All the Little Moments
A/N: I've been on a bit of a Harry/Ginny kick recently, and I was inspired to write this. This basically follows the few weeks Harry and Ginny were dating in Half-Blood Prince. None of these chapters will be long; these are just small, missing moments from Half-Blood Prince. This first chapter takes place directly after Chapter 24, where Harry kissed Ginny. I hope you enjoy! Remember, if you have any feedback or constructive criticism, feel free to write a review. I'm always eager to improve my writing skills.
Chapter 1: After the Kiss
"…Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match."
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, page 499
The sound of giggling and murmuring followed them out of the portrait hole, but by the time the Fat Lady's portrait swung shut, drowning out any trace of the noise, Harry had completely forgotten about it. For once, his mind was focused on only one thing. If someone had asked him, right then, why he'd had detention with Snape, he wouldn't be able to tell them. If Dumbledore had approached with information about the Horcruxes, it would have taken him a few minutes to remember what a Horcrux was.
I kissed Ginny, Harry thought, his grin widening, and she kissed me back. And Ron's okay with it!
Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this happy. All those months spent agonizing over Ginny seemed silly in retrospect. How many sleepless nights had he spent wishing he didn't like his best friend's sister? Now, here he was, walking next to her, together.
She does want us to be together, right? Harry froze at the thought. What if she doesn't like him? Maybe she was looking for a snog, or maybe she didn't really like him but hadn't wanted to embarrass him in front of everyone. Maybe she was taking him in on a walk so she could let him down gently.
"You alright, Harry?" Ginny asked.
Her voice brought him back to Earth. He noticed that she was standing awfully close to him, and her hand seemed to be inching towards his. He remembered the hard, blazing look she had given him before he kissed her, and this gave him enough confidence to take her hand. When she smiled and squeezed his hand, Harry gave a sigh of relief.
"Yeah," he replied. "I'm more than alright."
And so they continued walking, hands interlocked.
"So," said Ginny, "That was… unexpected."
"Well… yeah," said Harry lamely. "It was… kind of unexpected for me too."
"Oh?" said Ginny, raising an eyebrow slightly.
Harry felt his cheeks burn. "Well, I… I'd wanted to do that for a while, I just… I didn't expect to do it at that moment."
"So… what made you do it at that moment?"
Harry knew he must be as red as Ginny's hair. He stared at his shoes as he stuttered out a reply, praying he didn't sound sappy, "You… had this look in your eyes. You just- you just looked… happy. And…" He looked up, into Ginny's bright brown eyes, and continued. "You had your arms around me, and I just stopped thinking, I just… I just wanted to kiss you."
That wasn't so bad, Harry thought, as Ginny's eyes seemed to swim in euphoria. Talking to Ginny about personal things didn't feel as daunting as talking to Ron or Hermione. He remembered their talk in the library last year; she was the one person he'd told about his desire to see Sirius. How long had Ginny been there, willing to listen, someone he could talk to? How long had he known her before he finally opened his eyes and realised what was right in front of him?
They walked in silence for a few minutes before Ginny spoke again.
"You said you'd wanted to do that for a while. How long is 'a while'?"
"Well… I realised I liked you the day we walked in on you and Dean. Just seeing you together, like that… I wanted to tear him apart. But, I think I liked you before then. It probably started last summer."
"Well, at least one boy in the house didn't get stuck in the Phlegm," Ginny quipped.
It wasn't Ginny's funniest joke, but Harry laughed loudly, carefree, as the two of them walked onto the grounds. He felt lighter than he had in a long time. The last time he'd felt this happy was when they won the Quidditch Cup in his third year.
The couple continued to walk across the grounds, holding hands, hearing the grass crunch underneath their feet… and talking. There was a lot of talking. Harry remembered his disastrous date with Cho Chang last year, how they could barely talk to each other, how she fell to pieces in that dreadful coffee shop. He was amazed how much easier it was to talk to Ginny. He knew what they could talk about; he knew he could be himself around her; he knew she wasn't about to start playing hard to get or try to make him jealous or start sobbing on his shoulder. He knew all of this, because he knew Ginny. She'd been a part of his life for nearly six years, and the time when Ginny was too shy to talk to him was very far in the past. They'd gotten to know each other in the past two years, and now Harry knew that she wasn't just Ron's shy little sister. She was so much more than that.
There was still a slight twinge of awkwardness, mostly on Harry's part, but that was because this was new, and nerve-wracking. Harry didn't know whether he'd screw it up or it wouldn't work. But, as the flowery scent of Ginny's hair filled the air, he knew that his elation made up for any nervousness he was feeling.
"Ron's approval means a lot to you, doesn't it?" Ginny asked later, after they both sat down under a tree near the lake.
"Yeah, it does," confessed Harry, "It was my main concern."
Ginny laughed. "You ought not to have worried, then. Ron's been dropping hints for ages that he'd like me to go out with you."
"Really?" asked Harry, shocked.
"You didn't catch on? He's made multiple comments in front of you, and Ron's as subtle as Luna's fashion sense."
"No, he hasn't!" Harry protested.
"Wasn't Ron the one who suggested I go to the Yule Ball with you?"
"Yes, but-"
"Remember when I told you guys I'd broken up with Michael, and Ron told me to 'choose someone better next time', then looked right at you?"
Harry opened his mouth to dispute, but closed it immediately. He actually did remember what Ginny was talking about. "Huh. I didn't know that was what he was trying to say."
Ginny rolled her eyes, but she was still grinning from ear to ear.
"And everyone else won't mind?" Harry asked, now tracing circles on Ginny's hand with his thumb.
"Nah, Mum and Dad will be thrilled. They basically consider you a seventh son anyway. Bill and Charlie may sit you down for a talking-to, but it'll be alright. They all like you."
Once again, Harry gave a sigh of relief. The Weasleys were the closest thing he had to a family, and he would've hated to cause a rift by dating Ginny. The prospect of a stern warning from the oldest Weasley brothers, one of whom was tough enough to deal with dragons, was not exactly inviting, but he had a feeling that Ginny was worth the potential scare. Besides, Bill and Charlie had both been friendly to Harry whenever he was around, so they were bound to listen when assured them of his good intentions.
Well, he hoped they were.
Harry looked over at Ginny. Her flaming red hair was blowing gently in the wind, and she was looking at the lake, which seemed to be rippling slightly (was the giant squid just below the surface?) She had a look of contentment on her face. Harry only hesitated for a moment before bringing his hand up to brush her soft, flower-scented hair out of her face, so he could better see her eyes. Her haze drifted from the lake to him, and Harry, for the second time that day, leaned forward and kissed her.
This kiss was different to their first. Their first kiss had a definite air of excitement, but this one was softer, slower, and gentler. Harry cupped Ginny's soft, freckled cheek with the hand that wasn't holding hers. His heart raced as Ginny began to deepen the kiss, running her fingers through his messy hair. Harry felt like he could stay like this forever, but eventually, they broke apart. For the first time since his fourth year, he saw colour flood Ginny's cheeks, but she didn't avert her eyes or run away. She kept her gaze steady on him, and she flashed a crooked grin.
"So," Harry said, slightly breathless, "how was the match?"
A/N: Thanks to 'Boom Clap' by Charli XCX and 'Anna Sun' by WALK THE MOON for helping me write this chapter.