1Chapter 16: the perfect evening

Tonight's the night, thought Harry as he made his way down the busy streets of muggle London, his arms weighed down with shopping bags. Ginny was coming over to his flat to stay the night and he wanted to cook her a romantic dinner. He had never actually cooked a full meal before but Hermione came over to his flat the night before and helped him get everything prepared.

After his lunch with Hermione at the Leaky Cauldron, he had gone back to the Burrow and talked Ginny into telling her parents she would be staying the night with him. To their surprise, Mrs. Weasley did not get mad. Instead she pulled Ginny into her bedroom for a talk. When she emerged an hour later, she had looked absolutely mortified and avoided looking at Harry until he had left to return to his flat.

'Ok, now I just need to get the candles', he said to himself, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and glancing around at the stores. Finding the one he was looking for he crossed the street. The door to the shop opened just as he reached it and he was knocked backwards, dropping one of his bags.

He made to pick up his bag and saw a hand reach down and grab it, handing it out to him.

'Thanks . . .', began Harry. He looked up, and standing in front of him was Dudley.

'Dudley, how are you?', he asked in surprise.

'Hey, Harry', said Dudley, glancing nervously behind him. Harry followed his gaze into the shop and saw his Aunt Petunia standing at the register.

'Perfect', muttered Harry. Before he had time to leave, he saw Petunia turn from the checkout counter and spot him standing next to Dudley.

Dudley glanced over at Harry fearfully and mouthed the words "I'm sorry" just before Petunia stepped out of the shop. She stood for a moment next to Dudley, giving Harry a cold, appraising look. Deciding not to let this encounter ruin his day, he forced a smile on this face and said as pleasantly as he could, 'Hello, Aunt Petunia. How are you?'.

Petunia's lips pursed over her horsey teeth as she grabbed Dudley by the arm and led him down the street with Dudley giving him apologetic looks over his shoulder. Harry chuckled to himself as he watched them walk away.

When he deemed his shopping complete, he made his way back to his flat, heaving himself up the four floors and tapping his wand on the door to open it. He sighed as he gently sat his bags on the floor and flopped down on the sofa. He was forced to travel the muggle way ever since his accident and had almost forgot how exhausting it could be. After he caught his breath, he made his way into the kitchen to start dinner and set up his small dining room table. Ginny said she would be there at seven and the closer it got to that time, the more nervous he became. He was in the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner when he heard the sound of someone apparating. He had adjusted the wards so Ginny could apparate directly into his flat after she had turned up at his front door his first morning there, slightly irritated.

'Harry?', he heard her call from the next room.

'In here', he called from the kitchen, pulling two plates from his cabinet.

Ginny sat her bag down on the floor and looked around the small flat. Her eyes fell on a small table set up in the dining room draped in a white table cloth with two tapered candles and a single red rose and smiled.

'Something smells good', she said, walking into the kitchen. Harry was standing in from of the stove with his back to her. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He turned to face her and she stood on her tip toes to give his a kiss.

'Dinner will be ready in a sec', he announced, turning back to the stove.

'Can I help you with anything?', she asked.

'Uh . . . you could grab the bottle of wine out of the fridge if you don't mind', he said.

Ginny moved over to the fridge and pulled a bottle of red wine out, removing the cork. Harry reached up in the cabinet and pulled down two wine glasses and passed them to her before filling their plates with roast chicken and vegetables.

Once they were seated, Harry filled both of their wine glasses. Raising his, he said, 'To us'.

'To us', repeated Ginny, also raising her glass.

'I'm glad you came over tonight', said Harry, taking a sip of his wine and placing the glass back on the table.

'Me too, Harry', said Ginny.

'I really wanted to do something nice for you before you left. Besides, you did say I owed you dinner', said Harry.

'This is wonderful', said Ginny, taking a bit of her chicken.

'Thanks', said Harry. 'Although, I can't take all the credit. Hermione helped me out a lot', he added.

'Oh, that reminds me', said Ginny. 'Have you seen the Daily Prophet today?', she asked.

'No. Don't have a subscription here yet and I've been wandering around muggle London all day. Why?', he said.

Ginny said nothing. Instead she got up and walked over to her bag, pulling out a copy of the newspaper and shaking it open. Trying to suppress her laughter, she handed the paper to Harry. There on the front page was a picture of he and Hermione at the Ministry, their arms linked together next to a photo of he and Ginny taken a few weeks earlier under the headline "Is the 'Chosen One' a cheater?".Underneath the headline the article began: "Harry Potter, savior of the Wizarding world, caught in the midst of a midday outing with long time friend, Hermione Granger. Long time girlfriend, Ginny Weasley, could not be reached for comment . . . "

Harry looked up from the paper and he and Ginny burst into hysterical peals of laughter. 'Does Hermione know about this?', he asked.

'She's the one who showed it to me', said Ginny. 'She was absolutely furious. I just thought it was hilarious.'

'When did the Prophet become a gossip magazine?', asked Harry, still laughing and setting the paper down. 'You know, now that I think about it, I thought I saw a reporter lurking in the Ministry that day.'

'At least I know you could never cheat and get away with it', said Ginny, grinning at him.

'You know I would never do that', said Harry, reaching across the table and taking her hand.

'Of course I know that, Harry', said Ginny. 'I was only kidding', she added, squeezing his hand.

'I know I said this before, but I'm really glad we did this tonight', said Harry.

'Yea. It is nice to actually spend time with you without my family interrupting', said Ginny.

'Too bad we won't be able to do this again for a while', said Harry, standing up from the table and pulling her to her feet.

'I guess we should make the most of it then', said Ginny as she stood.

Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tip toes, kissing him. Harry wove his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. Ginny's hands left his neck and slowly worked their way down his chest, unbuttoning his shirt. When she undid the last button, she slid her hands up his bare chest and pushed his shirt over his shoulders and down his arms until it fell to the floor.

Harry gasped at the feel of her hands on his chest. He tightened his grip around her waist and slid his hands up her back, bunching her shirt. He broke the kiss and looked down into her eyes. She nodded and raised her arms, allowing him to pull her jumper over her head. When it fell to the ground, Ginny reached down to undo the button on his pants. Harry kicked off his trainers and stepped out of his jeans when they slid down his legs. He picked up his wand from the table and led her into the bedroom. With a flick of his wand about a hundred candles flickered to life. Harry gathered her in his arms and brought his mouth down to hers, walking her slowly to the bed and laying her down gently. She hastily undid the fastening on her jeans and worked them down her legs. She reached up and grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him down on top of her as they worked themselves out of their remaining clothing.

Trembling, Harry propped himself above Ginny as she wrapped her legs around his waist, each gazing deeply into the others eyes.

'Are you sure, Gin?', asked Harry, hesitantly.

Ginny nodded. He bent down and gently pressed his lips to hers.

'I love you', he whispered.

'I love you too.'

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'Did I hurt you?', asked Harry, slightly breathless as he sat up in bed.

'No', said Ginny, also sitting up and pulling the sheet up over her chest.

'Are you hungry?', he asked. 'We really didn't eat much dinner.'

Ginny laughed. 'Yea, I guess you could say we were a bit preoccupied', she said.

Harry slid to the edge of the bed and reached down, grabbing his boxers off the floor. Standing, he quickly slid them on as Ginny stood up and wrapped the sheet around herself.

'You know, I'm not really hungry', said Ginny picking up her abandoned wine glass from the table. Harry walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing the side of her neck.

'Wanna go sit on the balcony?', he asked. 'It's a really nice night.'

'Yes, it is', she said, smiling and leaning back in his arms. Harry grabbed his wine glass from the table and the half empty bottle of wine and led her out on the balcony where they spent the rest of the evening wrapped in one another's arms.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!!! :)