This epilogue has practically no plot and is mostly just a whole lot of dialogue as a way of checking in with our characters a year after this story ends. I hope you enjoy it anyway.
ooo
"Scared, Potter?"
"You wish!"
"Oh, here we go." Ginny murmured, as she stepped up next to Hermione, who was watching the dispute between her best friend and her boyfriend with big, disbelieving eyes.
"Merlin, it really is just like the old times, isn't it?" She breathed.
Ginny snorted. "Some things never change."
"Oh let ze boys 'ave zeir fun." Fleur chimed in, an amused glint in her crystal blue eyes, as she watched the two wizards' bickering. "Arguing is good for ze soul."
"That's easy for you to say." Ginny mused, dropping her gaze to Fleur's hands, which were both resting on a very prominent baby bump. "You don't have to play today."
But Fleur seemed thoroughly unaffected by the jibe and instead just shrugged and flicked her silver hair back in a very superior manner. "Zat is true." she said offhandedly. "But I tell you, zis will only make zem fight 'arder. It fuels ze competition, no? In my family we always enjoy a good and healthy argument."
"Oh, don't I know it." Bill murmured as he stepped up beside his wife, which earned him a rather intimidating glare from Fleur.
"Sorry, love." he quickly added, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "You know I love how passionate you are." before turning to the still squabbling men. "Draco is right, Harry." he added, just to receive another death-glare, but this time from Harry. "We've far more people this year, which gives us the advantage of choosing who we want on our teams. It doesn't have to be Weasleys versus the rest of you." He gathered his long, auburn hair in his hands and tied it into a low ponytail, before picking up his broom, a confident smirk on his lips as he added "That way at least both teams have a chance at winning. Because we all know that if we play Weasley's vs. you lot, we'll flatten you in less than five minutes. Much more fun if we divide the talent more evenly."
'Smart move' Ginny thought. Appealing to Harry's competitiveness was always the easiest way to get him to agree. He was a Gryffindor after all.
"That's settled then!" she spoke up, before either of the men could start another argument. "We'll mix teams. Bill, Charlie, you're the oldest ones, so you get to choose your players. Come on, pick your players."
It took several minutes of heated discussion until they finally had a line up for their annual Weasley Christmas Quidditch Match which was as follows:
Bill would be playing Beater for his team together with Greg. They would have Draco as their Seeker, Ron as Keeper, and Ginny, Theo and Luna as their Chasers.
Charlie had put himself in the position of Chaser alongside Angelina and Audrey, and had chosen Harry as their Seeker, Oliver as their Keeper and George and Pansy as Beaters.
They spent several minutes squabbling over brooms, complaining about snapped hair-ties and conjuring replacements, and trying to match an array of different sized gloves, before they finally mounted their brooms and shot into the air.
Ginny barked out an elated laugh as the fresh winter breeze hit her face and instantly reddened her cheeks. Gods, she had missed Quidditch. She'd been playing as Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies for several months now, but the team had paused their rigorous training schedule for their month-long winter break, and despite practising almost daily above the orchard behind the Burrow, she'd really missed flying in a more competitive way.
Breathing in the crisp air, she did a few laps around their makeshift pitch, her heart warming despite the frigid temperatures, as she looked down at the people gathered below.
Having had much more notice than the year before, the Weasley's had managed to turn their Christmas Quidditch Match into a full-blown event. Not only have they been joined by a number of people who also wanted to play, but there were friends and family here to watch and cheer them on.
Ginny's mum had been working tirelessly for weeks to make it an all-round perfect experience for everyone. They had put up a big marquee in the garden that Luna had helped decorate with hundreds of floating christmas baubles and mistletoe, of which the latter had been donated by a very excited Neville, who was thrilled to have been invited to the event as Theo's date (with Theo having slithered his way into their friend group via Draco and Pansy, and insisting that he wanted to play in the match this year too.)
Greg, Audrey and Fleur had been helping Molly prepare an abundant feast for the day, with more food, drinks and cakes than any of them could ever eat.
Arthur, together with Ginny's brothers had even managed to put up a small stand with plenty of seats for the people to watch the match, which Hermione and Theo, who were both exceedingly talented at charms, had placed several cushioning and warming spells on.
It felt truly magical, and Ginny couldn't help but be immensely grateful to be surrounded by so many loving and supportive people, as she took her position as Chaser and waited for the match to begin.
"Alright, here we go!" Lee's magically amplified voice boomed from a smaller stand at the head of the pitch, where he sat besides Percy and Hermione, who had been glad to hear that there were enough people this year for them watch the match from the sidelines, and had offered to keep score instead; eyes sharp and wands pointed at an enchanted board that currently read 00 : 00 for both teams.
"If all players could please take their positions. I don't think an introduction will be necessary, but just in case any of your beautiful people down there have been confounded on the way here, we have Ron Weasley, Gregory Goyle, Bill Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Theodore Nott, Luna Lovegood and Draco Malfoy on team one; playing against an eager team two, which consists of Oliver Wood, George Weasley, Pansy Parkinson, Charlie Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Audrey Weasley - Yes ladies and gentlemen, how about a round of applause for the newlyweds Audrey and Percy? - and our all time favourite man who lived - the Chosen one himself: HARRY POTTER!"
The crowd cheered as a shrill whistle sound marked the beginning of the match and off they went.
Ginny was instantly in her element and caught the quaffle, before half of their players had even began to move, whooshing across the field towards Oliver, whose face had turned fierce, as he readied himself to defend his goal rings.
"AND GINNY SCORES!" Lee bellowed a few seconds later. "No surprise there, sorry Oliver, but she's a rare talent, that one! Not that you aren't one of the finest keepers we've had the pleasure to watch play over the ears. Strapping young man he is too!"
"Oi! No flirting with my boyfriend!" Charlie shouted as he zoomed past the commentator's box.
"Sorry, Charlie. Don't worry, he's all yours." Lee snickered, accompanied by a chorus of whistling and cheering from the stands as Charlie flew over to the goal posts and gave a very red-faced Oliver a possessive kiss on the lips.
Ginny let out an encouraging 'whoop' too, feeling very happy that her older brother had finally found someone who didn't mind his unusual life-style and was so used to travelling for his job that a couple of international portkeys every weekend to visit his partner in Romania didn't bother him at all.
The end to her momentary distraction came in the form of a well-aimed Bludger from Pansy, which would have hit Ginny, had it not been for Greg, who valiantly threw himself between her and the vicious ball, hitting it so hard with his beater bat that it zoomed all the way across the apple orchard before it could stifle its momentum and circle back towards the marked out Quidditch pitch."
"My hero!" Ginny squealed, tilting her broom at a precarious angle so she could hug him.
"Focus, Red!" Greg growled in return, a protective gleam in his eyes. "I'd prefer it if I get you back in one piece after this."
"Okay okay, I'm off!" Ginny shouted, casting him a bright grin, before zooming towards Angelina, who had the quaffle. "Thanks for the save, though! Love you!"
Greg had a point. Had she behaved like this during her team's practice, her coach would have probably shouted at her, before making her fly laps for the rest of the day. But this was different. This was just a friendly game amongst family, and Ginny was having too much fun to be taking it seriously…which didn't mean she didn't plan on winning though.
"Meanwhile the Quaffle goes to Charlie," Lee's voice sounded from across the pitch, and Ginny shot towards her older brother, eager to steal the ball back for her team. "And back to Angelina, oooh Angelina be careful Ginny is… aaaand Ginny in possession of the Quaffle! What a catch! But then she is a professional player now, isn't she?"
Ginny took the time to stick her tongue out towards the commentator's box, before she zoomed back towards the goal posts, where a fierce looking Oliver was getting ready to protect his team's hoops.
"And she…. YES! BRILLIANT CATCH BY OLIVER WOOD!" Lee yelled, accompanied by a generous cheering from the spectators below. "But Theo has already caught the quaffle - sorry Audrey, he's a sneaky one that boy - passes it on to Ginny, Ginny over to - arrghhh! Luna dropped the ball! No bother, love, you'll catch it next time! Team Two in possession of the Quaffle now, with Audrey zooming towards the goal, ooooh, get ready Ron, here she comes and…OOFF! HE BLOCKED IT! Well done, mate!"
The match went on for ages, with Ginny clearly dominating the pitch as she zoomed across it at a merciless speed, accompanied by Theo, who was trying his hardest to keep up, while Luna seemed far more interested in watching the butterflies pass by than catching the Quaffle. The other team held up pretty well though, and were only twenty points behind when all of a sudden Harry began to speed up, his eyes fixed at a point near the stands and Ginny's stomach dropped when she saw it: a small, golden ball, fluttering energetically just above Neville's left shoulder.
"DRACO!" Ginny yelled, forgetting all about the Quaffle. "LOOK AT HARRY!" But Draco had already seen; a grimace of fierce determination on his face as he lay low on his broom and shot towards the stands. He had been much closer than Harry, giving him a huge advantage, but Harry had the faster broom and quickly caught up, both neck and neck as they zoomed towards the little ball.
"IT'S THE SNITCH!" Lee bellowed, as everyone else froze to watch the two seekers shoot across the pitch. "Draco's in the lead, but Harry is close on his heels. Come on Harry, you can do it! Oof! Harry dodges a well aimed bludger from Greg. That's cost him some momentum. He's trying to catch up, but Draco's… he's… YES! YESSSS! DRACO CATCHES THE SNITCH! MERLIN'S SAGGY BALLS! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? TEAM TWO WINS WITH 360 TO 190 POINTS! WELL DONE EVERYONE!"
They were all cheering, as Draco swerved just in time to stop himself from crashing into the stands, his fingers wrapped tightly around the small golden ball as he thrust his hand triumphantly into the air.
Within seconds Ginny's entire team had surrounded their seeker, showering him with hugs and appreciative pats on the shoulder, as they slowly descended back to the ground where they landed in a tangled heap of limbs and broomsticks.
"Draco you did it!" came a shrill voice, and then all Ginny could see was the enormous back of Hermione's bushy hair, as she flung her arms around her boyfriend's neck, and began to shower him with kisses. "You caught the snitch!"
"Wait for it." Greg's voice was low and conspiratorial as he walked up behind Ginny and slung his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. "You'll want to see this."
"What?" Ginny asked, a gnawing feeling of suspicion spreading in her chest. "What's going on?"
"Just watch." Greg instructed, nodding towards an ecstatic Hermione and a rather nervous looking Draco.
"Here, this is for you." The blonde said, causing Hermione's eyes to grow huge as he stretched out his arm and offered her the golden snitch.
"What?" Hermione breathed. "Oh no, Draco, that's sweet, but you keep it. It's yours!."
"No, I caught it for you." Draco insisted, his sharp eyes trained firmly on Hermione's. "I want you to have it."
"Oh Draco…" Hermione sighed, looking flattered but a little uncertain, and Ginny couldn't help but roll her eyes at her friend's reluctance to accept the ball. Hermione had never really taken to Quidditch like most of their friends, but Ginny would have thought that with all the books she'd read, she would know that when a Seeker presents a snitch to someone it's a symbol of love and commitment to that person.
"Really, it's okay. I don't need you to -"
"Hermione." Draco's voice had become serious now, a low, ominous rumble. "Take. The damn. Snitch."
The curly-haired witch's eyes grew wide at the urgency in his tone and finally stretched out her hand to take the offered ball, letting out a loud gasp and nearly dropping it when the golden sphere began to glow hotly and two words appeared on it in a neat, aristocratic looking penmanship.
"Kiss me" Hermione read out loud, a small crease forming between her eyebrows. "But…I thought snitches only react to the person who first touched them? …The Seeker who catches it. No one else?"
"Not if you have a friend who's particularly good at charms." Theo cut in, looking rather smug. "I may have helped with that." He winked. "Come on then, love. Give the ball what it wants."
"Holy shit!" Ginny breathed, turning her head to cast a questioning look at Greg. "Is he…?"
"Shhh, just watch." Greg commanded, nodding towards their friends, but Ginny knew by the way his lips had turned into a knowing smile, that she had guessed right. Trying to suppress a squeal, she turned her attention back to a flustered looking Hermione and watched her with bated breath as she pressed her lips against the cold metal of the ball.
The instant the Snitch had touched her lips, it popped open and revealed an elegantly woven silver ring in its centre. There were approximately two seconds of deafening silence in which everyone was holding their breaths, as they stared at the ring. Then, Draco dropped down on one knee and all hell broke loose!
Everyone around them began to gasp and cheer and clap excitedly. It was so loud that Ginny nearly missed the whole proposal. She couldn't hear Hermione's answer, but by the way Draco jumped up, a smile wider than Ginny had ever seen on his face, and pulled her into a fierce kiss, told her that she must have said yes.
"Merlin's saggy pants!" Ginny exclaimed, turning around to face Greg, and her elated smile quickly turned into an accusatory glare. "You knew about this?"
When Greg only smirked and shrugged, Ginny swatted his chest. "You should have told me!"
"Oh, don't tell me Greg kept this from you?" Pansy drawled rather despairingly, as she and Harry walked up to them. "Harry hasn't shut up about it for weeks!"
"Yeah, well, that's what you get from dating a Gryffindor, Pans." Greg chuckled. "They can't keep a secret to save their life"
"Oi!" Ginny huffed, swatting him again, but then rounded on Harry. "You were in on it too?"
When Harry only grinned and shrugged, her jaw dropped.
"Holy shit!" she breathed, staring at the dark-haired wizard with wide eyes. "You let Draco catch that Snitch on purpose, didn't you? You let him win, so he could -"
"Excuse me." A cutting baritone interrupted and Ginny turned to see Hermione and Draco walk up to them, both of them with flushed, but very happy faces. "But who says I needed help to beat Potter?"
"Aaahh! Congratulations!" Ginny squealed, ignoring Draco's moping and instead throwing herself at Hermione for a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so happy for you two!" before pulling a very reluctant looking Draco into the embrace too. "Welcome to the family, Draco."
"We are not family!" Draco spluttered, his face turning even redder than before.
"Of course, we are!" Ginny insisted, throat feeling unnaturally tight as she gave Hermione a brilliant smile. "Hermione is practically my sister, which makes you" she jabbed her finger into Draco's chest. "...my brother in law."
Draco tried to look displeased with this sentiment, as he grumbled something unintelligible in response, but the dark glare he shot Ginny was rather unconvincing and quickly turned into a secretive smile.
"Anyway, let's go get ready for the party!" Ginny said quickly, because Hermione looked like she was close to dissolving into happy tears and Ginny was sure that if Hermione started crying, she would lose her composure too. "It's time to celebrate!"
ooo
After the match everyone congregated under the enchanted canvas of the giant marquee for a very loud and cheerful pre-Christmas party.
Ginny had washed and changed into a tight, olive-green dress that had long sleeves, but had needed an extra couple of warming charms due to it being completely backless.
Greg had opted for a pair of perfectly tailored black slacks, a light grey shirt and a dark green vest with silver buttons that very quickly convinced Ginny that dressing up for Christmas was going to be another one of their new traditions.
"You look stunning." He muttered when she walked over to him, his large, warm hand instantly finding the exposed skin on the curve of her back.
"You're not so bad yourself." Ginny smirked, leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek. "Although I have to say that seeing you in your old Quidditch uniform earlier was just as good. There's just something about a man in uniform…"
"Now you know how I feel every time I watch you play." Greg grinned, pulling her closer and planting a kiss on top of her head.
Greg had been incredibly supportive of Ginny's chosen career path and had been attending every match she'd played so far. He himself had decided to use his inheritance to buy a little shop on Diagon Alley and turn it into a small bakery, which was going so well that he was already thinking of employing some people to help with the workload. They didn't exactly know how they would navigate a future where Ginny had to travel more, but Greg was already brainstorming ideas. As it turned out, people were quite happy to pay ridiculous amounts of money for a freshly baked pumpkin pasty when they were in high spirits and needed a pick-me-up after cheering for their favourite team for hours. So lately, Greg had also started to sell his baked goods at Ginny's Quidditch matches, and Ginny thought that he was genuinely considering travelling with her, just as long as he could find a good enough employee who could keep his shop running while he was gone. …the idea alone of having Greg by her side during Quidditch season next summer thrilled her. She really hoped that they would be able to make it work.
In any case she was glad that he didn't want to become an Auror like Harry and Draco. It was enough having to worry about those two idiots getting themselves killed, she didn't need her boyfriend involved in any crazy missions to round up left-over Death Eaters, too.
"Did you see what George did to my mistletoes?" Neville asked, sidling up to them with an amused look on his face, before Ginny could go down another spiral of worrying about the dangers of her friends' chosen career paths. "Look at poor Angelina." He gestured towards the rather distressed looking girl, who was desperately trying to get out from underneath a mistletoe, but seemed to be stuck.
"Enchanted Mistletoes!" Greg laughed, a reminiscent smile tugging at his lips. "Do you remember - "
"Of course, I remember." Ginny cut in, feeling less than amused about the whole thing. "Oh, I should've never told him about that stupid prank Peeves played on us last year." She groaned. "Of course, he was going to use that to his advantage."
"What do you mean?" Greg asked, looking confused.
"Well, someone will have to kiss her to get her out from under there, won't they? Who do you think that'll be?" Neville offered helpfully.
As if summoned by some magical force George appeared, an excited skip in his stride, as he walked up to Angelina with a roguish grin.
Ginny was too far away to make out their conversation, secretly wishing she had some extendable ears on hand, but it looked like George was teasing Angelina, because she rolled her pretty dark eyes at him, before trying to swat his chest. George only laughed at that and caught her hand mid-swat, before pulling her close and pressing a rather enthusiastic kiss onto her lips.
"Oh, I hope they are both ready for this." Ginny murmured, watching as Angelina went rigid with shock, before she seemed to relax and visibly melt into George's arms.
"'Course they are." Another voice insisted, and Ginny turned her head to watch Theo, as he stepped up beside Neville, who instinctively wrapped his arm around the brunette's waist and pulled him with his back against his chest. Theo yelped in surprise, but then flashed a wide grin at Neville over his shoulder, before leaning into his embrace with a content sigh. "It's been a long time coming and we all know it." He added, jerking his head knowingly towards a flustered looking Angelina and a very smug looking George.
"I suppose." Ginny sighed, unconvinced. "As long as they're both serious about it. I don't want to see either of them get hurt."
She knew, of course, that Angelina would never do anything to hurt George on purpose. The former Gryffindor Chaser and Team Captain was lovely, and it wasn't only that she seemed to genuinely care about George, but she was also the only person who seemed to be able to ground him and pull him out of his more depressive phases in a way that normally only Ginny could. She was good for him and Ginny knew that, and yet she couldn't help but feel a little protective of her favourite brother. George had gone through enough already and, despite doing much better now, he was still struggling with the loss of his twin brother.
"They'll be fine." Greg murmured, as if he could see the internal battle she was currently fighting, and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. "They're old enough to know what they want and even if it does go wrong he's always got you to fall back on."
Ginny nodded, because she knew he was right and cast him a thankful smile, before deciding to push all her worries to the back of her mind and try to enjoy the evening.
"Speaking of George," she sighed, in an attempt to move the conversation onto another subject. "I've heard someone is thinking of partnering with Weasley Wizard Wheezes?" She cast Theo a rather inquisitorial look. "Ron said you're full of interesting ideas?"
"Maybe." The handsome brunette grinned. According to Ginny's youngest brother Theo was particularly talented at charms, which would make him a great asset to the joke shop. "Although I've just had a rather fascinating conversation with Bill about his job. Maybe I'll look into curse breaking too. Always good to keep your options open, you know?"
"What?" Neville spluttered, a protective, almost possessive air about him that Ginny had never seen in her otherwise so gentle and down-to-earth friend. "To hell, you're going into curse breaking! That's far too dangerous."
Ginny snorted. "And you think working for George would be less so?" She asked, biting her lips to suppress a laugh. "You wouldn't believe the amount of times Fred and George nearly knocked the house down when they used to still live here. Fire and explosions were a common occurrence."
Neville's eyes went wide and he instinctively tightened his grip around Theo's waist. "Brilliant." he grumbled. "Couldn't have settled for a nice, down-to-earth partner, no I had to fall for the reckless one."
Theo grinned at the back-handed profession of love. "Yeah,'cause you can talk, oh mighty wrangler of Devil's Snare and pruner of Mandrakes." Theo countered, looking very pleased with himself when Neville only glowered at him darkly. "You should see the things Nev deals with in the Greenhouses. Really advanced stuff. Quite dangerous actually." He added as an explanation for Ginny, his dazzling blue eyes sparkling with pride and adoration for his boyfriend. Ginny couldn't help but smile back at him. Greg had told her that Theo had been pining over Neville for years, before he finally decided to make a move at the eighth year Christmas party the previous year. It was nice to see how much Neville reciprocated his feelings.
"Anyway." Theo drawled, looking a little reluctant as pried himself out of Neville's arms. "I promised Pansy I'd save her from Harry's clumsy attempts to dance with her earlier, so I best do that, before she loses all her feeling in her toes." He gave Neville a quick peck on the lips, before he swept off towards the dancefloor where Harry and Pansy were currently swaying to a modern version of Silent Night. They all watched with amusement as he tapped Harry on the shoulder and asked politely if he could cut in, only to then grab Harry's hands instead of Pansy's and guide him into a brisk waltz, twirling and whisking him around the dancefloor with well-practised moves. Pansy stood back and giggled at her stumbling, red-faced boyfriend for a few seconds, before she took pity on him and stole Theo for a proper dance from him.
"Err, do you wanna…" Greg asked, jerking his head towards the dance floor.
"Yeah." Ginny smiled. "But first food. I'm starving."
They made their way towards the buffet near the front of the marquee where they met a stressed looking Ron, who had a happily babbling Teddy perched on his hip and was feeding him little pieces of fruit and crackers.
"Hi Teddy!" Ginny cooed, scooping the little boy out of Ron's hand and cuddling him tight. "Oh look at you! You're covered in crumbs!" She tutted playfully and began to brush bits of crackers off Teddy's chest which made the boy giggle with glee.
"Thanks." Ron huffed, looking thoroughly relieved at having the boy stolen from him. "Mum dragged Andy back into the house to show her the new baubles you made for the Christmas tree, and they left me to look after Teddy." he explained. "Me! Who would be stupid enough to leave me in charge of a child?"
"Anyone who has eyes." Ginny countered, ruffling the little boy's hair affectionately. "It's clear that he loves you."
Ginny thought it was funny how Harry and Draco had been at constant war to win Teddy's affections, with Harry claiming that Teddy loved his godfather the most, while Draco insisted that favourite cousins were much more fun, when it was obvious for everyone to see who the tiny wizard really favoured. The minute Andromeda had arrived with her grandson at the Burrow, his hair had turned a bright Weasley red and his eyes were sparkling a brilliant blue, - the exact shade of Ron's eyes. Not to mention the copious amounts of freckles on his cute pudgy cheeks and the very distinct swirling pattern of Ron's scars on his left arm, which Teddy had copied to a T on his own arm. He looked exactly like a mini version of his favourite Weasley.
The first time Draco had seen his little cousin turn into a wannabe Weasley he had been horrified and told Ron that if he kept manipulating the poor boy into liking him, he'd have to challenge him to a duel to put an end to it, just to eventually resign himself to stubbornly insist that it was 'just a phase' and that Teddy would come around eventually and see who the best male role model for him was soon, because even at his tender age of one year he was far too intelligent to pick a Weasley for that.
So far the phase was still going strong and had lasted for almost six months now.
As if on cue Teddy chose that exact moment to stretch out his arms and make little grabbing motions with his hands towards Ron, to show everyone exactly where his allegiance lay…just in case anyone was still doubting it.
"Oh, you wanna go back to Uncle Ron?" Ginny asked, stroking the boy's hair tenderly.
"WON!" Teddy squealed in response, bouncing on Ginny's hip with excitement and doing his little hand gestures again, which made Ron's face crumple with despair.
"I honestly don't know why he likes me so much." He groaned, but took the little wizard from Ginny nonetheless. "I'm rubbish with children."
"No, you're not!" Ginny protested, before grabbing one of Greg's handmade mince pies from the buffet and shoving it into her mouth. She took her time, chewing slowly savouring the sugary sweet taste of the crumbly pastry on her tongue, before she swallowed and let out an appreciative moan.
"These are so good." she sighed, when she'd finally finished, earning herself a warm smile from Greg, who muttered a smug "I'm glad." before wrapping his arm around her waist and placing a quick kiss on her head.
It was only when Ron still looked at her all dark and gloomy, with all the doubt of the world in his eyes, that she clicked her tongue and gave him a very slow and condemning eye-roll.
"Oh, Ronald!" she chided. "Honestly, how are you a celebrated war hero who played a key role in defeating the darkest wizard of all times, and you still don't possess an ounce of self-confidence?" She heaved a heavy sigh and folded her arms in front of her chest, before levelling him with a stern look. "You're not bad with children. Teddy loves you, because you play with him and feed him yummy treats and you teach him things like how to hold his toy wand and proper duelling etiquette, before pretending he hit you with a terrible curse and rolling on the floor howling. Which is not just adorable, but also makes him laugh while still teaching him a valuable lesson. That just shows what a great father you will be one day."
By the end of Ginny's little rant, Ron's ears had turned a bright shade of red, but he did look a little happier.
"You think I'll have children one day?"
"You're a Weasley, mate." Greg inserted himself with an amused snort. "Some would argue that you're destined to."
"Only if that's what you want." Ginny insisted, glaring at him warningly, which only made the infuriating man chuckle and shrug. She didn't know why, but the comment had made her stomach twinge with anxiety.
"I…err… yeah." Ron stammered, the colour of his face starting to match that of his ears. "I think I do." He looked down at Teddy, who looked so much much like Ron in that moment that it wasn't hard to imagine him as his son, and smiled. "It's too early to talk to Luna about it, of course, but I think that's what I want. A big family."
"Oh, it's never too early to talk about things like that." Luna chimed in, as she floated towards them, looking very pretty in her soft pink dress and matching Christmas Rose earrings. She gave both Ron and Teddy a quick kiss on the cheek, which made the former blush an even deeper shade of red, while the latter shrieked with delight, before she wrapped her hand around Ron's arm and gave it an affectionate squeeze. It was very obvious that she had overheard their conversation by the way her eyes sparkled with intrigue, as she smiled up at her boyfriend. "It's very important to establish these things early on actually." She said matter of factly. "So we know if we're compatible on a long term basis."
"Yes." Ginny agreed. "Greg and I had that conversation ages ago. He knows that I want to focus on my career, before we start thinking about kids and he's fine with that. Neither of us are in a rush."
Ron let out a strangled noise of surprise at that and screwed his face up in alarm. "Good Gods, Ginny." He groaned, shaking his head vehemently. "Can we not talk about my little sister having children just yet? I've only just gotten over the fact that you two are… err…" He trailed off, unable to hide his embarrassment.
Ginny could feel her own face heat, as she fought the urge to go and crawl into a hole somewhere. It had only been a few days prior that Ron had walked into her old room without knocking and had found her and Greg in a rather compromised position. She would have assumed that after almost a year of being with Greg, everyone around them already assumed that they were sexually active, but of course Ron, who was so oblivious when it came to relationships that Ginny had no idea how Luna could even stand being with him, had been blissfully unaware. He'd been so shocked that he didn't even say anything. Just turned around and left, and then stubbornly avoided looking at Ginny for the next two days until she finally cracked and confronted him by locking him, Greg and herself into her bedroom and forcing them to talk.
"Ron … this is Greg, my boyfriend." she had said, glaring at her old brother. "And Greg, this is Ron.. my older brother."
"Ginny what the…?"
"I want you to have the talk."
"What talk?"
"THE talk." she blurted. "The one where you tell him that he better take good care of me, or you'll Avada him, so that he can promise he will and we can all move on. We've been together for a year, Ron. A YEAR. I need you to finally accept that this is going to last."
"I.. It's not that…" Ron stammered. "I know your relationship is serious. I just didn't think you… you two were..."
Ginny laughed… at both Ron's shocked face and Greg's mortified expression. "Oh get over yourselves! Both of you!" she chided. "Ron, I have been sexually active since I was sixteen. And I promise you we're being careful and Greg is treating me very well in bed. He's actually -"
"Merlin's hairy balls, Ginny! Stop!" Ron looked absolutely horrified. "I don't want to picture… good Gods…please make it stop!"
"I'm not gonna hurt her, Ron." Greg blurted, both to distract the redhead's mind and because he knew it needed to be said. Ginny had five older brothers. He'd had this talk with three of them already.
Ron's nostrils flared as he glared at the other man for several seconds, but then his eyes softened and he let out a deep sigh. "I know you won't, mate." he finally admitted, shoulder slumping as he shook his head. "I've watched you two together for a whole year. I've had plenty of time to figure that out."
"Well then!" Ginny concluded, smiling at them brightly. "Now that that's sorted, we can all go back to having a nice Christmas with the family, yeah?"
Ron sighed. "Fine… just… lock the bloody door next time. You're a witch, Ginny. Use your magic!"
After that confrontation, all three of them had come to an unspoken agreement to never mention the incident again and act like nothing ever happened, although Ginny would be lying if she said she didn't still feel a little embarrassed about it.
"I'm thinking three would be nice." Luna cut in, pulling them all out of their mortifying memories and back to the present. Luna had always had a knack for diverting awkward situations by making unexpected comments, and right now Ginny could kiss her for it.
"Three?" Ron asked, looking confused.
"Yes, three sounds like a good number, don't you think?" Luna said, smiling softly at the picture of Ron adjusting Teddy on his hip and offering him another slice of apple. "Although I know that you Weasleys are very prone to having twins in the family." She added thoughtfully, "In which case we'd probably end up having four."
At that point Ron finally realised what she was talking about, causing his face to go from beetroot red to ashen grey, as his eyes grew wide with shock.
"You want four children?"
Luna shrugged. "Isn't that what you want? A big family."
"I… yeah I do.. Just…"
"Right…" Ginny said. "This is our cue to leave." She leaned in to give Teddy another quick kiss on the head, before she took Greg's hand and began to pull him towards the dancefloor. "Come on, let's dance."
"Do you really think they'll have four children?" Greg chuckled, as they arrived in the centre of the spacious marquee, which had been left clear for people to dance. He took her hand and gracefully twirled her around, before wrapping his arms around her waist and began to sway them on the spot.
"Nah…" Ginny laughed, winding her arms around his neck and letting him pull her closer. "Bet you two galleons that they'll have five."
"Five?" Greg spluttered, so taken aback that he momentarily forgot what they were doing and seized all his swaying to gape at her dumbfoundedly.
"Well, yes…" Ginny said, and, determined to finish at least one song before they stopped dancing, took lead and began to circle them around again. "I know Ron wants a whole Quidditch team of children, which is seven. They'll compromise and meet somewhere in the middle."
"Blimey…five kids." Greg mused, looking a bit shell-shocked at first, but then his face morphed into one of competitive glee. "Fine. Two galleons says they'll stop at three." He kissed Ginny on the lips as if to seal the deal, before adding "Actually, raise you to three galleons and add that Luna will also be the first one of your friends to get pregnant."
Ginny laughed and shook her head. "Wrong again." she said, letting out a surprised, but appreciative gasp, when Greg took back the reins and tilted her backwards into a low dip with apparent ease. "That'll be Pansy."
Greg huffed out a laugh, as he pulled her back up and steadied her with two firm hands on her hips. "You're mad." he breathed, eyes glittering with a mixture of amusement and affection. "Pansy's brilliant at potions. Even if Potter fucks up his contraceptive charms, she won't get pregnant until she chooses to."
"Oh, but that's the thing…she will choose to." Ginny smirked. "It's inevitable. Harry lost his parents far too soon, but is sure that if they had lived to raise him, they would have been the best parents he could ever wish for. He'll want to step into their footsteps and build his own family as soon as possible. And Pansy is desperate to prove that she's not her parents..that she can do better than them and be a good mum who loves her children unconditionally. I tell you they'll be pregnant before the next year is over." She cast a quick look around them to see if anyone was listening in, then added: "Do you want to get out of here?"
She didn't know why, but she felt the sudden urge to be alone with him. They've had this conversation multiple times before and she was sure Greg knew what to expect from her, but all this talk about people getting married and starting their own families had made her nervous. What if he had changed his mind? If he wanted children now, this conversation had the potential to very quickly turn into a fight, and she didn't want that to happen in the middle of a dancefloor with all her family and friends around.
"Err… sure." Greg agreed, looking a little taken aback as he cast a searching look around the tent. "Where do you want to go?"
"I have an idea." Ginny whispered, before grabbing his hand and leading him out into the overgrown garden of the Burrow. "Hold on." she instructed, before wrapping her hands tightly around his arm and side-along apparating him away from all the lights and noise of upbeat Christmas tunes and the happy chatter of tipsy people to a place that lay in almost complete darkness.
"Where are we?" Greg asked, taking a few seconds to find his bearings, before comprehension dawned on his face. "Wait.. is this the old barn where we…?"
"Yes." Ginny confirmed. "I'm sorry. I just needed to get out of there."
It was clear that Greg had picked up on her nervous energy by the way his eyebrows drew together and his eyes filled with concern, as he stepped closer and took her hand.
"What's going on, Red? Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Ginny breathed, helplessly gnawing on her bottom lip as she tried to fight down a wave of panic. "I just… all the baby talk and…I just got a bit nervous."
"About Pansy getting pregnant?" Greg joked. "Yeah, that is a scary thought."
That did coax a surprised snort out of Ginny and she could feel a little bit of that tension lift off her shoulders.
"No, not that." She giggled, but then turned serious again. "It's just… everyone's so eager to get on with life…get married…have a family… and I just don't know if I'm ready for that. I've only just started playing for the Harpies and I think I want to keep doing that for a while."
"Ginny…love…" Greg soothed, lifting a hand to swipe some hair out of her face before cupping her cheek. "I thought we'd already talked about this. We agreed that there is no rush, right?"
"I know we have." Ginny sighed, feeling very exhausted all of a sudden and sinking back against the cold stonewall of the crumbling old barn. "I just…I guess I got worried you'd changed your mind."
"Well, I haven't." Greg promised, putting a finger underneath her chin to tilt her head back and force her to meet his gaze. "There's plenty of time, okay?"
Ginny stared into his eyes for several seconds, so full with warmth and affection that it made her heart flutter erratically. There was no doubt in those gorgeous hazel eyes. No impatience or judgement…or anger. It was all just… love. A reassuring, grounding kind of love that instantly made her feel lighter.
"Okay." she finally agreed and her stomach filled with butterflies, as she watched Greg's lips tilt into a satisfied little smile.
"Good." He said, taking another step closer and trapping her between the wall and his tall, looming figure. "Let everyone else have a go at it first. It'll be fun to watch them struggle." He added with a cheeky grin, before brushing Ginny's hair off her shoulder, so he could press a soft kiss against the column of her neck.
"Oh, they'll be just fine." Ginny huffed, and, overwhelmed with a sudden wave of arousal, breathed out a needy sigh, as she let her head drop back against the wall to allow his lips better access to her neck. "As I said, Harry wants to be like his dad and Pansy will do everything in her might to not become her mother. They'll be great parents."
"I still think you're wrong about them having children first." Greg repeated his suspicion from earlier and even paused his affectionate assault of her neck to pull back and raise a dubious eyebrow at her. "Draco and Hermione are already engaged. They're way ahead of Pansy and Harry."
"Yes." Ginny said, and, unwilling to let him go just yet, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close again. "Hermione will be the first one to be married, but I think Pansy will be knocked up by then." She smirked at the disbelief in Greg's eyes. "And after that it'll be Ron and Luna's turn." She announced, eager to let him in on all her predictions. "But they'll do it all in the proper order, first move in together, then get married …after LUNA proposes… and then they'll start their family. Then Hermione and Angelina will get pregnant roughly at the same time. They'll both have boys. - George and Angie's son will be named after Fred." She paused briefly, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her at the thought of George having a son that he named after his late twin brother. It was a wild guess anyway, seeing as George and Angelina had been dancing around each other for months without anything more than some awkward flirting happening between them. But if that kiss under the mistletoe earlier had meant anything at all, then who knew? Maybe they did have a bright and happy future ahead of them.
"Oh and Charlie and Oliver!" she continued, once she'd regained control of her emotions. "They will file for adoption, of course. And Percy and Audrey will be working on conceiving their first child not long after that... And, let's see… oh yeah! Bill and Fleur will want more children too. There is no way they'll stop at just one."
Greg huffed out a stunned laugh that tickled the skin just below her ear and pulled a needy moan from her lips.
"That's a lot of children, Red."
"Well, as you said." Ginny breathed, bucking her hips lightly against him, which elicited a delicious low groan from somewhere deep within his chest. "We Weasleys are destined to have big families."
"Hmm." Greg hummed, nipping at her collarbone, while his large hand travelled down her back to cup her arse. Ginny let out a moan as he squeezed firmly, heat coiling in the pit of her stomach as she rocked her hips forward once more. "It's a good thing we both like children, then. We'll have our hands full with all those nephews and nieces."
"Yeah…" she breathed, and the word came out much too needy for the conversation they were having. "They'll all love us, because we'll be the most fun." She stopped briefly, feeling rather breathless, which she didn't think was from being snogged senseless against the wall, but more because of the thundering gallop her heart had settled into.
"And…" she added nervously, her throat feeling tight all of a sudden. "At some point during all the baby craze, I will have a change of heart and decide that I've had enough of being the fun auntie and will start wanting my own children…I…I can promise you that that's going to happen one day… I just don't know when."
Greg paused to look at her, the soft hazel-brown of his eyes so tender and reassuring that it warmed Ginny from the inside out. There was still no judgement in them.
"That's a lot of predictions." Greg said quietly, a warm smile on his lips as he brushed his thumb lightly against her cheek.
"Yeah, well." Ginny countered, willing her racing heart to calm down and forcing herself to sound confident and playful. "I'll bet you ten galleons that at least five of them will come true."
Greg's eyes began to sparkle with gleeful understanding. "Planning to keep me around for a while then, are you?" He asked, flashing her an almost smug grin. "You do realise that it'll be years until we know whether your predictions will come true or not?"
"I know." Ginny confirmed. "And, yes, I've grown quite fond of you, so I'd rather you stick around for a while."
Greg's smile widened as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her away from the wall to embrace her in a proper hug. "Well, good." He murmured, brushing his lips softly against hers. "Because I'm not going anywhere."
Ginny hummed appreciatively as their lips met in the sweetest and most addictive kiss; unable to believe her luck. What had she ever done to deserve a man as understanding and patient as Gregory Goyle?
"I'm so lucky to call you mine." She breathed, and, feeling almost dizzy with affection, quickly rested her forehead against his to steady herself.
"Nah, I think I am the lucky one." Greg murmured, eyes twinkling adoringly down at her. "I just have one question."
"Oh?" Ginny asked, her insecurities pushing to the forefront again.
"Yeah, I guess I was just wondering…" he began, tilting his head to kiss her neck with heated eagerness. "If you think we could use some more practice while we wait." Ginny could feel his lips split into a mischievous smirk against her skin and as he worked his way further down the column of her throat. "After all, practice makes perfect."
Heat pooled between Ginny's legs, and she had to suppress a pleasant shudder. "Hmm..." she hummed, a breathy, desperate kind of sound, as she forced herself to pull out of his embrace and took his hand, instantly interlocking her fingers with his. "I guess that sounds reasonable." A sly smirk spread on her lips, as she began to lead him towards the back of the barn, where they had shared their first night of intimacy together. "You can never be too well prepared, right?"
"Gods, I love you." Greg professed, before swooping down and scooping her into his arms. Ginny shrieked with delight and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck to steady herself, before she locked their lips in a soul-searing kiss. "Well, good." she said, when they finally broke apart. "Because I love you too. And now let me go and do that transfiguration thing with your coat again, so that I can show you just how much."
Greg smiled, a mixture of deep adoration and untamed desire in his eyes as he nodded. "Your wish is my command, Princess." He chuckled, before he let her down gently, took off his coat, and began to turn it into a soft, fleecy blanket.
~ THE END ~