DISCLAIMER
Harry Potter and his world belongs to J.K Rowling, I'm only trying to kill my boredom by playing with it. I was inspired by „Summer's Breeze" written by st122
As usual at free evenings, especially on Friday, Ginny sat comfortably with a book and tea on a window sill and occasionally looked outside at people passing by, often accompanied by dogs. Sometimes, especially when she saw couples, she wondered what it would feel like, if she had someone who would love her for her. Just Ginny, her usual passionate, tender and sensitive yet incredibly fiery, strange, a little awkward, and grumpy (especially on early mornings!) self. Would it feel good if instead of sleeping alone, she could fall asleep with a warm body cuddling her and wake up to the face of one person she would want to spend the rest of her life with? That was the other problem; Ginny was simply missing a closeness. All her life she constantly had her family beside her. Even if her brothers were most of the time gits, she could count on them. She missed that feeling when she could just blur out everything that was bothering her to someone she trusted, or the hugs her parents would give her if she was sad and upset. Here, in the muggle world, she only had Elise whom she has barely known for a few months. Ginny has almost forgotten about the invitation that came from that bloke who hit her. She dismissed that offer instantly without putting any thought into it.
After a ton of thinking, and bashing the guy from the crash, Ginny came to the conclusion that he was right. It was both of them fault. The only reason why she remembered his offer was his last words after she laughed off in his face that he didn't know her address. 'That's not a problem at all' What does that even mean? Would he magically find her domicile just like that? She doubted that but you can never be sure. If she was truthful with herself, she found that guy really attractive and she was a little flattered when he asked her out, not that she would ever admit it to him, or anyone else for that matter.
Just imagine her surprise when the doorbell suddenly rang. She got up quickly and very quietly sneaked through her bedroom and hallway. As she arrived at the door, she carefully looked through the peephole trying to see who dared to disturb her peace. Ginny was half expecting to see the guy that asked her out but luckily, it was just an old lady from the upper floor. Letting out a breath she didn't realise she was holding, she opened the door.
"How can I help you?" Ginny asked kindly.
"Oh, good evening dear," The old lady smiled, "I'm sorry to bother you at such a late hour. I was just wondering if you don't seem to have a cup of sugar. You see, my grandchildren just called and told me that they will be visiting tomorrow and I was hoping to make some treats for them.
"Oh, of course, give me a moment and I'll see what can be done."
After spending a few minutes in the kitchen searching for sugar which wasn't easy as Ginny usually used honey, she returned to the kind lady who was waiting for her.
"Here you are!"
"Oh! Thank you so much, dearie, that's very kind of you! Now, I won't bother you any longer. Good Night!"
Biting her lip Ginny asked the lady before she turned to leave, "Err, I was wondering if you haven't seen a tall young man with black hair around here?" Ginny asked somewhat awkwardly.
"Oh,! You are waiting for your boyfriend, aren't you?
"No! He certainly is not my boyfriend!" Ginny replied putting a strong emphasis on 'not'.
The old lady chuckled, "Of course not! At least not yet, but looking at what a beautiful young woman you are, it won't last long!" she said still chuckling.
"I…He...Err...We-," Ginny was trying to defend herself incoherently.
"There is no need to be so ashamed dear! I was your age once and I know what is to be young and so in love! I still remember…"
After half an hour of the old lady telling Ginny how she had met and fallen in love with her late husband she finally left leaving Ginny totally mentally tired. She really liked this kind woman, but seriously, she didn't need to know the entire love story.
Ginny felt relieved when she realised that the guy hasn't come to her, but deep down she felt a little disappointed.
Not even fifteen minutes have passed and the doorbell rang again. Taking a deep breath to lose some frustration she felt, Ginny stormed to open the door and tell this intruder off. Maybe it was because of anger that someone interrupted her reading time again, maybe because of her confidence that the guy won't show up, or maybe because of both of those things together, she hadn't looked through the peephole before opening the door. She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks looking like an idiot with her mouth wide open and blood drained from her face. He was standing there, a little awkward with a nice little smile on his handsome face. When he saw her, his smile widened.
"Hello there!" He greeted.
"What. Are. You. Doing. Here." Ginny hissed through clenched teeth.
"What am I doing here? Why, I came to take you to our little rendezvous of course!" Harry managed to give her his most charming smile, which, judging by the girl's scowl didn't work.
"And how, may I ask, you genius concluded that I would agree to this? Wait, how do you even know where I live?"
"Err, your friend told me."
"No, she wouldn't-," Ginny began denying but quickly stopped, "She actually did, didn't she?" She finished with a frown.
"Er, yes, I just said that."
"Right. Thanks for the information I needed. Now, I think it's the best time for you to leave. Goodnight!" Said Ginny closing the door.
Harry reacted fast and blocked the door with his feet before it closed completely. "It's not kind to close the door in someone's face," Harry said unimpressed. He was well aware that being annoying and obtrusive wasn't the best way to a girl's heart, but he was too stubborn to accept being rejected in such a way.
"I don't care if I'm being rude to someone so annoying."
"I'm just trying to spend a nice Friday evening with you as a sign of peace. Can't you just go along with it just tonight?"
"Why are you so insistent?"
Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Because I saw enough hatred and conflicts in a lifetime, our little fight only reminded me of that."
Ginny looked at this man and could help but feel guilty. Here was standing a man asking her out as a peace offer. A guy that, judging by his words, saw something cruel and tragic. Not to mention his sad, puppy, most amazing eyes she had ever seen looking at her soul. And above all of this, she was intrigued. Isn't an intrigue that makes a good story?
"If I agree to this, will you leave me alone?" Ginny asked cautiously, "And on our 'date' would you answer my questions?"
"Yes, "Harry rolled his eyes, "it's just a one-time thing, and, no offence, I hope we will never have to see each other again. And yes, I will answer your questions as long as they are reasonable."
"And where were you planning to go?"
"There is this nice restaurant nearby. Or we can go to a tea shop."
Ginny screw her face thinking. It was an unimaginably hard decision to make after all. Should she agree and go on a date with a handsome and rather nice guy risking exposure to social activities or stay home with a nice book?
Ginny sighed with feigned reluctance, "Okay, I guess I'll go out with you."
"Great," Harry beamed, "Let's start from the beginning. Hi, my name is Harry Evans," He said extending his hand, "Nice to meet you."
Ginny's heart skipped a beat when he said his name was Harry. Maybe her brothers were right after all; she was obsessed with Harry Potter.
"Err, Guinevere Williams," she said shaking his hand, "Nice to meet you too."
"Interesting name you have, Guinevere."
"Err, it's Ginny actually. My parents were a little too much into the Arthurian Legends."
"Ah, I know the feeling when someone is too obsessed with something. My godfather was always extremally into pranking and set himself a point of honour to make the greatest prankster of all time of me."
"Had he succeeded?" Ginny giggled.
"I wouldn't say that, but I can definitely hold my own," He laughed, "Anyway, you look very pretty tonight Miss Williams, even in your pyjamas."
"Err, thank you. Give me a second to change," She said blushing prettily.
"Sure, take your time."
After Ginny changed her outfit to something more decent than pyjamas, they walked out of the tenement straight to Harry's car.
Ginny stopped in midstep. "Ah, here is the machine of terror," She said pointing at the vehicle.
Harry sniggered and asked with a raised eyebrow, "I hope you are not terrified of this, as you called it, 'Machine of terror'?"
Ginny waved her hand nonchalantly, "Nah, this thing would be better terrified of me. I could just rip it off the world's surface with just a wave of my palm."
"Sure you can," Harry laughed, "But I would appreciate it if you didn't."
"Oh? You like this car that much?"
"No, I don't like it one bit. It's old, constantly broken and I don't even want to mention how much I pay for petrol."
"Then why are you still driving it?"
"To get quickly to work, I guess. I live quite a distance from my workplace."
"Oh." Ginny walked to the front of his car and touched the mask, "Shouldn't it be dented?"
"I don't think so. I wasn't driving fast and you are rather small."
They got in the car and drove to a tea room. Ginny decided that she liked this guy. He was nice and funny, the complete opposite of what she thought just two days ago. Of course, they had a few more hours to get to know each other, and everything could change but it was a promising start. She risked a glance at Harry. He was focused on the road, his eyes flicking to the passing signs from time to time. Ginny's eyes wandered to the top of his head, there was a short-length mop of incredibly unruly jet-black hair that made her fingers itch to run them through it and made it even more messy than it already was.
She was startled from her thoughts when she heard Harry's voice, "Do you mind if I turn on the music?"
"Oh! Not at all." She shot him an awkward smile hoping she wasn't caught staring. They spent the rest of the way in companionable silence.
"Okay, we're here," Said Harry as he stopped the car. "Do you have everything?"
"Yup."
They stepped out of the car and looked towards the tea room. It was placed in an old, brick building that probably remembered the Industrial era. Inside was climatic and cosy with the aroma of delicious tea surrounding it. They chose a table in the secluded corner with a great view from a window.
"Are you all right?" Asked Harry seeing Ginny's grimace of discomfort as she sat down.
"I would be if you haven't devastated my bum!" She replied in reference to when she had fallen on her rear because of him. It brought strange looks from other guests. "You know what I mean!" She quickly straightened blushing deeply.
Harry decided that he would take his first shot at flirting. "So, Miss Williams, do you often fantasize about what I would do to your bum?" He said looking straight into her chocolate-brown eyes.
Ginny spluttered and if it was possible, she blushed even harder. She quickly regained her composure and narrowed her eyes, "Do you often think about my bum?" She countered.
They spent a while in a staring match until Harry lost his focus and looked somewhat absently at her nose.
"Are you all right?" Ginny asked little concerned, "Um, hello?" She added after not receiving any reaction from him.
"Oh, yeah, I was just counting your freckles."
Ginny snorted, "Why would you pay so much attention to something so disgusting."
"Well, I find them rather cute."
"You're a strange man Harry Evans." Said Ginny with the corners of her mouth turning up despite herself. She couldn't help, but feel a little flattered by his comment
"You're not bad yourself."
"So, maybe it's time to start talking?"
"Sure."
"Then, how old are you?"
"I'm twenty-two" Harry said according to his false muggle documents.
"Really? You look younger than that."
"Yeah, I'm thankful for the good genes I got."
"Fair enough. I'm nineteen."
"You're rather young for the kindergarten teacher."
"I have good enough contact with children, I don't need to be old for that!"
"That's not what I meant. Don't you need any courses or training?"
"Err, yeah, sure, I have all of that," She said dismayingly, hoping he won't catch her on a lie, "What do you do for a living?" She tried to change a topic.
"I'm a cook."
"What?" Ginny laughed, "You definitely don't look like a cook!"
Harry raised his eyebrows, "How should a cook look like then?"
"I don't know, big belly, moustache or something like that. You're far too fit to be a cook! I would say you look like a bodyguard or policeman or something."
"As much as I appreciate your compliment, I must disagree," Said Harry shaking his head, "You are rather following stereotypes. But yes, before I became a cook about two years ago, I was in the military since I finished school." It wasn't completely far from the truth. He did fight in a war, after all, just not the muggle one.
"Ah, so when you told me earlier that you saw some bad thin-"
"Yes, some of them I experienced on my service" Harry cut her off a little bit harshly.
"Oh, sorry to hear that."
"It's all right." He said, but couldn't completely hide his distress.
A little uncomfortable silence fell on them and Ginny blamed it partially on herself. Merlin, what a mood killer I am, she thought.
"So, you mentioned earlier about your godfather," She said trying to break the silence and lighten the mood. If he was anything like her, talking about his family would do, "Are the two of you close?"
"Yeah, he raised me. He and my uncle."
"O? Where were your parents?"
"Err, they died in a car crash when I was little over a year old," Harry answered embarrassed.
"Oh." Great, Ginny thought, If I keep it up, they will lock me in Azkaban for being a serial mood killer.
"Sorry for being so unsensible." Ginny apologised, playing with a hem of her sleeve and looking anywhere than him. She was startled when she felt a warm hand touching her own.
"It's all right. You didn't know any of that and just asked questions."
"I should ask a more appropriate question-"
"No, like I said, is all right," Harry assured smiling kindly, "It happened a long time ago and I'm really used to not having them around. And I definitely am not upset if someone mentions them." He took his hand away and Ginny instantly missed his comforting warmth.
The waiter came to take their orders. Harry asked for a simple green tea and Ginny ordered jasmine tea and the biggest piece of triple chocolate cake they had. As their order was ready and brought to them Harry took great amusement as Ginny stared hungrily at the cake and relaxed only when it was placed in front of her. She attacked it unbashfully with all her might.
"You seem to like chocolate," Harry laughed.
"Mmm, I love it," Ginny moaned in ecstasy with a mouthful of cake, "Never stand between me and my chocolate, or it might not end up good for you."
"Do you have any story to back up this claim?"
"My brother Ron," She made a face, "– The Great Git – couldn't sit for a week after he kidnapped my chocolate reserves." Ginny grinned evilly.
"Did you kick his arse that strong?"
"Of course not!" The redhead declined mock offended," I'm way above physical violence. I just added to his meal – he eats like a pig – something for diarrhoea. Let's say that he spent so much time in a bathroom that he couldn't even walk." The maniacal glint in her eye could probably scare off the bravest of men, but Harry only felt more appealed to her.
He laughed earnestly, "You are a hell of a girl!"
"You bet I am!" She grinned.
Looking at him laughing, she felt as if a thousand snitches were dancing in her belly. It was a weird feeling but strangely pleasurable. She decided then and there that she liked when he laughed. It took away this sad look of his and his beautiful eyes were dancing alight with joy. Ginny couldn't help but smile at this display. He gave the impression of someone who wasn't very effusive and seeing him like that made her happy. And of course, she looked down with pride at how she lightened the mood. Just like an expert, she thought.
"My godfather would love you."
"I would hope so."
"So Ginny, do you have any other siblings than, as you put it, 'The Great Git'?" Harry asked after a while of staring into each other eyes.
She groaned, "Yeah. Five other brothers, if you can imagine. Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly but they can be a real nightmare sometimes."
"Should I be worried then? I'm sure they gave hell to every boy you ever dated."
"Err, they didn't have a chance considering I have never had a boyfriend before, but if I had, and they would try to interfere, I would kick their arses! I can look after my own just fine, thank you very much!" She said passionately.
"Really? How come a woman like you never had a boyfriend?"
"You know, the typical. Never had met anyone good enough. But what about you?" She said looking him straight in the eyes, "I'm sure a man like you had a lot of girlfriends." She asked somewhat worriedly, hoping for denial.
"Err, as I said earlier, right after finishing school I joined the military. I didn't have time for dating. And when I was a teenager, I was a little too awkward for this kind of thing."
His confession made Ginny smile a little which she quickly tried to hide. Here she was, on a nice date with a handsome and funny man, who just like her didn't have any experience in dating or any forms of romantic relationships. Maybe her mother and Hermione were right after all – she needed someone, because right now, in the middle of this date, the idea of spending the rest evenings like this, with a person she could call her very own was incredibly compelling. The only problem was she would have to admit that they were right, which she was very reluctant to do. Maybe it was a sign from Merlin for her to bite back her pride and take advantage of the situation.
The rest of the evening they spent chatting about everything and nothing, laughing at some silly stories from their childhoods and they even tried teasing each other lightly. After they were done with their teas, Harry paid for the evening to which Ginny VERY reluctantly agreed. His eyes be damned, she coursed mentally. It took just a look at her to turn her insides into goo. It should be illegal, really. She was sure that if he asked for anything, she would have no power to decline.
They came back to Ginny's tenement and stopped before the door to her flat.
"Thanks for this date. It was really fun." Ginny smiled shyly with a pretty blush and cursed herself mentally. She spent all the evening with him being comfortable and even letting herself flirt a little, even though she hasn't had much practice with that and now she was ever so shy all of a sudden.
"Yeah! Err, maybe you want to, err, repeat that sometime, huh?" He said with his hand scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "Well, only if you want to, I'm not trying to force you to anything and-"
He was cut off by Ginny's giggles. "And here I thought that I was the blubbering idiot."
Harry smiled apologetically "Err, yes, sorry for that."
"It's good to know that I'm not the only one. But answer your question: Yes, I would love to go out with you again!" Ginny said biting her lower lip.
"Great!" He grinned, "Do you have time next Tuesday evening?"
"Sure!"
"Okay, so I think I will be going now."
"Oh, okay," Ginny's shoulders slumped a little.
Neither of them seemed to want to go, and they stayed there for a few moments just looking at each other. Harry then closed the distance between them and kissed her. It was just a little peck on the lips on which she hadn't had time to respond. But even though it hadn't lasted more than a second, it certainly took her breath away. Harry moved away a little and said goodbye. For a few more minutes Ginny just stared at the spot where he disappeared. With a toothy, unladylike grin she went back to her flat.
Later that night, lying in bed, Ginny was revising the day's events in her head. This date went certainly differently than she thought it would surpassing all her hopes. She had her first date and her first his and that made her feel ecstatic. She decided that her pride can be damned if it meant keeping Harry around. She will gladly admit to her mother and friend that they were right.
She was extremely proud of herself as she had not even for one-second thought about Harry Potter this evening. He left her mind for the first time! For her entire life she firmly believed in his legend but now slowly started doubting. But that was irrelevant. It seemed as if after her date, her stupid, childish celebrity crush on the Wizarding World's greatest hero and myth started crumbling down. If Ginny Weasley from just two months ago knew that, she would probably be devastated considering this crush was a large part of Ginny's life and identity. Today's Ginny couldn't care less. If this crush was still around, it could interfere with her developing relationship with Harry on which she had her hopes high up.
After all, why would you need Harry Potter if you could have Harry Evans?