Ginny was wrapped in his arms, sleeping soundly. He pondered how she fitted in his arms perfectly. He couldn't quite believe Ginny was his girlfriend now, it was unexpected but very welcome. He could not remember the last time he had been this happy.
When she stirred, Harry kissed the nape of her neck.
"So that wasn't a dream then?" she mumbled.
"No," he said with a smile.
She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. "Good."
And just like that he melted. She looked so happy to be there with him and he couldn't quite get over it. He squeezed her a little closer, not knowing what else to do with his feelings. He moved his hand across her stomach, his fingers dancing over her skin.
"Stop, that tickles," she let out with a small giggle, wiggling against him.
He lifted his hand and she took the opportunity to turn to face him, tucking back into him.
"Definitely could get used to this," Ginny muttered, one of her arms wrapping around his waist.
"You will," Harry said, kissing the top of her head. He hoped so. "I have never wanted to get out of bed less."
"They will leave us here if we're not packed on time, so." She sat up.
No, no, too quick. He didn't want to go outside the happy bubble just yet. "We've got five more minutes," Harry responded, pulling her back down. He'd take any minute he could get.
Harry walked into the kitchen a few minutes later. Ginny was somehow already dressed and eating breakfast when he entered. Neville, Dean and Cho were already up too.
He took coffee and sat down beside Neville. He definitely did not have enough sleep to manage the day without.
"Are you packed yet?" Neville asked him.
He shook his head, he had better things to do. "We have the whole morning. Are you?"
"I started."
Harry looked impressed. "Before coffee? Bold choice."
"That's odd," Cho noted, standing at the door. "It is unlocked, did we leave it like that last night?"
Harry's eyes met Ginny's for a split second because that was her fault. "Oh, I probably forgot to lock it again. I went out late last night." He tried to sound casual.
"Why?" Cho asked, puzzled. He couldn't blame her for asking.
"Fresh air. Couldn't sleep," he replied, hoping they wouldn't ask more questions. He was relieved when Cho decided to drop it.
He stole another glance at Ginny. She was looking down at her plate, trying not to smile. He took his coffee cup and sipped from it, just to have something to do. He was wondering how long they'd manage to keep this under wraps, but he was starting to think not for long.
Harry was just about to start packing his suitcase when Ginny reappeared in his room. She had a rather serious look on her face as she closed the door behind her and then locked it.
"I need to tell you something," Ginny started.
To his surprise, she looked guilty, but he couldn't guess about what. It got Harry a little worried. "Alright."
Her eyes dropped to the ground. "The night before we got together, Dean and I, we had a lot to drink and …"
It wasn't hard to jump to the conclusion. "You had sex," Harry blankly stated.
She was clearly having trouble saying it at all. Ginny nodded and dared to look at him. She seemed quite upset about it. "It was a drunk thing, we both agreed to leave it at that. And if I had known … I would have never… but this really caught me off-guard," she tried to explain herself. "I'm sorry."
The timing was off and he was trying not to think about her having sex with Dean just a day before they did but Harry wasn't naive. He was well aware of the guys Ginny had had sex with. In the end she had been single at that moment and free to do as she pleased, even if it was slightly unfortunate.
Harry let out a big sigh as he put his hands into his pockets. "Well, I can't say I am thrilled about it, but I don't think it is fair to hold it against you. I think it's pretty safe to say we were both caught off-guard by this," he told her, then he tried to alleviate the tension. "Besides, I get it. He's a handsome chap."
Ginny smiled slightly and Harry was glad he could put her at ease a little. Everyone was walking around the cottage, packing, so they didn't have much time.
"I am genuinely sorry about the situation."
For a second it seemed that she would reach out to him but then she didn't. The last thing he wanted was for her to stay out of reach out of guilt, he'd rather have her in his arms.
"Gin, I've known you long enough to know you would not do something like that to willingly hurt me." His eyes focused softly on her. "I think you've shown me plenty who you really want."
Ginny sighed.
"Come here," he said. "Not even that can dampen my mood today."
Ginny stepped towards him and he tenderly held her face between his hands and bent down to kiss her softly. Her hands landed on his waist, pulling him to her. He knew they didn't have too much time so he didn't linger too long, making the kiss short and sweet just so she knew he was okay,
"I should go pack," Ginny said, she squeezed his waist and then turned to the door and opened it.
"Ah, there you are," Ron said when they stepped into the hallway. "What were you doing in there?" he asked his sister.
"Harry lost his glasses," she told him without missing a beat.
When Harry was done packing he walked over to Ginny's room, leaning against the doorframe.
"Nearly done?" he asked casually. He wasn't exactly sure why he had wandered over to her room, his feet had tracked there when he was done packing.
"Yes, I just need to find…" she said, looking about the room.
"Your bra?" He completed her sentence. He had found the garment between a pile of his own clothes just a few minutes ago. He had shoved it in his suitcase without trying to think too hard about how it had looked on her.
She promptly pulled him inside and closed the door. "Give it back!"
"Oh yeah, let me just walk over to my room and bring it over here. I'm sure that won't raise any questions." He had at least been smart enough to think that far ahead.
"Why did you still have it?" she said, crossing his arms.
Harry huffed. "I didn't keep it on purpose, you left it there! I just happened to find it while packing. Don't worry, I'll get it back to you."
"Well, at least I can quit looking for it." Her posture deflated, and then she grinned. "You should go, boyfriend." Her eyes locked with his as she said the last word.
Harry beamed at the word. The sudden power she has gained over his heart was thrilling. He planted a kiss on her rather harshly.
She looked a little amused at his eagerness. "Go."
Everyone was chattering at lunch. Harry was busy trying to keep his eyes off Ginny, but he found it hard not to glance at her and she kept smiling every time she caught him looking, even though she kept a casual conversation going with Neville.
"He's doing it again," Cho said.
Harry wasn't really paying attention to the words.
"If this was a drinking game we'd all be wasted already," Luna commented.
"Are they trying to hide it?" Seamus wondered.
Neville looked over at Seamus and suddenly no one at the table was talking anymore. Harry tried to figure out what had just happened, then it dawned on him that they may have been talking about them. Ginny shot him a confused look.
Hermione sighed. "Fine, I'll say it. Are you two together?" Her eyes landed on him specifically so there was no mistaking the question was directed towards him.
He was puzzled, to say the least. They hadn't been so obvious that somehow their whole friend group had already caught on, had they? Harry frowned. "Who?" he tried, but he guessed they were about to be found out.
"You and Ginny, of course!" she said, the rest of the table was dead silent, all eyes on them.
He looked at Ginny across the table. They weren't trying to keep it a secret but they simply had not expected to be discovered so soon.
Ginny looked at Hermione. "I have no idea what you mean." She grinned and winked at Harry in view of everyone. If they were going to have to tell them, they at least could have a little fun with them for a minute.
He joined. "Yes, whatever do you mean?" It was a transparent attempt, but it was pointless to hide.
"Come off it, guys!" Seamus said.
Ginny looked at him and raised her eyebrows at him with a smile, her face glowing. He smiled back at her. She turned back at Hermione. "Yes, we are."
Cheers erupted from the table. Ginny rolled her eyes with a smile. Harry wondered why they were this eager to find out anyway.
"Looking for Harry's glasses, huh," Ron commented, he wasn't the most perceptive when it came to relationships, especially his own, but he had managed to put two and two together in this case.
"Oh no, I was. They just happened to be on his face," Ginny said casually.
"Smooth," Harry commented, his cheeks feeling incredibly warm. He decided to focus on his food, starting to have enough of the scrutiny they were under. It was not that big of a deal, was it?
"Our scheme worked!" Cho said.
Harry's head whipped back up, frozen with the butter knife in his hand. If there had been any scheme, he was totally unaware.
Ginny looked dead serious now. "I'm sorry, what?"
The room went silent again, sensing she wasn't so happy to hear that.
"Well," Seamus started carefully, looking a little scared at her reaction. "Something's been going on between you two for so long… we just figured you needed a little push."
Harry could tell Ginny was getting angry, her ears were turning red and not because she was flustered this time.
She looked at Cho. "You said you liked him!"
"Yes, I lied!" Cho admitted with a shrug. "I just wanted to see how you reacted."
The whole thing had been a ruse, Cho liking him, the closet… and Harry couldn't fathom what else, and it had worked. He couldn't decide how he felt about it.
"And…" Ginny looked around the table, her eyes landing on Dean for a split second. The tips of her ears were now red too. She was majorly ticked off.
"Was it the closet that did it?" Neville asked.
"Or that walk by yourselves?"
No one seemed to catch on or care that Ginny was upset.
"Guys." Harry's eyes trained on Ginny, who was looking down at the table now. He was more worried about her feelings about this than his own.
"Or perhaps the city game run?" Luna tried.
"And I mean at the pool…" Cho added.
"Stop it!" Harry insisted, now raising his voice but Ginny had already bolted out of the door.
Suddenly the whole group fell silent, catching on. For a moment it was completely silent.
"Aren't you going to go after her?" Luna asked.
Harry was miffed they were about to suggest how he was supposed to handle their mess. Nor did they seem to have any clue how to handle an angry Ginny.
"You're joking?" Harry answered through gritted teeth. "Let's give her a minute." He could see from the window she had sat down by the edge of the garden, curled up like a cat.
"In our defence, Luna and I didn't know about it until like Wednesday," Dean tried.
That could explain some of his prior actions. Harry decided to ignore Dean, knowing if he spoke he'd regret saying any of it. Suddenly he remembered Ron was in the room and turned to him. He wasn't sure if he was looking for approval from his long-time friend or for an explanation.
"Well, it was about damn time!" Ron let out.
This confused him even more. He frowned and looked back out the window at Ginny, trying to gather his thoughts. Aside from all the new emotions and feelings, he now had even more to unpack. He did not want to hear any more of their explanations or excuses. It did not matter anyway, what mattered was that Ginny was upset.
He stood up and walked to the door, where he turned around. "You guys overstepped," is all he offered them before he went outside. He came to stand beside her but made no attempt to reach out, knowing it could set her off more. An angry Ginny was best approached from a safe distance, for your own safety.
"Gin," he spoke, just so she knew he was there.
"I don't get it," she said, looking out over the field behind the garden. "Even Dean, I don't get…"
"He said he didn't know until Wednesday so…" Harry said, wondering why he still felt like he should defend Dean on this matter, but it was the truth so he told her.
She nodded. "Sorry, I'm just trying to decipher—"
"— What was genuine and not? Me too." He looked at her, a slight frown between her brows. He wasn't happy about the manipulation, but it did get him Ginny, so he could forgive them somewhat. The most their friends had done was put them together, the rest they took upon themselves. "No one forced us to kiss in that closet, even if they put us there."
Ginny looked at him. "I don't like being manipulated. After David…"
"I know." He could sense her anger had diminished so he held out his hand so she could pull herself up.
She got up and released his hand, brushing the grass off her trousers.
"There's only one way to get back at them," Harry said, looking over the field too. He just wanted her to smile again.
"What?"
"Break up." He glanced sideways and she snorted, a smile appearing. After a second it faltered again.
"If we break up …" Ginny started.
"... we lose each other." Harry completed, considering the implications. They would never manage to be best friends again, not in the same way if at all. "And your track record is… four months, five at most…"
Then Ginny reached out a metaphorical hand to him, trying to soothe him. She hooked her arm into his and looked at him. "Harry… none of those guys were going to make me happy. I am always looking for Mr Right, but none of them were…"
He met her eyes, asking carefully. "But you think I could be?"
"I mean in the theoretical sense you already were. You're a good person, you're sweet, kind, funny, caring, not to mention, handsome."
He smiled. "Hm. Right."
"There just wasn't anything going on between us."
Harry nodded back towards the cottage. "Not if we have to believe them."
"Ugh, well," she said, being reminded of their friends' betrayal. "My point is that I am aiming for a little more than four months with you, if I can help it. Unless that scares you, then I take all this back and we're just fooling around." She was smiling, not a sliver of doubt on her face.
He wanted months, years, decades. Harry turned towards her. "It doesn't scare me at all, actually," he told her honestly.
Ginny shifted her weight. "I thought you were set on the single life?"
"No, I was." He nodded, the whole thing seemed silly now, not if there was such happiness to be found in being with someone. "But if I can trade that for this, us, I think it's a no-brainer really."
Ginny pulled him down by his neck and planted her lips on his firmly. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Several whoops were heard from the cottage.
"I think we have an audience," Harry muttered, not letting go of her. He found it was quite hard to remain angry at them when he was holding her.
"Very impressively, you made me forget for a minute I am angry at them," Ginny said, her forehead against his.
"Don't worry, we'll get our revenge on them," Harry said, it could be another one of their games. He looked at the cottage and abruptly everyone disappeared from the window. He looked back at her. "Now that no one is looking…"
Ginny looked up at him and for a moment it felt like she was looking into his soul. He smiled hoping it would convey things he couldn't quite put into words yet and kissed her again.
Ginny walked back inside and he followed. When she made it inside she abruptly stopped and he almost walked into her.
"I think I got a splinter," she said, trying to look at her foot. The table was silent once again as they looked at them.
"Who goes outside on their bare feet?" Harry commented.
"Well, that wasn't exactly on my mind," Ginny shot back.
He couldn't argue with that, pausing to put on your shoes would defeat the purpose of storming out dramatically.
"Who knows first aid and can take it out?" Cho said.
"Not me," Neville said.
"Me neither," Luna replied.
Ron looked at Harry. "You do, don't you? Got a certificate and everything."
"It's a splinter, it's not exactly rocket science," Harry commented, feeling like Ginny and him were being put on view once again.
Ginny sat down on the couch. "It's fine, I'll do it myself." She started prying at it with her fingers. She was never one to be cautious when it came to injuries.
"Stop that," he told her. He sighed in defeat. "Okay, whoever has tweezers and disinfectant."
Ginny stopped her attempt to get at the splinter and looked at him expectantly.
He walked to Ginny. "Lie down," he ordered.
Ginny lay down on the couch on her stomach, resting her head on her folded arms and stuck her foot in the air. He looked at it and could easily see the splinter but it was wedged quite deep. Hermione gave him tweezers and disinfectant. He got a hold of her foot, took the tweezers and tried to grab the splinter. He was aware of the seven pairs of eyes on them.
"Is this entertainment enough for you guys?" Ginny asked the table; she had sensed it too.
Harry grabbed her foot tighter in the hopes she would stop wiggling it.
"You know, that's not how you play doctor," Seamus commented.
It would have been a matter of time before the sex jokes started, but Seamus tended to make those types of jokes. Harry clenched his jaw. Ron shot up from his seat at Seamus' words.
"We can always play doctor later this afternoon," Ginny responded.
Of course she would fire back instead of avoiding it altogether. Someone cleared their throat. Harry let go of her foot. His eyes landed on Ron, who was about halfway to the couch.
"Don't…" Ron trailed off, looking between Harry and Ginny.
"Didn't think that one through, did you?" Harry said, wagging the tweezers in his hand, deciding to join Ginny on her quest to make everyone uncomfortable, even if that included himself. He could hear Ginny chuckle. He kept his eyes on Ron, wondering if he would dare to ask out loud what he was thinking.
"Did you…" Ron closed his mouth and shook his head. "Nevermind, I don't want to know." He sat back down at the table in silence.
"Good to know," Ginny said. "Making Ron squirm isn't that difficult."
"I hate both of you," Ron said, staring down at his food.
As Harry stared down the rest of the table, they all pretended to focus on their food instead.
"If everyone can finally shut up so I can get this stupid splinter out, that would be great," he said, taking her foot again. Ginny looked quite comfortable on the couch like this.
"Ow."
"I didn't touch you yet!" he said. He finally placed the tweezers against her skin to see which way the splinter ran. He made sure to hold tight to her foot so she couldn't move this time. He grabbed onto the splinter and pulled. It came out in one go. If she had bothered to stay still, this would have been fixed five minutes ago. "There we go."
"Cool, thanks," Ginny said, trying to sit up but he did not let go of her ankle.
He took the disinfectant.
"I don't need that."
"Mrs Pomfrey would personally come to take my certificate if I skipped disinfecting. It's non-negotiable." It was the truth too. She hammered on infection risk all the time.
Ginny dropped her head back on the couch. "Fine."
He disinfected it. "Now you can go."
She rolled over and leaned on her elbows as she looked straight at him. "Am I cleared for physical activity?"
Harry almost choked on air. "Christ, Ginny," he let out in surprise that she had decided to take it up a notch. He neglected to give a real reply, he assumed she knew the answer.
"They wanted more entertainment, I am giving it, until they beg me to stop and they will beg. Besides, I am testing to see how many shades of red my brother can turn."
"I am begging you, please stop," Ron immediately gave in.
They both stood up and finally returned to the table. Harry took a bite from his toast before anyone else stopped him from having lunch.
"Just know I am plotting a most elaborate revenge," Ginny said.
"And you guys are going to regret that," Harry said. Ginny could hold onto grudges for eternity if she wanted to. He looked back at her. "You've got any ideas yet?"
Ginny nodded. "I have a few..."
Harry noticed everyone at the table was still looking at them and not keeping conversations amongst themselves.
"I think we'll have to plot our revenge in private," Harry said, nodding at the table.
Ginny shot him an amused look, though his innuendo hadn't been intentional.
"I didn't mean—" His cheeks felt hot. "I think I'm getting a headache."
"So are you going to tell us how you got together?" Luna asked after a minute.
Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think you deserve to know."
Once again, Ginny chose violence. "Oh, you want to know what worked to adapt your strategy for next time… I get it, there are several good candidates in this group." Ginny looked quite satisfied at the chaos she caused at the table as she stood up and left.
"What did she mean?" they asked Harry.
"Don't look at me, she didn't tell me!" he said, then he thought of Ron and Hermione. "Though I have my own theories."
"Are you going to tell us?" Ron tried.
"No! You shouldn't meddle with that," Harry said, sure Ron would die of embarrassment if he mentioned Hermione and him. "What if the feeling hadn't been mutual?"
"Harry… no one was doubting that," Neville said.
Harry wondered if they really had been that oblivious, not only about the other's feelings but also about their own.
"Nevermind that," Ginny said. She was holding a pen, paper and an envelope. "I am going to write down the names of the people and seal it in an envelope. I will unseal it in a year or so."
"Can I see?" Harry asked.
She nodded with a smile, sitting down on the couch. Harry got up and sat down next to her. She wrote 'Ron'.
"Oh right, I know where that's going," Harry said, making sure to comment loudly.
She wrote down Hermione's name and looked at him with a smile, happy to torture the group some more. "You had seen that as well, right?"
"Evidently."
"And then," Ginny said, she wrote down 'Dean'.
Harry looked at the table, considering who to match. He was aware Dean was bisexual so that made almost everyone a good candidate. "No, I actually don't know where you're going with that."
Ginny then wrote the fourth name. 'Seamus'.
Harry's eyebrows raised. He looked at the table. Seamus sitting next to Dean. They were pretty much attached at the hip. "Aah. Yes, I do see it."
Ginny looked satisfied with her assessment. She folded up the paper and popped it in the envelope and sealed it. She stood back up. "And I promise, no meddling."
Harry opted to sit in the backseat this time, next to Ginny, so Ron claimed the front seat. Seamus joined them too this time.
Ginny dozed off quickly and her head dropped on Harry's shoulder. He said nothing but simply looked at her. Seamus snapped a picture of it. Harry tried to grab his phone but he wasn't quick enough.
"You are posting that in the group chat, aren't you?" Harry said.
Seamus smiled. "Yep."
Ginny woke up from the buzzing of her phone. She looked at it and grumbled something Harry didn't manage to make out. She put her phone on silent and rested her head back on his shoulder. She took his hand and entwined their fingers.
Harry was putting away the last of his clothes when Ginny came in. She halted in the doorway.
"Are you going home for the rest of the break? Ginny asked. His parents didn't live far out since they moved.
"No, my parents are not home themselves so why bother, you?" he asked.
"And go wave off Fleur? I don't think so."
Harry smiled at her. He had never met Fleur, but she seemed insufferable if he had to believe Ginny.
Ginny walked to him and he put his arms around her.
"You have to help me out," Harry told her.
Her arms came around his neck. "With what?"
"How to date, I feel grossly out of depth," he said, only half joking.
"It's not an exact science," Ginny said, pulling him close for a kiss.
"Jesus, at least close your door!" Neville commented as he caught them when he walked to his own room.
"We weren't doing anything!" Ginny defended them.
Harry kicked the door closed with his foot without releasing her. They both looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Alright," Ginny gave in. She ordered him to sit down and she straddled his lap. "Here's the thing…"
Harry tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"The first part of dating is getting to know a person. Been there, done that. We don't need it."
Harry nodded in agreement.
"The second phase is the awkward phase, you don't know what to call it or what they expect. That lasted exactly five minutes for us."
"Then comes the good part, where we're at. You know each other, you know what's what and you get to enjoy time together as you please," she explained.
"What comes after that?" Harry asked.
Ginny looked up at him. "I don't know, I have never gotten that far."
Harry chuckled. "So what's up for us?"
"I don't know, babe. We already spend much time together, it's just that I get to squeeze you a little closer." She demonstrated by shifting forward, closer to his face. "And who knows, maybe I'll finally find out what comes after phase three."
"Babe?" He inquired about the nickname. Her face was mere millimetres away from his
"Babe, honey, darling…, any sound good?" she said, her hands threading into his hair.
"No, it's just that I am not used to hearing you call me that without a hint of snark." He closed the gap between them, just barely touching.
"Don't worry, babe. I still got the snark," she said with an attitude.
Harry grinned. "That's my girl."
"Do you want to watch a film?" Harry asked after they finished dinner.
"Are you putting the moves on me, Potter?" Ginny said. She was lying on the couch, her head hanging off the side, looking at him upside-down.
Harry's hands landed on his hips. "Darling."
"I am sorry, the remarks just come out before I can catch them," she told him, not looking too sorry.
"Comes naturally to you, huh?" He shook his head. "No, I thought we could watch something and cuddle, that's all."
Ginny let herself slip off the couch and onto the floor.
"Don't hurt yourself," Harry commented.
"Oh no, I was just falling for you," she said, rolling onto her stomach and pushing up.
Harry covered his face with his hands. "Oh my god. At least if we're watching something, maybe you'll shut up."
Ginny walked to him. "Not really but you can try. Call me darling again."
"No, it doesn't have meaning if you ask for it," he told her. "Do you want to watch something or not?"
"You had me at cuddling," she said. She put her arms around his neck.
"Thought so," he said, grabbing onto her and hoisting her up.
She yelped in surprise before she wrapped her legs around his waist. He chuckled at her startled response. Her face came closer to his.
"Do you want microwave popcorn or crisps?" he asked.
"Sweet or salt popcorn?" she replied.
"Sweet, of course. What type of dumb question is that?" He smiled.
She bit her lip, amused. "Popcorn then."
Harry let go of her but she remained around him as she had wrapped her legs tightly around him and her arms remained around his neck.
"Are you a koala bear? Let go," he said, patting her butt.
She unhooked her feet and let herself drop back to the floor. He walked to the cupboard and took out the popcorn and put it into the microwave.
"You can choose what we watch," he said, leaning against the counter.
"I was thinking of the Sherlock Holmes film," Ginny replied.
"I was really expecting you to make me watch a rom-com," Harry responded.
"No, I wanted to pick something we both wanted to watch," Ginny said.
He shrugged. "The last rom-com I watched was okay."
"What did you watch?"
The microwave pinged and so Harry took out the bag of popcorn.
"Notting Hill." He poured the popcorn into a bowl. "It's one of my mom's favourites."
"That is indeed a good movie," Ginny agreed.
Harry walked to the couch and put on the film before settling on the couch. Ginny curled up beside him, her head leaning on his chest as his arm came around her. He put the bowl on his other side so he could easily grab the popcorn. He took one and fed it to Ginny.
"Wow, that is excellent service," she said, chewing on the piece. She reached out and took a piece herself and rested her hand back on his stomach.
"Don't get your sticky popcorn hands all over my shirt," Harry commented.
"Alright," Ginny said, instead slipping her hand under his shirt.
His muscles tensed as her hand slid over his skin. He groaned. "Please don't play with me like that."
She chuckled. "I am sorry, it's so easy." Her hand came to rest on top of his shirt again.
Harry was busy looking down at Ginny instead of the screen. She was comfortably tucked into him as if they had been doing this for years.
"You're going to miss half the story like that," Ginny said without looking away from the TV.
"How did you—?
She lifted her head and looked at him. "My ear is right by your heart."
"Well, stop listening to it!" he shot back.
She sat up and turned to him. "Look, I could tease you for it, but I won't because I actually think it's really cute." She leaned towards him and placed a kiss on his nose. She moved to sit back next to him but he shook his head.
"No, you're not getting your ear near my heart." He guided her to sit between his legs, her back against his chest.
"In turn I'll let you feel my heart," she said casually and took his hand and led it to her left breast under her shirt.
"That's not…" he trailed off. "You know exactly what you are doing, aren't you?"
She wriggled against him. "Yes, I can feel it."
"You really don't have to put in more effort."
Ginny reached out to the popcorn and popped another piece in her mouth. "You should be honoured, don't think I let any guy freely touch my boobs within 24 hours of dating."
"No, you like to take it slow, unless it is to torture me," he said into her ear.
She turned around to him, her legs folding over his.
"Who is missing the story now, huh?" Harry retorted.
She smiled. "I am still listening."
She leaned towards him and tilted her head, her lips landing on his neck. He snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He was keeping his eyes on the screen but as Ginny's mouth traced over his skin, not much else registered.
"Gin," he let out softly.
She stopped and sat up, her eyes locking with him. "Does this not count as cuddling?" she asked innocently.
"I didn't think so, but I'll enjoy being wrong once." He smiled at her. His cheeks were starting to hurt with how much he was smiling.
"Just this once then," she agreed.
Harry took a tighter hold on her and pulled her down on the couch. She giggled as she put her legs around his waist. He attacked her with kisses.
The door to the dorm swung open and they paused. Harry met eyes with Neville, who let out a big sigh.
"I guess I brought this upon myself, huh," he said with a shake of his head. He walked towards his bedroom. "Please don't have sex on the couch." The door shut.
Harry chuckled and looked down at Ginny under him.
"He's got a point," Ginny said. "Let's go to your room."
Harry sat leaning against a tree in the Sunday sun, Ginny settled between his legs. She was reading a book she had planned on reading at the cottage but hadn't gotten around to. He was blamed for this, he denied his guilt. He sat quietly as she read.
Suddenly Ron came up to them. Ginny put her book down and looked at him.
"Go away," Ginny said without any anger.
Ron did not listen. "I went home for an hour or two. I guess if you don't want pie..."
"Wait! I do want pie!" Ginny said, reaching for the bag Ron was holding.
He pulled it out of her grip. "No."
Ginny frowned. "I am sorry for sassing you but I am still angry at you. Please give me pie."
Ron rolled his eyes but reached into the bag. He took out a container. "Pumpkin pie for you," he said. "And..." He went back into the bag and took out another container. "Treacle tart for Harry."
"Yes!" Harry took the container from him. "Your mum's the best."
Ginny looked at her brother. "You didn't tell them, did you?" She nodded towards Harry. "About us?"
"No, don't worry. I did not. I assume you wanted to announce that yourself." He stood up. "They did want to see you soon."
"Yes, I should call them," Ginny replied.
"You should. I will leave you be." He turned red. "You may want to consider covering up that hickey."
Ginny's hand flew to her neck, knowing the precise spot Harry's lips had been earlier. "Right."
Ron nodded and turned around and stepped away. Ginny turned to Harry. He lifted her hand to see the offending hickey.
"Oops." He didn't seem terribly sorry.
"I should cover that up, I will get worse than a comment from Ron if the rest of our scheming friends see. I wouldn't want to give them the satisfaction."
"Definitely not." Harry sighed. "I know their scheming was wrong but, in all fairness,… What if we didn't realise at the same time we were interested in each other —or maybe you were dating someone and I was just left to pine after you… This could have gone very differently."
"I see your point. Though I would have liked to see you pine," she said with a smile.
"You just like torturing men, is that it?" Harry asked.
"Yes." Her lips pressed to his jaw. "You especially," she murmured.
"Funnily enough, I had already gathered that," he told her. "Talking about torture, I do have some schoolwork planned in the coming week, so…"
"So boring!" she let out but then she smiled. "I am kidding. I know that's important to you, I won't be unnecessarily distracting."
"Or … instead of joining me to study like in a month in a mild panic, we can start together now," he suggested.
"Maybe I will," Ginny agreed.
Harry frowned in surprise. "Really? Who are you and what have you done with Ginny Weasley?"
Ginny laughed. "I do get smarter every year, you know. Learn from my mistakes… Pick better boyfriends… study better… eat more vegetables…"
"You did make stellar improvements in the boyfriend area, I have to admit." He kissed her cheek.
"Earlier this week… when we were talking about what we'd do after we graduated… it suddenly hit me that I'd probably hardly ever see you anymore and that would suck."
"I'd hate that too," Harry responded.
"But… if we stay together then that won't be an issue." Ginny had no idea why the words were flowing out her mouth so easily. "We could get a little apartment together."
Harry closed his eyes for a moment. "Those are big things, Gin, for a relationship that's… less than 24 hours old." His eyes were soft when they opened again.
"Yes, I know, not phase three material," she said with a chuckle as she scooted closer to him.
Harry tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Definitely not phase three material."
"I told you yesterday, when it's you I am not playing around." She looked right into his eyes as she said it.
"You've got to stop saying things like that. My heart…" His hand came over his heart as he sighed dramatically.
"I would, if your eyes would stop lighting up every time I say something like that!" She wanted to say anything that would make his eyes sparkle like that.
"I suppose if we're on the same wavelength, then it's fine."His eyes sparkled some more.
She smiled at him. "I am not used to being on the same wavelength with people. They're always moving too fast."
Harry snorted. "Look who is complaining about moving too fast… you just said you could see us moving in together."
She shrugged. "To be fair I could have seen us move in together as friends too."
