on the wireless and peeling off her pajamas she stood in front of the closet in her underwear as she tried to decide what to wear. She had just decided on a white eyelet skirt, pale green camisole with her three quarter length sleeved white jacket and wedges when the new Amber Hess single, 'Pretend To Be Nice,' started playing. She may have been one of Harry's numerous ex's, but Ginny couldn't hate her because she could not deny the fact that the girl had talent.

"I love this song!" Ginny exclaimed to herself as the guitar kicked in and she pulled her clothes off of their respective hangers.

Harry walked into the bedroom just in time to watch Ginny launch into in the chorus as she danced around the room in her underwear with her skirt in one hand and a shoe in the other.

Why do you do what you do to me baby
You're shaking my confidence, driving my crazy
You know if I could I'd do anything for you
Please don't ignore me cause you know I adore you

He had to hold in his laughter as she dropped the shoes on the bed, slipped on the skirt and picked up a hairbrush which she promptly started singing into.

Can't you just pretend to be nice
Could you at least pretend to be nice
You could just pretend to be nice
Then everything in my life would be alright

She started dancing around like crazy during the bridge, spinning around in circles, her white skit billowing around her and her long red hair flowing behind her, shining in the mid morning sun that was pouring through the bed room window. The song was just kicking into the next verse when Ginny turned around and saw–

"AHHH!"

Harry burst out laughing as Ginny clutched one hand to her chest, covering her racing heart.

"Don't stop on my account," Harry told her laughingly, "I was enjoying the show."

"How long were you standing there?" she asked in angry embarrassment as she put on her shirt.

"Long enough," he replied vaguely. "I didn't know you were such a fan of Amber's," he teased her wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "You know, we broke up on fairly good terms, I could probably get you tickets to her show."

"Oh hush," she admonished with a glare as she plopped down at the vanity so that she could do her makeup as her heart rate returned to normal from both dancing around and being startled by Harry. "I can give you back that hangover just as quickly as I took it away," she threatened.

Harry crossed over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, silent for a moment as he watched her apply her makeup. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "you're really going to have to do that little dance in your underwear for me again."

Ginny turned to give him a firm smack on the shoulder which only made Harry start laughing again before turning back around in a huff, but as she made eye contact with him in the mirror she too started cracking up at herself.

Closing her compact with a snap she stood up. "Can we go now?" she asked impatiently, but with amusement clear in her eyes.

"Of course my dear," he replied offering his arm.

Having gotten a late start on the day, the couple chose to forgo breakfast and lunch in lieu of brunch at one of their favorite bistros. Afterwards they took the underground to their first stop of the day, the Louvre.

"For some reason I expected it to be much larger," Harry mentioned as he stood in front of the Mona Lisa. "Considering how widely distributed and how well known it is, seeing it in person is almost a little..."

"Anti-climactic?" Ginny supplied.

"Yeah," he agreed with her word choice.

"Well you know," Ginny explained, "the reason it's so small is because it was essentially Da Vinci's business card. He needed something that was small enough to carry around that he could show people what he could do."

"That makes sense," Harry replied cocking his head to the side as he continued to look at the painting. "I wonder who she is and why she doesn't have any eyebrows."

Ginny snorted a little as she stifled a laugh, "Well she doesn't have any eyebrows because an art restorer a couple centuries ago used the wrong solvent to clean the painting and accidently wiped them off."

"Why did just her eyebrows come off?" he asked.

"I'm not positive," she replied, "but I think it had something to do with the fact that during that period in time the eyebrows were always painted last on a portrait."

"I would hate to be the poor bloke who had to explain that to my boss," Harry chuckled.

"Oh I know," Ginny agreed. "But as far as her identity no one knows for sure. Of course there are theories, like there are some people that believe that Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa as a self portrait of himself as a woman."

"Really?" Harry asked, looking at the painting with new eyes.

"Really really," she confirmed.

"How did you learn all of this?" he asked, genuinely curious after he had chewed on this new information she gave him for a minute.

"We devoted a whole term in Muggle Studies to Muggle art and architecture and I found it especially interesting so I did extra research on it. And then when Hermione found out about my interest and told me some stuff and gave me some really great books. That's actually why I wanted to come here so badly today," she explained.

"Why didn't you tell me? We could have come here sooner," he told her.

"I know," she replied. "But were here now so it doesn't matter. Come on, let's keep going," she said taking his hand and leading him down the corridor.

They spent the rest of the day walking through the halls of the museum stopping to look at countless priceless works of art with Ginny repeating random facts that she knew about them to Harry. It wasn't until late afternoon that Harry mentioned that they needed to leave if they were going to have enough time to get back to the hotel in time to change for their evening plans.

"Oh I could spend days wandering aimlessly through that place," Ginny mentioned wistfully as they strolled down the streets of Paris hand in hand as they made their way back to their hotel, "just drinking in all that art and history and still not get enough."

"You would think you would have had enough of paintings after living at Hogwarts for seven years," Harry teased.

"It's different," she replied. "I wouldn't call the portraits at Hogwarts art per se, they are fascinating in their own right, especially if you're not used to them, but they have personalities and interact with you on a daily basis. Muggle art is exactly that, art. It's a moment in time and history, there is a piece of the artist left within the canvas, there is emotion and expression in those brush strokes. You can look at Van Gogh's Starry Night or Degas's Ballerinas or a Monet or even a Childe Hansen for hours and still get more out of it," she explained with a passion that surprised Harry a little.

"Well we will have to be sure to come back before we go home then," Harry said as he slipped his hand into the back pocket of her jeans.

"Promise?" she asked, sliding her arm around his waist and looking up at him.

"Promise," he assured, smiling down at her. "So, what did you think of that monstrosity of glass and metal engineering they planted in front of the museum?"

"You mean the pyramid?" she asked.

"What else could I be referring too?" he replied with a grin.

"I think it's a beautiful structure," she responded sincerely.

"Really?" Harry said, honestly surprised.

"Yeah, just somewhere else," she clarified. "In of itself I think the pyramid is architecturally interesting and would look wonderful in a different location. However, while I understand what they were trying to accomplish with the juxtaposition of the modern structure against the historical backdrop of this part of the city, I don't care for it."

"That's a diplomatic way of putting it," he observed with a grin.

"Well," Ginny replied drawing out the word and bringing a hand to her chest in an affected manner, "diplomacy is one of my many talents."

"Since when?" Harry retorted incredulously. "In my experience you're more of the hit someone upside the head with your opinion kind of person."

"I'll hit you upside the head with something!" Ginny exclaimed indignantly as she playfully swatted at her boyfriend which he easily side stepped.

"What would you say to a gelato?" he asked quickly to placate the redhead.

"Two scoops please," she replied with a wide smile.

"Wait right here, I'll be right back."

Ginny sat on a nearby bench people watching while Harry stepped into the café to get their ice cream.

"Here you go Peanut," Harry said handing her the cup as he sat down beside her, "two scoops of your favorite pomegranate gelato."

Ginny let out a little giggle as she took a bite of the tart yet sweet concoction.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I was just remembering the first time you called me Peanut," she explained.

"That was such a long time ago," he replied looking back himself as he started on his mint and chip gelato. "It was on our very first birthday excursion and we had run into that girl that I knew from primary school and you pretended to be my girlfriend and I couldn't think of anything to call you so I froze and called you Peanut," he reminisced chuckling at the memory. "It only took, what...five years for that to come true?"

"Six," she corrected, "the first time we did this was the summer before my fifth year, your sixth, so that means it was my fifteenth birthday and since I'm turning twenty one, that would make it six years ago. There are so many moments from that day that I will never forget, 'peanut' is just one of them," Ginny mused.

"Like you learning to use a soda machine by spraying that little kid in the face," Harry added with a laugh.

"You having to lie to me to even get me to agree to go and then having to sneak me out of the house since I was already in so much trouble with Mum for sneaking out to see you earlier that summer."

"And then you nearly killing me when you found out I hadn't told you the whole truth."

"Me having my very first macchiatto."

"Yes, your true love," he said joking about her obsession for the coffee.

"Don't worry hon, you're a close second," Ginny teased back.

"That's comforting," he replied sarcastically as he silently offered her a bite of his gelato.

"Mmm!" Ginny exclaimed as she remembered something as she tasted his ice-cream, "don't forget how you accidently walked in on me in my underwear and you were so embarrassed you couldn't face me."

Harry laughed along with her at this particular memory. "Now I do it on purpose," he said wagging his eyebrows at her suggestively, to which she simply rolled her eyes. "Merlin we're getting old," Harry mentioned after pausing and reflecting for a moment. "On one hand I can't believe it was such a long time ago but on the other hand I can barely believe that it was this same life time."

"I know," Ginny agreed. "Everything was so different then. Voldemort was still at large..."

"We had only been real friends for a couple months," Harry mentioned as if barely believing that such a time where they weren't best friends actually existed.

"I was still dating Dean," the redhead added with slight disgust.

"Ron and Hermione had just gotten together," he smirked, remembering how the newlyweds had first come together as a couple.

"You hadn't even started training for the final battle yet," she pointed out.

"I learned so much that year," Harry mentioned as he looked back to when he was sixteen. "I don't even know if I could do half of the things now that I was able to do at the end of sixth year."

"What the magic or the physical combat stuff we did?" she asked.

"Both actually," he replied honestly. "I should start training again before I completely forget everything I learned back then. I mean I worked so hard to learn it the first time it would be a shame to let it go to waste."

"I'll train with you if you'd like," she offered.

"I would like that," he replied giving her a peck before taking her now empty cup to throw away. "You always were my favorite sparring partner."

"Besides," Ginny added with a grin, "I think it would be healthy for our relationship to be able to beat each other up once in awhile."

Harry laughed aloud at that as he extended his hand to help her stand, "I couldn't agree more. But now we should be going if we're going to make our reservations, especially since I know how long it takes you to get ready."

Ginny shot him a glare but didn't say anything as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they continued to walk down the street.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Harry, I don't know what to wear if I don't know where we are going," Ginny sighed as she stood in front of her closet in a bathrobe.

"Wear that green silky dress you wore to the club a few weeks ago," he called from inside the bathroom where he was getting ready. "That dress holds fond memories for me."

"Yeah," she called back sarcastically as she pulled said dress out of the closet, "like taking it off of me."

"That being one of the front runners," Harry admitted. "Now hurry and get ready, I told the concierge to have the car out front in half an hour."

Forty five minutes later found the couple sitting in the convertible that Harry had leased for the summer for when they wanted to drive places, like when they went into the country a few weekends back. Looking out the window Ginny suddenly realized where they were going.

"Oh, but Harry, how did you get reservations? The waiting list is months long." Ginny asked, breathless with excitement.

"Well, I made reservations months ago," he replied simply.

"But how did you know you would need them months ago?" she wondered.

"I didn't, but I figured I would have someone to take," he replied nonchalantly.

"Way to make a girl feel special Potter," she said grimly.

"Ginny, I'm kidding," he told her. "I've always planned to bring you here tonight, even before we got together, even before you broke up with Giona. Today is the twelfth with is always the day after your birthday, which is always the day I take you out. It's tradition, remember?" he teased. "I knew how it was always one of your dreams to have dinner on top of the Eiffel Tower."

Ginny was a little chagrined at taking his joke so seriously, but didn't have time to dwell on it since they had reached their destination. She could barely contain her giddiness as they took the elevator to the top of the tower.

Once they had reached the top they stood on the observation deck taking in the sights of Paris at night while they waited for the call that their table is ready. The night's gentle breeze was stronger at that elevation and as Ginny gave a slight shiver Harry wrapped his arms around her from behind to keep her warm.

"Thank you Harry," she said softly.

"Just call me your personal warmer-uper," he joked.

"No not for that, although I do appreciate it," she clarified turning her head to look at him. "Thank you for today, tonight, everything, it's perfect."

"Just seeing the lights of Paris at night reflected in your eyes makes it all worth it to me," he replied before leaning down to kiss her throughly.

Just as they were breaking apart the Maitre de called their name. With a look of love flowing between them, Harry extended his arm to lead Ginny to their table.

"You know," Ginny said as she took she finished up her dinner, "we're never going to have this once we go home."

"Have what?" Harry asked.

"This kind of privacy," she explained gesturing around them. "I mean literally no one knows we are together except everyone at camp. We have had this whole summer to just be together and to do our own thing without any outside influences. No press or photographers hounding us for interviews or pictures, no pressure from my family... But when we go home that's all going to change."

"So in other words we're just going to go back to life as usual," he replied.

"But doesn't it ever bother you that that is life as ususal?" she asked taking another sip of champagne.

"I've accepted it as a part of my life, but it obviously bothers you," Harry said seriously. "I know we have had this conversation several times over the years, but I need you to know that all the unwanted attention is just part of the package of being in my life. I know you didn't like it when you were with old what's his face, but you know that it is going to be even worse with me. I need to know, can you handle that?" he asked sincerely.

Ginny thought this over for a moment before responding. She knew perfectly well what she was getting into and she knew her answer. "I may grow tired of it every once in a while, but being with you cancels out any of the negativity that comes with your name and fame."

Harry just smiled as he refilled both of the glasses and raised his glass up to meet hers in a toast. "To our life together, Ginny. May you never stop being the bright spot in mine."

"I'll drink to that."

Before they knew it the night was coming to a close and they were standing out in front of the Eiffel Tower waiting for the valet to bring the car around.

"What are you thinking about?" Harry asked when he noticed the thoughtful look on Ginny's face.

"I was just thinking that this whole night has been one of those moments that I would like to bottle up and keep in a box so I could take it out and always remember exactly how I feel right now," she shared.

"Well it would be a bowl not a box and it's called a Pensieve," he teased. "I can see if I can find you one if you would like," he offered.

Ginny rolled her eyes and stuck one hand on her hip. "Not exactly the romantic sentiment I was going for Potter. And besides in a Pensieve you can only watch the memory, I'm talking about re-experiencing the emotion."

"Alright," he conceded, "let me see if I can do better." He took her by the hand and led her to where the car had been recently re-parked.

She was confused when he didn't move to open the passenger side door for her or even make to get in the car himself, and she was even more confused when he leaned into the convertible so that he could reach the radio.

"I'm going to turn on this radio and what ever song is playing is going to forever remind you of today, this night, and this moment," he explained. "And whenever you hear this song you are going to feel exactly how you do right at this moment."

Ginny waited with baited breath as Harry turned on the radio hoping for the perfect song.

I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world
Made of plasitc, it's fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywh–

"Okaaaay," Harry said after turning off the radio quickly. "I'm going to turn this radio back on and this i second /i song that you are going to hear is going to be the one that will forever remind of how you feel tonight."

Ginny could see the pressure Harry was feeling on his face as his finger hovered above the preset buttons as he chose a new station and song. She secretly crossed her fingers for luck as he picked one.

When the world wasn't upside down, I could take all the time I had
But I'm not going to wait when a moment can vanish so fast

'Cuz every kiss is a kiss you can never get back

Lift me up in your eyes
If you told me that is what Heaven is, well, you'd be right
I've been waiting forever for this
This is the night

"Good choice," Ginny said with a smile as she listened to the lyrics.

"A little bit better than Aqua," Harry joked, looking proud of himself.

"Just a bit," she replied.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

"Here?"

"Where else?"

"Alright."

When the answer to all my dreams is as close as a touch away
Why am I here holding back what I'm trying to say?

Lift me up in your eyes
If you told me that is what Heaven is, well, you'd be right
Hold me close to your heart
I would go with you to the ends of the Earth and we'll fly
I've been waiting forever for this
This is the night

And in that moment it didn't matter that they were dancing in a parking lot at the base of the Eiffel Tower, Ginny knew that whenever she heard this song, their song, in the future she truly would think of this night and feel exactly how she felt at that moment.

This is the night where we capture forever and all our tomorrows begin
After tonight, we will never be lonely again

Absolutely Perfect.

A/N I know I know...Eiffel Tower is cliche and over done but what can I say, I had to do it, how could I resist?...hopefully it was enjoyable anyways... The songs mentioned in this chapter were Barbie Girl by Aqua and This is the Night by Clay Aiken which was a suggestion by my friend Child of Lost, also the Amber Hess song in the beginning is actually off of the Josie and the Pussycat soundtrack (what can I say I'm a summer camp counselor and we need to listen to appropriate music)...another chapter full of fluff as someone put in a review there has been a rash of teddy bear explosions...so are you guys enjoying the fluff or shall I bring back the angst?