A/N: And so the end of summer comes around...
I loved the reaction to Vanessa, definitely caught what I was hinting at!

And we get some more agency things in this chapter, some more people to meet and some Marauders banter as well.

Harry texted his parents in the morning about Vanessa. Without much communication at all, Lily texted back that James would be picking her up and handling it from there. Vanessa thanked them once again for their hospitality.

James waited by the door for her as she picked up her items. "Alright, Ginny?"

"Morning, James," Ginny greeted him with a smile. "Yeah, fine. Is my cocktail ready for Friday?"

"Naturally," he told her. He watched as Vanessa walked up to him. "Ready to go?"

Vanessa nodded.

"Harry, call your mother," James said.

Harry folded his arms. "Why?"

"She did not say." James offered him a meaningful look and then closed the door behind him.

Harry mumbled something under his breath but still picked up his phone. "Hi, mum."

He held the phone away from him as she seemed to speak quite loudly. When she was finished he placed the phone back against his ear while he sat down on his chair to enjoy the last of his coffee.

He seemed puzzled. "No, she doesn't."

Ginny couldn't make out Lily's reply.

"I'd know, I think," Harry retorted, fiddling with his spoon. He looked up at Ginny. "That's not fair, that's completely different." He rubbed his forehead. "Because I say so."

Ginny raised an eyebrow but he did not respond.

His shoulders slumped. "Do you really think so?" He bit his lip. "Evidently I wouldn't bring someone over if I thought they had feelings for me, I'm not crazy." His expression shifted to guilt. "I didn't mean to. Why would I do that to Ginny?" He swallowed hard. "No, she didn't say anything odd at all. Did I fuck up?" This last question seemed to be directed to his mum as much as Ginny.

"Give me that," Ginny said, holding her hand out to the phone. She lifted it to her ear. "Good morning, Lily."

" Hi, Ginny. I am sorry my son is so oblivious. I'm not sure if you knew… "

Ginny looked at Harry's conflicted expression. "I caught a vibe, but I hadn't figured out yet what it was." She looked up. "Is that why she was evacuated so promptly by James?"

"Yes! She didn't need to stay there any longer than she did! I don't know why Harry thought it was a good idea to let her stay… "

Ginny ruffled Harry's hair just to calm him down somewhat. "I don't let someone steal my man that easily," she said with a wink. She continued more seriously. "It was my idea to let her stay, it seemed the most straightforward. For what it's worth, she didn't do anything out of line and she seemed really polite."

"She is a good person but that kind of stuff creates unnecessary strain on relationships. I thought it would be better if we handled it. "

"I understand," Ginny said. "We'll call you back, I'm just going to talk to Harry because he looks as though he accidentally murdered a litter of kittens."

"Oh dear. Sorry, again. Talk to you later."

Ginny chuckled. "Bye." She put the phone down.

"I am so sorry!" Harry let out immediately.

She walked to the couch and sat down with Harry on her heels.

"I really had no clue and I'm so sorry I've caused this situation. I've never had issues with her. Please know that I—"

She held up her hand. "Harry," she said firmly. "It's fine."

He sat down beside her while he studied her face. "It's not."

"You clearly didn't know. You wanted to help a friend, it's okay," she continued.

He frowned at her.

"I'm not saying we should have her over again, but it's fine. She was friendly." She rested her feet on the living room table.

"Did you know?" Harry asked her. He bit his thumb nervously.

She shook her head slowly. "She was… I could tell she was taking cues from you on how to behave. She lost her boyfriend, it's easy to become confused. I hadn't figured it out, but when your mum said it, it made sense."

His eyes squeezed shut. "Shit. Fuck. I swear I didn't know."

"I know." She patted his cheek. "You never notice."

"What." His eyes opened. "What do you mean?"

"You don't believe she is the first one to have a crush on you, do you?" she asked him honestly.

"No," he said lightly. "There is you."

And she couldn't help laughing. "That's not what I meant. People have had crushes on you, and you hardly ever took notice. Most people assumed you didn't react because you didn't date, but I know you had no clue."

"Who?" he asked.

"Can't tell you," she told him. "I'd break the girl code."

He gasped. "Since when do you care?"

She chuckled at him. "It's not important. You don't notice, even if they flirt with you."

"No one has ever flirted with me that wasn't you," he stated far too confidently.

She facepalmed herself and held in her laughter. "Oh, honey. It's sweet that you're so oblivious." She raised an eyebrow. "But you never failed to notice when someone flirted with me."

"Well, you had many…ah… suitors," he responded, adding a small smile.

"Back to Vanessa," she said.

His smile vanished. "Right."

"It's alright, she was friendly and nothing happened but this is something we need to be more careful with in the future," she explained. "Both of us, because we could really end up hurting the other unintentionally."

"Yeah, I know." He shook his head. "I really had no clue."

"Your mother knew," Ginny added.

Harry looked back at her and nodded after a moment. "She never said anything either."

"We're okay. You were incredibly gracious about Dean when you didn't have to," she started.

"That's different, that's a mutual friend and there weren't feelings involved," he interjected.

She shot him a look and he shut up, she continued. "We just need to be aware of those things and discuss them upfront so there are no surprises."

He reached out and squeezed her hand. "Agreed."

"I do want to ask," she tried. "Is she one of the five people you've had sex with?"

"No," he said resolutely. "Which is probably a good thing, it's not a good idea to have sex when there are feelings involved."

Ginny laughed at him.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I heard it when I said it."

"Very dangerous," she said, sitting up and scooting closer to him. "All those feelings." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

His hands went under her shirt and caressed the skin of her back. "Bed?" he asked.

She nodded. "You have to be careful though. I have feelings for you. Are you sure this is a good idea?" She didn't let him reply and kissed him again. Her hand reached for his trousers.

"I'm so sure."

He stood up and took her hand to guide her to their bedroom.

Ginny knew they were starting to run slightly late for the party at the Potter house, but she really thought she could zip this dress up quickly. She could not.

"I'll be right there!" she yelled, knowing that Harry stood waiting patiently by the door and had been ready for over ten minutes.

"Good thing it isn't far," he responded.

She managed to zip up the dress, stepped into her shoes with the kitten heels and checked herself in the mirror. She looked presentable.

She walked out of the room to find Harry shamelessly tracking his eyes down her body.

He smirked at her. "Do you have a boyfriend? I'd be happy to take you home later tonight."

"I wouldn't recommend it," she said, picking her bag off the counter. She walked up to him. "My boyfriend is the jealous type," she teased.

He chuckled and pulled her close to kiss her. "Gorgeous." He pecked her lips. "Okay, now we should go."

When they arrived at his parents' house a quarter of an hour later, there were already quite a few guests there, all of whom were colleagues from the agency.

Harry pulled Ginny into the kitchen to greet his parents. Both of them were pouring drinks and refilling bowls of crisps and other savoury snacks.

"How was the rest of your week?" Lily greeted.

Ginny grimaced. "I've officially been disowned by Aunt Muriel," she said, recalling the bitter yelling on the phone. "Living in sin and all that… but all can immediately be forgiven if I marry Harry before the baby pops out." She shook her head and stole a crisp. "At least there is a good chance she won't have time to scrap me out of her will before she dies."

Lily offered her a sympathetic smile. "Join the disowned club." She smiled at Ginny. "My parents haven't talked to me in years."

"That's worse," Ginny noted.

Lily shook her head, picking up a tray and putting it in the oven before switching the timer on. "I don't need people in my life who have a problem with my life choices."

"Didn't she say she'd scrap Fred and George as well?" Harry asked, helping his dad pour more champagne into clean glasses neatly lined up on a tray.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Though we don't know if she actually followed through." She looked around. "Can I help?"

"You are a guest today," James told her, and pulled the bottle of champagne from Harry's grasp. "Harry, go introduce her to some people."

While Harry took her hand, she stood still for a moment more. "Okay, but if you need any help, you just let me know. I am happy to."

Lily waved her out of the kitchen. "Go and have fun."

Sirius greeted them as soon as they walked into the living room. "Hi!"

"Hi again," she greeted, pulling Sirius into a hug.

Sirius released her and looked down. "That's really coming along, huh?"

She caressed her bump. "It is."

Remus walked up to them. "Ah, the young couple. How are you, Ginny?"

"Splendid, what about you?" she replied.

"Great," Remus confirmed.

Lily came up behind Sirius and slapped his ass. When he turned around to her, she handed him a glass of champagne.

"If James knew…" Sirius told her off with a wink.

She smiled and raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "I am pretty sure he's done that more than I have."

Sirius chuckled and took a sip of champagne. "I think you may be right."

Remus took another glass from Lily and then Lily handed Ginny her cocktail.

"Thanks."

Harry eyed the empty tray. "What about me?"

"You can get your own drink, darling," she teased. "You know where everything is." She looked at Sirius. "You behave tonight, okay?"

Sirius gasped in mock offence. "And why doesn't Rem get the same warning?"

She looked between the two men. "You know exactly why."

Remus winked at her. "I always knew I was your favourite."

"Of course," Lily said. She walked with the empty tray back to the kitchen, weaving through the groups of chatting guests, and greeting people as she went.

"Lily knocked some sense into James," Sirius told Ginny. "And in turn, he knocked some sense into us."

"Excuse me," Remus scoffed. "Speak for yourself."

"I know you met at the agency," Ginny said. "But I am curious how you became friends."

Sirius nodded. "We were four young guys. For one project we posed as a four-member rock band."

"Dad played bass," Harry added, still without a drink.

"I was the lead singer with my striking good looks, of course," Sirius continued.

Ginny smiled. "Yes, of course," she played along.

"The fourth member of our band has unfortunately left us, I wouldn't have minded continuing the gig for events like this," he said, gesturing around him. "But when you get 12 people killed, you're not welcomed back."

Ginny couldn't discern if his expression was grim or spiteful.

"We are still trying to get Ginny to warm up to the idea of the agency, let's keep that story for another day," Harry lightly suggested.

Sirius wore a smile immediately. "I'll go see if your parents need help." He grabbed onto Remus's arm. "You're joining."

Ginny smiled and then let Harry guide her through the room. She smiled as people greeted her and they ended up in front of a woman with a heart-shaped face and bright pink hair.

"Hi, Harry," she greeted happily. "You must be Ginny."

She nodded. "Hi."

"This is Dora," Harry introduced her. "She's our IT specialist and youngest hire in a decade."

Dora shot him a sour look. "Until you came along!" she complained.

"I had to continue our legacy," Harry argued, slinging his arm lazily around Ginny.

She didn't seem impressed. "It's nepotism, that's what it is."

Ginny looked at her wide-eyed.

Dora sipped her drink and chuckled when she caught Ginny's expression. "Oh, it's quite alright. Harry has proven his worth."

"She's close to Bill's age," Harry told Ginny.

Ginny looked at her curiously. "Are you single?"

"Gin, your brother is married!"

She ignored him. "Irrelevant." She looked at Dora for her reply.

"I am flattered," Dora told her. "What's wrong with the wife?"

"She is beautiful and French," Harry supplied.

Ginny frowned at him. "She is pretentious and caused my brother to move to France."

"I could have dirt on her in two minutes if I get my phone," Dora told her excitedly.

"Really?" Ginny asked.

"No!" Harry let out. "Dora, don't be a bad influence."

Dora nodded solemnly and leaned closer to Ginny. She whispered conspiringly. "If ever needed, you know where to find me." She winked at Ginny.

After greeting and chatting with many people, Ginny settled down on a couch for a moment.

James came to sit beside her. "Are you doing okay over here?"

She nodded and looked at him. "Yeah, just resting my feet for a bit."

"Are you having a good time?" he asked.

She looked around at the animated party. "It seems like a nice group of people, everyone has been so friendly and welcoming."

"Well, it needs a certain type of person to do this work," James told her. "So apart from the odd one out, we tend to be quite similar in how we stand in life. Fighting the good fight and all that."

She smiled at his reply. "I can see that…" She asked her next question with caution. "Can I ask what happened to the fourth member of your band ?"

He sighed but he didn't say no. "Harry has told you about Tom Riddle?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "He explained the important bits."

"Right, well. Our fourth member, Peter, caved and fed him information." The same look Sirius had worn earlier when he talked about Peter was now reflected on James' face. "Many people died. Because we were so close, that betrayal hurt. None of us would ever sell out… but he did. I don't understand it."

"I don't understand it either," she admitted quietly.

"The worst part is… he is still working for Riddle as far as we can tell."

"I'm sorry," she told him. "That must be difficult."

James looked straight at her, wearing a sad smile. "I think that's one of the reasons Harry works alone at the agency. He hasn't joined any team permanently. Those things hardly ever happen, I've told him that."

"Harry takes a long time to really trust someone," Ginny thought out loud.

"You know that," James said with a chuckle. "I'm not sure he's aware of it, it's just how he is."

They were interrupted by Sirius who launched onto the couch, taking the empty spot on James' other side. "Grandpa!" he greeted.

James gasped. "Will you stop that!"

"My bad," Ginny chuckled. "My sincerest apologies."

Sirius leaned closer to James. "Please tell grandma I am sleeping here tonight—I've already had way too much to drink."

James laughed at him. "Don't let her hear you say that," he warned. "The bed is already made up for you in the guest room."

Sirius kissed James's cheek and then turned his attention to Ginny. "Has Harry abandoned you for the night?"

She shook her head. "No, I told him it's okay to leave me out of his sight for a few minutes." She tucked her hands against her bump. "He worries a lot about me."

Sirius grinned. "Can you blame him though?"

"I want to," Ginny admitted. "But not really no. It's good for him to talk to someone else once in a while," she ended with a chuckle.

James raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Nothing happened," she insisted. "I trust him."

"What did not happen where?" Sirius asked, sounding far too intrigued.

Ginny was amused to find out Sirius was much less collected when drunk. James shook his head and did not reply.

"Harry picked someone up from the agency and she had feelings for him and he didn't know… she slept over but she was… really polite." She shrugged. "I can't really blame her for liking him; I get it."

"Oooooh," Sirius let out in the most carrying whisper. "Vanessa?"

"See, even he knows," James said. "And somehow Harry didn't."

"He felt really apologetic, and it wasn't needed." Ginny looked at James. "I'm still glad you came to pick her up though."

"It was for the best," James agreed. "I'm glad it didn't cause issues."

Ginny held the hand of a slightly tipsy Harry as they walked back to the car after the party. They were parked a little further away since they had been too late to get a spot in front of the house.

"This party always signified the upcoming end of summer," Harry told her. "I am not ready for the end of summer." He stopped and looked at her.

She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "Me neither. This was a big summer for us."

Both his hands came to the side of her waist. "Not that I don't look forward to summers with our little cub; it just won't be the same. I want just a smidge more time."

"I know." She smiled at him. "This really has been an amazing summer. And I know I said boyfriends aren't for summer, but turns out they are."

Harry smiled at her. "They can be for husbands one day, can't they?" He brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Definitely," she told him. She stood on her tip-toes to kiss him. "Give me the car keys."

He went into his pocket. "Yeah, it's probably best if you drive."

He handed her the keys and then took her hand again, letting Ginny guide him to the car.

"That dress looks so good on you," he said as he got into the passenger seat of the car and closed the door.

She smiled at him as she got behind the wheel. "You've said. Didn't you tell me you wanted to take me home after?"

He shook his head, breathing deeply while a pout formed. "I can't. Your boyfriend is a jealous prick."

She laughed. "That's not what I said!"

"It's okay," he said. His eyes closed. "You're right," he continued to mumble. "I want you all to myself."

She felt her cheeks heat up. "Well, don't fall asleep. I can't carry you."

"I won't," he mumbled and then got comfortable in his seat.

She could only roll her eyes at the soft snore he emitted when she started driving home.