A/N: House: Hufflepuff | Category: Short story | Prompt: "Fly with me," | Word Count: 1,615

"Fly with me," Ginny demanded brightly as she grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him off the common room sofa. Harry couldn't help but smile at her exuberance.

"Didn't you say you needed to study for your O.W.L.'s today? Not that I'm complaining…I just don't need another lecture from Hermione about how selfish I am for keeping you from your studies," he said, grinning. She rolled her eyes.

"A break won't kill me. I'd hate to waste such a nice day," she lilted, batting her eyelashes exaggeratedly.

"You don't have to convince me, Gin. You can save the theatrics for Hermione," he laughed.

"Brilliant!" she exclaimed happily and proceeded to tug him through the portrait hole and down to the Quidditch pitch.

They mounted their brooms, kicked off, and with a quick glance at each other they began to race across the pitch. Harry felt the tension leave his body as the wind whipped through his hair. He savored these moments with Ginny when he could be free, if only briefly, from the heavy weight of Voldemort and his horcruxes.

"Is that the best you can do?" Ginny taunted, smirking back at him. He had begun to lag behind, happy to admire Ginny as she flew ahead, but at her comment he sped up to match her pace.

"Not a chance," he whispered as he flew close to her before taking off and leaving her to chase him.

"You're on, Potter!" she shouted with a delighted laugh before tearing after him.

"Fly with me."

Harry was sitting in the tall grass behind the Burrow, head in his hands. He had not heard Ginny approach, but at her words he looked up to find her standing before him, her hands pulling at the frayed sleeves of her oversized sweater. A cool breeze whispered through the trees and ruffled Harry's already messy hair as he studied her. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, but he figured his probably looked the same. Everyone's eyes held such sadness these days. She raised her eyebrows and held a steady hand out to him. He took it and offered her a tired smile, which she returned. They walked in comfortable silence to the broom shed, but when Ginny reached for her broom, Harry shook his head.

"Let's share mine," he suggested as he mounted his broom.

She smiled warmly and nodded before climbing on and wrapping her arms tightly around him. He took off and cruised leisurely around the makeshift pitch behind the Burrow, the crisp night air helping to clear his head. Ginny tucked her head into his neck and he smiled contentedly as he felt her lips press against his skin. He turned his head slightly so he could meet her eyes, and in that moment, he knew they understood each other perfectly. No words were needed to express their sadness for the past, worry for the future, or their present joy to simply be alive and together. Harry knew that they would have plenty of challenges to face in the morning, between the remaining free Death Eaters and the funerals they had yet to attend, but he couldn't stop the feeling that everything would be alright as long as Ginny was by his side.

"Fly with me!" Harry was awakened by Ginny's exasperated voice and an impatient yet gentle pinch on his arm.

"'S too early, Gin…go back to sleep," he replied groggily, tightening his arms around her and burying his face further into her neck.

"It's never too early for a nice fly with my husband," she enthused.

Despite having been married for nearly two months, she still put heavy emphasis on the word 'husband' every time she said it, which was quite often. Harry felt himself smiling despite himself and he pulled his face back to meet her bright brown eyes. His heart warmed as he took in the excited hopefulness written all over her face and he knew he could never say no to any request she made when she looked at him like that. Something in his expression must have given this away, for she emitted a victorious shout and scrambled off the bed, pulling him with her.

"Ha! I knew you'd say yes," she gloated.

"Technically, I haven't said anything," he responded wryly, still smiling. She pinched his arm lightly again.

"You know what I mean," she huffed as they both began dressing for the day.

"We are eating breakfast first, right?" Harry asked. She looked at him as if he had sprouted two heads.

"Harry. I may be a Potter now, but I am also still a Weasley, which means breakfast—and every other meal, for that matter—is still sacred. Of course, we're eating breakfast first!"

"Just checking," he laughed. "You seemed so eager to get out and fly I thought you had forgotten."

"I would never forget about breakfast," she replied seriously, but he saw her fighting to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up.

"Well let's get to it then! We're wasting prime flying hours," he said as they hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Well, if someone had woken up earlier, we could've been out there by now," she grumbled. He brushed her off.

"Toast and eggs?" he asked.

"Perfect!" She beamed at him as he prepared breakfast.

As soon as they finished eating, they sent their dishes to the sink and raced out the door to collect their brooms. Ginny was the first in the air and he watched her appreciatively for a moment before taking off after her. Not for the first time, he thanked whatever power had brought them together. Moments like these were exactly what they had fought so hard for, and he was grateful to share them all with her.

"Fly with me," Ginny whispered. She paused and tilted her head to listen for any sounds from upstairs.

"What about the kids?" Harry whispered back. They were sitting in the living room, Ginny's head resting in his lap as he read over case files from work. He set aside the file he was working on and peered down at her.

"They're sound asleep. They aren't little anymore, Harry. They'll be all right if we sneak out for an hour. Besides, we'll be nearby if they need us," she reasoned.

"I guess so…" he trailed off, still uncertain. She sat up and kissed him slowly before pulling away. He marveled that his lips still tingled every time she did that.

"Please?" she breathed. He found himself nodding before he could form a rational thought. She grinned.

"Your skills in persuasion are unfair," he pouted.

"Oh stop, it's not like you don't use the same tactics on me," she reminded him with a wink.

"Fair point," he ceded, gently pushing her up from his lap. She jumped up and he followed, pausing to stretch out his stiff joints.

"Old man," she teased.

"Hey, you're not much younger!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm still faster," she said, a familiar competitive gleam in her eyes.

"Oh, you are, are you?"

"Mm-hm." She was examining her nails unconcernedly.

"I think we're going to have to test that theory, because I'm not so sure," he drawled.

"Fine by me. Just don't be too upset when I kick your arse."

"We'll see about that." He laughed quietly so as not to wake the kids and took her hand. Warm summer air greeted them as they stepped outside and grabbed their brooms.

"First one to that tree and back wins," Ginny stated, pointing to a tall tree towards the far end of their property. He nodded and they mounted their brooms.

"On three. One…two…three!"

They kicked off and began speeding towards the tree, neck and neck with each other. Harry pressed closer to his broom to gain speed, but Ginny was already inching ahead of him. She tossed a smug grin over her shoulder at him as she sped ahead and he narrowed his eyes in response. They were rapidly approaching the tree and Harry was finally gaining on Ginny, much to her displeasure.

He saw the muscles in her back tense and the concentrated blazing look on her face and smiled to himself. Even mid-race, he still couldn't help but admire her beauty. He mentally shook himself and concentrated. He was even with her now, but it was taking a lot of effort to remain so. Five seconds later, they reached the starting point and touched down with identical thuds. They hesitated and glanced at each other; neither could tell who had landed first.

"That was close, but I definitely landed about a half-second before you," Ginny asserted confidently, her eyes daring him to contradict her.

"You did, did you? I didn't realize you had such keen powers of observation," he snorted. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, I do," she replied, but couldn't keep the laughter from her voice. "Fine, I really don't know who won," she relented.

"That's what I thought," he said smugly, pulling her into his arms and kissing the side of her head. "Call it a tie?"

"Fine, but I'm not happy about it," she groused, but she was smiling. He sighed happily and nudged her.

"Let's keep flying. We still have plenty of time and it's such a nice night," he suggested, glancing up at the bright stars overhead.

She agreed and they ascended into the air again, this time flying close together and slowly drifting their way around the property as they chatted about their days. Harry had never felt more normal, which, to him, was the best feeling in the world.