I do not own any of it

Tough Act to Follow

When Harry got home, he was in such a cranky mood that he didn't bother to change. He stripped off his robe, undid his tie, rolled up his sleeves and collapsed on the couch cursing Kingsley. He was beginning to think he'd explode if he didn't have Ginny. She'd invaded his system, he thought. And she'd be stuck there, irritating him, until he got her out again. He was contemplating going to her flat to do just that when there was a knock on the door.

"Who would be calling at this time of night?" He muttered as he got off the couch to answer the door.

He opened the door to Ginny.

She hadn't bothered to change. She was still in the purple gown she wore that evening. But her hair was no longer up, and she was smiling playfully at him. "Have you figured out what we are going to do about it?" She asked him, picking up the conversation from his office.

"Well, I was thinking about peeling that dress off of you."

She smirked. "Sounds good." Then she dove at him. He caught her in a kiss and began assaulting her lips with his. She opened them freely for his when they begged entrance.

She boosted herself up, wrapped her legs around his hips. "I want a bed this time." She told him, her breath was already tattered, as she tugged at his shirt. "We'll try out the floor later."

She raced her lips over his face and his neck. Her breath caught when he pushed her back against the wall. Her fingers fisted in his untidy hair. "This is just sex, right?"

"Yeah, right, whatever." His mouth crushed down on hers. "We're not going to make the bed."

Her heart hammered as he used his teeth on her. "Okay, next time." She managed as their hands were pulling at clothes; she thought she heard something rip.

He managed to hold on to her as both of them slid to the floor.

Sprawled over him, her heart racing, Ginny began to laugh. "At last. No real finesse, but a fine body and excellent staying power."

"We'll work on finesse when I'm not ready to howl at the moon."

She lifted her head, studied his face. "Are you finished?"

"Not hardly."

"Oh, good, because neither am I." She shifted, straddled him. "Harry?"

"Mmmm." He was looking at what she had on under that gown. He hadn't bothered to tear it off, and was glad for it now. He had seen the strapless deal that cinched at her waist and curved up high at the hips on other women before. But none of them filled it out like Ginny did. Stockings came up to her thighs and were hooked by little garters shaped like roses. His hands were already stroking up her torso.

"We probably need to set guidelines."

"Yeah. You want to get into that now?"

"No."

"Good. Me either."

She braced her hands on either side of his head, leaned down. "Bed?" She whispered.

He reared up and wrapped his arms around her. "Next time."

Later, she found herself face down on his bed. The sheets were tangled and hot. "Water," she croaked out. "I need water. I'll give you anything – wild sexual favors – if you'll just bring me a glass of water."

"You've already paid out the wild sexual favors."

"Oh, right." She patted his shoulder blindly. "Be a pal, Ace."

"Okay, but where are we."

"On the bed, we finally made it."

"Right," he staggered up, misjudged the direction as he wondered where he put his wand, and ran smartly into a chair.

Listening to his muttered curses, she smiled into the sheet. Merlin, he was cute. And incredible in bed. On the floor. Against the wall. On the table. New precedents had been set in her body. Harry Potter was going to be a very tough act to follow.

Lost for the moment in that thought, she yelped when Harry held the iced water to her bare shoulder. She gulped down half the glass.

"Hey, I thought you'd share."

"I didn't say anything about sharing."

"Then I want more sexual favors."

"You couldn't possibly."

"You know how much I like proving you wrong." She signed as his hand snuck up her thigh. "Let me show you just what I have in mind."

When she woke, she was alone. Light came in through the window. She could smell Harry's scent on the sheets. And then she heard his voice through the door. He must have been talking on the floo. She decided to just lay there until he was done. When she glanced over at the clock, she realized she hadn't been asleep for much longer than fifteen minutes. It was barely after seven, and the last time they'd collapsed it had been quarter to.

She'd never actually made love all night before. She hadn't believed it was possible.

When Harry walked back into the room, she couldn't help but grin. He was wearing nothing but wrinkled slacks that he hadn't bothered to fasten. She sighed at the sight of his toned chest.

"Good Morning." He said to her as he leaned down and kissed her. "You should still be sleeping."

"I woke up. Who were you talking to?"

"Just Romilda. She had some questions about Randle and Miles' upcoming trip to Asia. That and she wanted to know were I had gotten to after the ball. She couldn't find me and was worried."

Ginny smirked. "She doesn't need to worry about you. I'll look after you for her. Although she probably enjoyed the view during the conversation"

Harry smirked. "Hmm…are you enjoying the view? I was going to come and get back in bed. Fall asleep. But if you can't keep your hands off me, I guess I could manage a little longer"

"I think another orgasm might kill me."

"We wouldn't want that. I can give you a few hours to recoup if you want."

"Thanks. We really should establish some rules."

Harry sighed as he took off his slacks and climbed into bed. She seemed set on them having rules to their relationship. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, one, I don't want this to complicate our friendship. I treasure that to much. And two, I think we should keep this between us. I don't think my family would handle it well."

"You know they have been trying to get us together for years."

"But we aren't together. This is just sex for us. Neither of us is looking for a relationship and I don't want them to get their hopes up for nothing."

"Yeah. Okay." He sighed again. He knew it was just sex for Ginny, and he could live with that. "You're right. This would destroy them. I can live with keeping you a secret." He kissed her again. "I have one hard and fast rule of my own, though. I don't share." His voice got so possessive; her heart started beating a little faster. "As long as I'm shagging you, no one else does."

She hadn't expected that. She knew his past and how he went through girls. But she thought about it. If he could keep her going like he did last night, she wouldn't need another guy. "Alright. I can live with that, but I don't share either."

He smirked. "Sounds good to me."

"So," She continued. "We are still friends, we are only sleeping with each other and we are not telling anyone about it. Anything else?"

"Nothing that I can think of. Now sleep." He laid down his head and pulled her close to him. She snuggled against him and soon, both were asleep.

Ginny woke up a few hours later from a wonderful dream. She had been in Harry's bed, snuggled against him with his arm around her. It wasn't until she tried to move that she realized there really was an arm around her, and that she really was in Harry's bed. Good thing it wasn't a dream, she thought to herself as she stretched, she wanted to make love to him again and didn't think he would be willing if he hadn't participated the first time. She glanced at the clock as she got out of his bed. It was 10:30 and she was supposed to meet Hermione at noon. She sighed as she thought about having to apperate back to her flat in her ball gown. She hoped that her flat mates wouldn't be there to notice.

"Where are you going?" came the lazy, sleepy voice of Harry as she opened the bedroom door to find where he had thrown her clothes the night before.

"Oh, you scared me, I thought you were asleep."

"So you were sneaking out on me, hopping not to wake me?" He got out of bed and walked toward her.

"Well, no, I just didn't want to disturb your sleep."

"Where are you going?" he asked her again.

"I have to meet Hermione."

"When?"

"Noon."

He looked at the clock. "That's more than an hour away. I wonder what we could do in 90 minutes." He leaned into her. Instinctively, she put her hands on his chest, regretted it immediately as she noticed how strong it was.

"I have to have time to get ready, Ace."

He just laughed and picked her up. "Okay then, we can find something to do for 30 minutes." He smiled at her as he carried her to the bed, dropped her on it and jumped on her. It was an hour before she made it back to her flat.