A/N: This is a special story for Hazza because I love her. Also, I was today years old when I learned how to properly pronounce her name and I'm always going to get it wrong from now on.
Some days, Harry really hated being an Auror. Not most days, fortunately. If it had been most days, he'd likely have gone the way of Ron months ago and would now be working, not at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, but somewhere else that was not the Ministry. A broom shop, maybe, which is what he sometimes joked to Ginny he'd like to do when the paperwork from all his cases piled up and kept him at the office and away from her.
It wasn't paperwork that was keeping him away from her right now though, it was a mission. Usually, being apart from Ginny for a mission was acceptable, just the way being apart from her when she played away games for the Harpies was acceptable, because of all the doing what they loved and absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. Plus, the sex when they came back together was always spectacular.
This mission was unacceptable because it wasn't supposed to have been a mission but a meeting with a witness and moreover, the meeting wasn't supposed to have included Harry at all. He'd been scheduled off yesterday while the Harpies weren't playing either, and he and Ginny had made elaborate plans to spend the entire day alone at Grimmauld Place and naked. Harry had just begun warding the fireplaces when the message arrived that the schedule had been bollocksed but it was only when he and his partners had knocked on the door of the "witness" that they realized the investigation had been bollocksed too.
And now it was nearly eighteen hours later and Harry was stuck - trapped really - in a barn with Lisa Turpin and Lee Jordan. The soft peal of a bell broke the silence.
"Time to try again," said Lee unnecessarily. Mechanically they all moved to separate corners of the barn to send their Patronuses, just like they'd been doing every hour according to protocol. So far, they'd gotten no response. This time though, after sending his stag's message to his three Ministry contacts, Harry looked at his partners.
"I'm going to send one to Ginny," he said. They'd had this argument already, but that had been six hours ago and protocol be damned.
His message was brief and apologetic, the chastised bloke begging himself back into his girlfriend's good graces. He knew Ginny would understand his words, assuming she heard them. They didn't have to wait long.
"Harry James Potter, you have a lot of explaining to do!" The silvery doe paced back and forth across the barn much as Harry imagined Ginny had paced when she created it. He leaned forward to listen, drinking in the sound of her voice. "What do you mean, you must have heard the wrong name of the barn? How many barns are there where we could go on a romantic ride for our anniversary? How could you be so careless?" Ginny's voice rose an octave with each sentence. She sounded like a properly pissed-off girlfriend but Harry knew the real source of the stress in her tone. He looked at Lisa and Lee.
"Does it have a tracking charm?" he asked tersely as the doe faded away.
Lee nodded. "They should be here . . ."
"HARRY JAMES POTTER, YOU'D BETTER GET OUT HERE AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"
"Now," he finished.
Harry's heart leapt into his throat. Of course they'd had to send her. He looked at Lisa and Lee for a long moment.
"We will, Harry." Lisa answered his unspoken request. "Now go to her."
The wards had been taken down; they'd been twigged. But Harry continued to play his role. He emerged with a sheepish expression firmly in place and his wand still out of sight. She was standing farther away than he liked, her back exposed to open fields and he didn't like that either. "Ginny, I'm sorry," he began, fighting the urge to run up and grab her and whisk her away. He wouldn't have made it all the way across the garden, he knew.
"Sorry? Sorry? You missed our anniversary because of your failure to pay attention to details and all you can say is that you're sorry?" Ginny roughly pushed a piece of hair out of her face. Her eyes blazed and Harry hoped that to anyone watching, it looked like anger.
He forced himself to ignore the movements he saw out of the corner of his eye; part of being an Auror meant trusting your team. He held up his hands in a placating manner. "I really thought you told me to meet you at Brown Barrel Barn. I was so confused when you weren't here." The movements were getting closer and he saw Ginny's glance flick to the right. Don't let them know yet, he begged silently. Ginny shook her head.
"I said Mead Barrel Barn, you idiot, you were sitting right across from me drinking coffee when I . . .Protego!"
Harry whirled around and blasted a figure creeping up from the right just as Ginny managed to raise her shield. There was a shout and suddenly the garden in front of the barn was full of cloaked and masks figures and - thank Merlin - at least a dozen Aurors.
"Harry, cover the innocent!" someone - Gawain - shouted but the direction was unnecessary; Harry was already making his way to her. Ginny was still too far away though - all the way on the other side of the makeshift battlefield - and before he could get close an enormous explosion rent the air behind him. The barn. Something heavy and hot hit Harry's back, throwing him off balance and sending a brief searing pain into his shoulders and then lower. He shook it off, never once losing sight of his girlfriend through the smoke.
She was fighting valiantly against two black-clad figures, dodging their spells as neatly as she dodged Bludgers when she flew. But two against one wasn't easy and only when Harry crept closer did he understand why their hexes flew more slowly than most. They were taunting her, in between curses.
"Do you blow your Savior boyfriend with that mouth?" one of them jeered as Ginny screamed a stunning spell. He flicked it away with a spell of his own. "Why don't you get on your knees right here and I'll show you what a real man needs?"
The other man's hex found the center of Ginny's chest and he began pulling her forward as if she was bound by an invisible rope. "Look how easy I'm making her come!" he crowed. "I bet Potter can't do that!"
Ginny's eyes narrowed and she spat out a reply Harry couldn't hear over the blood boiling in his ears. He wasn't close enough yet but it didn't matter. Even as he watched Ginny twist herself out of the binding hex and raise her wand Harry slashed the air once and then again. Power crackled across the ground between him and Ginny's attackers and they crumpled where they stood. A shout went up behind him. "That's the last of them!" someone said. "Bind and transport time!"
Harry didn't hear anything else. His vision tunneled as Ginny ran towards him and threw herself into his arms. He wrapped himself around her and breathed in her scent, feeling them both tremble.
"You were spectacular," he murmured. She leaned back to look at him.
"I was so scared," she admitted, although her expression was more angry than frightened. "When you you didn't come back and then no one at the Aurors could find you and Lisa and Lee. Or even get a message." She looked over at the smoldering ruins of the barn. "Is that where you've been?"
Harry nodded. "I'm sorry." Now that the danger was gone the import of what had happened - what he'd made happen - was weighing down on him. "They set me up; set us up. They knew I'd contact you when I couldn't reach anyone else." He buried his face in Ginny's hair "I shouldn't have put you in danger."
"Of course it was a set up; and I agreed to it." Ginny spoke firmly. "I was with the Aurors when your message came, and they gave me a choice." She looked at him, her expression fierce. "I chose you."
Harry wouldn't have expected anything less and he gave in easily. "I'm glad you did." He peered into Ginny's eyes. "But are you okay? No one hurt you?" He scowled. "I heard what those blokes said." He brushed his hand across her chest where the last spell had hit her.
"As if they - or anyone could ever match you in bed," she responded with a smirk. Harry knew she was trying to make light of the situation. He smirked back.
"I think maybe I have something to prove." He glanced at the two bound figures on the ground nearby. "Not to them, though." The adrenaline of the last day was draining away but Harry felt anything but tired. He caught his boss's eye. "I've been ordered to cover the innocent, and I don't think I should contradict Gawain." His smirk deepened. "Or tell him that innocent might not be the most accurate description.
Ginny shifted against him. "If I'm not innocent there's only one person to blame, you know." She turned her hip into him and Harry groaned. "But please, feel free to corrupt me more."
Without another word, Harry spun them both on the spot and brought them back to Grimmauld Place. Before Ginny could say a word he was marching around the bedroom setting ward after ward. "If I remember correctly we were supposed to spend the entire day naked." He thought of something. "But that was your day off yesterday; you have to be at the stadium soon, don't you?" He tried not to let his disappointment show in his voice. "Maybe when the game is over?"
"You were missing Harry; do you really think I was planning to hop off to the stadium for a match?" Ginny rose on her toes and pressed a harsh kiss to his mouth. "Gwenog knows I won't be there until you're safe."
Harry kissed her back. "Am I safe yet?" he mumbled against Ginny's lips. He felt her shake her head.
"You have no idea just how much danger you're in, Potter. I'd suggest constant vigilance for the rest of the night and well into tomorrow." She shrugged. "Besides, we're playing the Cannons. This will be good practice for our reserves."
Harry pulled back. "Do I dare ask how much harder your decision to stay would be if you were playing Puddlemere?"
"Best not, and be grateful it's the Cannons," said Ginny with mock solemnity. She gave a delicate sniff. "Do you mind if we start the sex in the shower? I didn't want to say anything during all your heroics but you smell like a barn, Harry. And not in a good way."
"Is there a good way to smell like a barn?" Harry wrapped his arms more tightly around Ginny and rubbed himself against her in an exaggerated motion. "Are you saying this isn't what you'd smell in your Amertentia?"
Ginny laughed and swatted at him. "If you don't want to get naked with me, just keep doing that." She stepped back and pulled her shirt over her head and then reached back to unhook her bra. "Your choice."
It wasn't a choice at all, of course. Harry wanted to be naked with Ginny even if he hadn't been wearing these clothes for nearly 24 hours now. He started to pull his t-shirt over his head. "Ow, shit," he said, surprised at the sudden pain. "It's stuck." He turned around and heard her sharp intake of breath.
"You're bleeding, or you were; it looks like it's mostly dried now. What happened?" Her fingers touched Harry's back and he flinched. "Sorry," she said quickly.
"The barn when it exploded," he said. "Something hit me." Normally his Auror robes would have provided some protection but he'd taken them off when Ginny had arrived to perpetuate the image of him as boyfriend-in-trouble. He tried to twist his head around to see and in doing so discovered his neck hurt too. "How bad is it?"
"I can't tell until the shirt is off and right now it's stuck to your skin. I think we should get in the shower and I'll work it off there." GInny's voice was calm but there was an undercurrent of tension in it.
"It's okay, Ginny, I told you I'd shower with you; no need to invent a medical emergency." Harry turned around and smoothed away the worry on her brow. "I'm not very hurt; I didn't even realize I was in pain until just now," he said gently. She bit her lip before nodding.
"It just looks like a lot of blood; I wasn't expecting that." Her voice shook the tiniest bit.
"I didn't even realize," he said again. He took a step forward. "But I'd really like it if you'd check the rest of me too; just to make sure." He cupped Ginny's chin in his hand and leaned down, ignoring the tug of fabric and skin.
It worked; Ginny opened her mouth under Harry's kiss and melted against him. Only when her hands found his back again and Harry gave a small start of surprise did she pull away. "Apparently I need to heal you before I can touch you properly," she said critically. Harry was glad to hear the worry was gone from her tone. She grabbed at his belt. Come on, if you're going to have to keep your shirt on at least let me see the good stuff."
Harry laughed. "Lucky me that I get to see some of your 'good stuff' before you even take off your trousers. He brushed his thumb across her nipple and hummed in satisfaction when it immediately puckered. He started to cup Ginny's other breast and she swatted his hand away.
"Not until you're healed," she said primly.
"I can't even touch you? That seems rather unfair to both of us."
Ginny shook her head while she unbuttoned her jeans and then pushed them down with her knickers. "I can wait," she said pointedly, looking down below Harry's waist. "You seem to be finding this a bit . . . harder."
"I bet you'd like to find it a bit 'harder,'" Harry quipped back. If that's the way Ginny wanted to play it then he was happy to oblige. Besides, although he'd never tell her, his back really was starting to hurt. All their banter and whatever came afterwards would be much more enjoyable if he wasn't wincing every time he tried to move.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Terrible, Harry," she said. She took him by the hand and led him into the bathroom. "I'm going to put on that rainfall setting; it will be the most gentle on your back."
Sex aside, Harry had to admit he liked how solicitous Ginny was being. Normally, injuries in the field were attended to as hastily as possible in the moment and then better repaired later by the Ministry matron, an excellent healer with almost no bedside manner. Now, feeling Ginny's hands ghost across his skin as she carefully tugged at his ruined shirt Harry was almost glad she'd made him wait for more. Almost.
Finally the last bit of fabric released and Harry felt the sting of water on his raw skin. "There's dittany in the cabinet," he gasped. "The purple bottle works in the water." He groaned in relief as Ginny applied the potion and the pain receded.
"It's working really well," she said with satisfaction.
"That means the cuts must not have been deep; it's not as quickly effective on bigger wounds." Harry didn't want to think about the times dittany hadn't worked as well though. He turned around. "Seems like you promised me something once I was healed," he said, reaching for Ginny's chest and ignoring the lingering ache when he raised his arm. She shook her head, backing up just out of his grasp.
"I'm not done yet; the cuts are gone but your back is still one big bruise." She reached out and poked at Harry side. "I thought so," she said when he winced. She held up her wand. "Fortunately, this type of healing magic is my specialty." She turned Harry around and he expected to feel the tap of her wand followed by the characteristic heat of the unbruising spell on his skin.
Instead, Ginny began trailing featherlight kisses across his back. Her fingers tickled over his skin next and only when Harry was nearly writhing with how good it felt did she actually use her wand. "Lean forward a bit," she whispered and Harry braced his hands on the tiled wall in front of him. Ginny touched his shoulder and then his side but it wasn't until he felt her breasts against his back that he realized the healing session might be coming to an end.
"Ginny, what are you . . .yessss," he hissed, all previous thoughts cut off when Ginny reached her arms around his waist and grasped his erection. She had both hands on him and Harry gave an involuntary thrust. "Wait," he said, trying to force at least a small bit of blood flow back into his brain. "I thought . . . you . . .your breasts . . .you said I could touch them," he finally burst out. "When you were done healing me." Despite his words, he thrust again.
"I changed my mind, sorry." Ginny did not sound the least bit apologetic. "I'm going to wash you properly now."
"All . . . ahem, all of me?" Harry was finding it more difficult to make his mouth work.
One of Ginny's hands moved and she began soaping Harry's chest. "Well, normally I'd be all coy and say something like 'only the important bits,' but like I said earlier, that barn." She moved her second hand to wash his side. He turned around.
"Or I could take over the serious cleaning and you could get started playing with the important bits now." He removed the soap from her hand and began using it on himself. "And then we could get in bed and continue playing there, because in addition to how it smelled, I'll remind you that the barn was sorely lacking in any place to sleep. The best I could do was transfigure a pile of straw into a slightly bigger pile of straw." He gave Ginny what he hoped was a look that conveyed absolutely everything he wanted to do to her in the bed.
Ginny didn't even hesitate. "I'll do my best not to make you come before you're clean but I make no promises," she said, reaching for him again. Harry's hips bucked.
"I'd better wash myself as quickly as possible then," he said, leaning into her touch.