AN- I've had a few requests for a Harry that grew up with his parents and is a bit cocky. One where he doesn't necessarily get along with all the Weasleys yet has an insane desire for the Weasley girl.
Sexyharry, Blaggfluester & Guest
This one is pretty well 'K' rated.
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Contrast
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The Potters and the Weasleys; They had gotten along so well at the end of the last war. The families had fought alongside each other, they had protected each other. All members of the families had been in the Order of the Phoenix together and working for the greater good. There may have been several more Weasleys than there had been Potters fighting in the war, but there were simply so many more of them. The Potter family had assisted in the war effort financially as well as physically so that some of the others that weren't as financially stable could manage to subsidize their lifestyle a bit and it had made a few of the Weasley's uncomfortable but it hadn't sparked animosity.
One would think that once the war was over that these two families would continue to get along.
And that was the case for the heads of these households.
Unfortunately, they hadn't gotten together often enough for their children to see that they too should be getting along.
It was an embarrassment for Lily Potter that her child had wound up being such a misbehaving spoiled brat. Try as she might, she couldn't think of the moment that it all might have gone wrong either. It wasn't like he was stealing or physically injuring his fellow students. His marks were still top notch and when she thought of all the trouble that her dear husband and his friends had gotten up to at school she supposed Harry's transgressions were along the same lines.
But still.
She hadn't been walking around Hogwarts during her school years with this sense of entitlement that Harry had adopted and James hadn't been as in your face about it either. Perhaps she was remembering it all a little different considering it had been so many years now, and her husband had really changed after the war had begun and then his parents had passed.
Those trials and tribulations were absolutely not something she wanted to inflict on her child just so that he would stop being such a snot to those that were less fortunate than him.
The only thing that she could think of to stem the flow of animosity between Harry and the Weasley's was to get them around each other outside of school. Harry only had two years left at Hogwarts and it was just he and the two youngest Weasley's at the school now but these two years were the most important when it came to planning his future. This was when he was forming lasting relationships in their society and if Harry could get along with Ronald Weasley, his dormmate for the last five years, then there was a chance that he could become the compassionate and reasonable man that she knew was in there somewhere.
So, she hatched a plan.
He had just finished with his OWL year and done very well with his schoolwork, she and James had sat him down and talked about him taking more of a role with the Potter family investments and beefing up his resume, showing work-studies and the like and Harry agreed that he would spend the summer working.
What Harry didn't know, what James didn't know, was that Lily had talked with Molly Weasley and they had both arranged for their children to get jobs at the same golf course this summer.
She and Molly were friends and Lily had gone to her with her concerns over her son's behavior, Lily had consulted her on what to do. Molly had seven children and each of them seemed to understand where the lines were drawn between being funny and being cruel, something Harry needed to work on.
How he didn't see his own actions reflected in the likes of his 'mortal enemy' Draco Malfoy, Lily didn't know.
Either way, they had pulled some strings and managed to get the golf course to hire the three children to work there. Now all they had to do was sit back and see what happened.
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Harry turned sideways as he looked in the mirror and tugged his polo shirt out of his khaki shorts just a bit so that it wasn't tucked in all the way so it would look better. He may have agreed to take this job to make his parents happy and learn the value of a Galleon, or whatever, but he didn't have to look like a complete knob to do it.
It shouldn't be too difficult, he'd been to golf courses before and knew how he expected waiters and such to act and he could pull that off. Sucking up was something he had perfected with his professors over the years and it was something he was going to have to do more of when he took up the family seat on the Wizengamut. Here all he had to do was take orders, carry a tray and say as little as possible.
The door to the staff locker room opened and he looked in the mirror and saw his dormmate, Ron, walk in.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked him.
"Me? What are you doing here? This is a staff room. Shouldn't you be in the members locker room if you're playing a round?" Ron spat at him. He stumbled a bit as he was pushed from behind by the next person walking into the room.
Oh shit, Harry thought. It was Ginny, Ron's sister, coming in behind him. They couldn't both be working here with him this summer, could they?
"Be nice," she snarled at Ron through clenched teeth, then turned a forced smile on Harry. "Apologies for him. Nice to see you again. We didn't know you were a member here. Although, he is right, you're in the wrong locker ro-," she then stopped talking as she took note of the embroidered polo he had on stating that he was an employee. "Oh. You do work here," she exchanged a look with her brother. "Well, how about that. What are the odds?"
Ginny didn't look very enthusiastic about having to be stuck working with him this summer.
Harry couldn't really blame her.
See, the thing is, Ginny and he played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team together and though Harry and Ron hadn't ever gotten along, and Harry and the twins were in a never-ending prank war the entirety of their Hogwarts career, when it came to Ginny… Harry got a little out of control.
He didn't prank her, or fight with her, or do anything intentionally to upset her life. What he did was… he snogged her. Usually when he was a little drunk, usually without asking if he could, and a few times when he was already in a relationship with someone else.
It had just been these last two years that his desire for her had caused him to act without thinking things through.
He wasn't sure how he was expected to stop it though; She was pretty, and spirited, and had this energy that just made him lust after her. He'd asked her out countless times and she always shot him down. It was part of the reason that he and Ron couldn't get on. Well, partly it was because Ron was desperate to get on the Quidditch Team, but he hadn't made it through the try-outs because of his nerves, and the fact that Harry had money and Ron was super envious, but him being unable to stop himself from pursuing Ginny, that had a lot to do with it as well.
"Er, yeah. My, uh, my parents wanted me to get a job this summer so they suggested I apply here."
"Oh, our mum suggested we apply here as well," Ginny told him politely and then picked out a locker on the other side of the room to put her things in.
She had always been cool around him, never overly happy with him right after he tried drunkenly snogging her, but once he apologized for it and promised never to do it again then she was able to be distantly friendly with him.
Until he did it again.
Harry turned back to the mirror to make sure his uniform was on okay and couldn't help looking in the corner and watching as she pulled off her t-shirt to reveal a pale tank top underneath that didn't quite hide the fact that her bra was pink today. Harry must not have been discrete enough about looking because Ron came up beside him and did a very poor impression of accidentally stepping on his foot.
"What do you even need a job for anyways?" Ron asked him. "Haven't you got enough family money piled up in Gringotts? You certainly flaunt it around enough."
Harry rolled his eyes. He never felt like he was flaunting his wealth, it was just that he had new things and Ron had hand-me-downs. Yes, he had money that he could spend on sweets and such at Hogsmeade and got a bit spoiled at Christmas, but 'flaunting' was pushing it a bit far.
"It's about work experience," Harry said pointedly. "You know, putting something on my resume other than Quidditch Seeker."
Ginny cleared her throat loudly to tell them to shut up. Rightly so too, this was a Muggle club. It was one that a lot of wizards played at but they weren't the main clientele and Muggles were hired to work there as well. Harry had been reminded about the Statute of Secrecy in his interview and by his parents before he left this morning, no doubt the same had happened for Ron and Ginny.
"Right, well, I'm sure we'll be stationed somewhere apart from each other," Ron frowned. "We won't have to interact much."
Boy was he wrong.
As the newest recruits the first day was spent with Ron and Harry shadowing a kid named Luke that had been working at the club for two years and walked them through the mowing and grooming process for the grass.
It was not thrilling work, and they had to spend the entire day out in the blazing heat. Both of them were practically able to wring their shirts out by the time their lunch break came up.
"Oh, don't you look lovely," Ginny grinned at her brother as she sat down across from him.
Harry had sat beside Ron at the staff table even though there were several other seats open simply because they'd been working side by side all morning and it felt natural. This meant he got to enjoy the benefit of Ginny's company as well.
"Shut up," Ron moaned and wiped his forehead and the back of his neck with a napkin.
"Where have they got you working?" Harry asked her.
"Hostess and drinks runner at the restaurant," she said. He could have guessed it was something indoors considering she was still as fresh faced as she had been when she got there. Her attention didn't stay on him though, it turned back to Ron and she asked about what work they'd had him doing.
Inside, Harry was frowning. She was really never going to give him a chance, was she? He hadn't been entirely sloshed for all those kisses he'd drunkenly given her and he could have sworn she'd kissed him back the last two times.
He didn't think she'd mentioned them to anyone either, mercifully they had occurred in somewhat secluded spots or out of anyone's eyeline. No one had brought the subject up to him and he was sure that Ron would have tried to punch him if he'd known about them.
All he wanted to do was kiss her again though. Her lips looked so full and pink right now. She had these cheeks that just made her face look so innocent and yet there was always this look in her eye like you didn't want to mess with her. Her freckles too, he loved her freckles. There was like a Milky Way constellation of them grazing the apples of her cheeks and around her temples, it gave her this everlasting impression of a blush.
Her eyes turned back to him again and he realized she'd caught him staring again and he immediately shifted in his seat and looked over her shoulder, pretending he hadn't been caught up in her again.
She'd caught him staring at her so many times that if he didn't find a way to get her to agree to go out with him soon he was going to start feeling truly pathetic.
He didn't want to give up though.
Now they were going to be working together all summer, so maybe if he found a way to get along with Ron then she'd give him a chance. She might be turning him down all the time because of this beef her brothers had with him. Why their opinion mattered, he wasn't sure. He didn't want to snog them, just her.
He'd learned it had been the same way for his dad and mum. His dad had a thing for his mum for nearly all of their Hogwarts career and she kept shooting him down. It wasn't until their seventh year that she started coming around, said it was because she could see how dedicated he was to his friends and to the right side of the upcoming war.
Well, Harry didn't want to get a war involved with his attempt to woo Ginny, but maybe he could attempt to be a better friend to her first, claim it had nothing to do with him wanting to get in her knickers.
Which, it was more than that, but boy had he ever thought about it. She was the hottest girl in school by his opinion. Her hair was this gorgeous deep red color, and she was super nice too; She was the only one that was properly friendly to that crazy Loony Lovegood girl in Ravenclaw. Her eyes were such a deep brown, and they had flecks of other colors in them that he was wishing for the chance to look at more without being too obvious or creepy.
If they went out then he could look in her eyes all he wanted and it would be romantic.
Oh shit, she'd caught him staring in her eyes again.
"Right, well, I'm going to get back to work then," Ginny told Ron and got up from the table.
"She left early because you're creepy," Ron said.
"I'm not creepy," Harry defended.
"Yes, you are. You're creepy and pretentious."
"Ooh, big word. Did you have to look that one up in a dictionary?" Harry scoffed.
Ron narrowed his eyes at him. "You might be teachers' pet, in line for Captain of the Quidditch team next year and have money, but Ginny can see right through you for the snob you are and she isn't interested, so leave her alone or you'll have five more of her brothers besides me to deal with."
Harry glared right back at Ron. The logic center in his brain was telling him that arguing with Ron wasn't going to get him anywhere. The problem was that Ron couldn't see anything but the fact that Harry had money, so arguing the point wasn't going to get him anywhere and arguing with a coworker on their first day wasn't going to help him keep this job either.
There was another part of his brain telling him to take Ron's drink and pour it over his head then stalk off and pretend he hadn't done anything wrong.
But he quieted that in favor of reason. Reason that could possibly lead to him being able to get somewhere with Ginny.
"Fine. Tell you what; I won't ask her out this summer and you and I can try to act like we're just two people working side by side doing the same job. No talking about school or pretending we've ever met before. Deal?" Harry wasn't interested in bickering back and forth with Ron all day every day like caddy girls for the next two months. Plus, if they could figure out how to get along it might make sharing a dorm with him the next two years more manageable too.
And, he only promised not to ask Ginny out this summer, he didn't say anything about after September first.
Ron narrowed his eyes at him in a glare but gave a huff of agreement. "Fine," he spat, "it's too bloody hot to fight with you all summer anyhow. And unlike you, I can't afford to get fired for not getting along."
Harry rolled his eyes but said nothing. It looked like they had come to an agreement.
The three of them were working full time hours and Harry and Ron were mostly stuck to grounds keeping tasks. Every now and then they had to go into the members changerooms and clean or refresh the towels. Ginny had the easier job of working for the restaurant and driving the drinks carts around the grounds. She was lucky. Basically, all she had to do was smile and look pretty; minimal effort for her.
Three weeks into their employment and he and Ron were still able to keep up with their truce. He would even go so far as to say that they were getting along just fine. What really brought Ron around was when Harry got in trouble for getting in the way of a member of the club, resulting in getting hit in the face with a golf ball, and Harry just stood there waiting for the member to finish yelling at him before he could leave and get some ice.
Ron watching him take it like that somehow got it through his thick skull that they were both in the same situation right now, his Potter family money didn't make a lick of a difference. In fact, Ron had been the one to wrap up the ice in a towel and hand it over to him.
Most of their shifts were Wednesday to Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but on the weekends they got the opportunity for overtime.
Harry hadn't taken up any of those offers because 40 hours a week was plenty for him, but after hearing stories about what went on at the evening events that the overtime was for, he finally signed up for one.
There were weddings and the like that happened at the club on the weekends. Harry had been forced to attend Ministry functions and had assumed that being a cater waiter on the weekend would be very similar to being stuck at a stuffy ministry event.
Not the case.
Currently he was clearing off one of his assigned tables in a darkly lit room while Journey was pumping out on the stereo system and a bunch of well-dressed guests were dancing without a care in the world on the floor.
Ginny was working tonight as well but Ron had opted not to. Harry had done his very best to be friendly, bordering on cordial, to her. Though there hadn't been much call for interaction with her; they had showed up, finished setting up the room, bussed the buffet of appetizers and run the salads and dinner, plated and served cake, now they were simply cleaning up.
There was so much more chaos behind the scenes than he had ever thought about. The number of near accidents that would have resulted in food down his front from moving in the cramped hallways behind the hall; and some of the other waiters could carry five plates at a time!
It was amusing though, watching the guests getting more and more sloshed. Watching the bridesmaids and other clearly single females on the prowl for someone to dance with, likely to go home with as well.
"Oh, she can do better than that," Ginny said in his ear as she helped him clean up his table.
He followed her eye-line and saw the Maid of Honor had found a dance partner. It was a fairly good-looking guy in his mid-twenties that was sporting the popular hairstyle and wearing a tailored suit. His physique was pretty good, so Harry didn't know what Ginny's problem with the guy was.
"What's wrong with him?"
"He pinched my arse earlier," she stated.
A wave of anger shot through him. "He what?!" He was a moment away from stepping around the table and giving that guy a piece of his mind, but Ginny just let out a laugh and shook her head.
"Yeah. Looked like he was going to feed me a line, but I mentioned something about being fifteen and then he swallowed his tongue and ran away."
"Good, at least he realized how wrong it was. Even if you weren't about to be fifteen, he shouldn't have done that."
She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Not to worry, I've some experience dealing with unwanted advances."
"Hey! I've been good lately!" he immediately protested.
"Yes, you have," she admitted and gave him one of her lovely smiles. "I almost miss having to fend you off. Good thing I had to put that guy in his place, might have lost my edge otherwise."
"You're comparing me to him?" Harry gestured towards the quaffed guy on the dancefloor that was now doing some weird move that involved waving his hands in the air.
"No," she conceded and rolled her eyes. "I much prefer your method of getting smashed and cornering me, then professing your love in a drunken drawl."
He felt the heat rise to his cheeks. "I'm not… always… drunk," he defended in the lamest way possible.
"Well, you're never entirely sober when you do it, are you?" she countered.
He opened his mouth again, to say what, he didn't know. Because she was right. He had never been able to make a move on her when he was completely sober. Even when he sent her a Valentine's last year he hadn't been able to place the Owl Order until he'd had a shot with Seamus first.
But why was she bringing it up?
"Did you want me to?" he asked.
She turned to regard him properly and they did no more than lock eyes for a full minute. "Didn't you promise Ron that you wouldn't ask me out this summer?"
Oh, he didn't think Ron would have relayed that information to her.
"I'm not asking you out," he pointed out. "I'm asking if you wanted me to ask you out. You know, when I'm completely sober."
She didn't answer him though. They both got called to finish up with their cleaning up and were pulled to opposite sides of the banquet room for the remainder of their shift. At midnight though, they were the only two that had finished up and were back in the staff room.
He was doing his best to keep to himself as he switched his work shirt for his casual shirt, but he could still see her out of the corner of his eye.
"I had hoped that Ron wasn't going to get hired here this summer," she said, unprompted.
"You didn't want to work with him?"
"Well, I knew we would work along side each other just fine. But we play Quidditch together at home just fine too though I'm glad he isn't on the team with us. I like being the only Weasley on the house team now." She had switched into a tank top to walk home in and pulled a sweater on over top of it, but it was one that hung off one shoulder and it was dark which somehow complimented her eyeshadow and made her look even better.
"And I had been hoping not to have him looking over my shoulder a bit this summer so I wouldn't have the brotherly presence forcing me to behave a certain way."
He dared to take a step closer to her then. "What way is that?"
Ginny quirked her lips to one side and took a step towards him as well, reaching her hand out to tug at the bottom of his shirt. "Might have had a summer romance in mind. That's not so feasible with him around though."
"Because you don't want him knowing?" Harry asked, surprised he could even get the words out.
"Exactly," she shrugged with one shoulder. "I mean, you know I'm not someone that just spreads it around. But having a bit of fun never hurt anyone."
"I could be fun," he said quickly. "And, and I wouldn't let it get back to Ron."
She grinned up at him, "I knew you'd say something like that."
He took that as a 'yes' and quickly leaned down to capture her lips. For the first time ever he was kissing her completely sober, and for the first time ever he felt her, for sure, kissing him back. He could taste the berry flavor of her lip gloss and feel her hands pulling him closer instead of pushing him away.
Technically, this still wasn't breaking any promise he'd made to Ron. Not that any promise he could make to Ron would ever stop him from turning down Ginny when she as much as asks him to kiss her.
Harry hugged her close and felt her arms come around his neck and hug him back.
They were really doing this! He allowed himself to get completely lost in her and they wound up pressed up against the lockers, snogging each other's breath away until they heard voices carrying from down the hall.
Harry pulled back from her and turned to look towards the door to the hall that the voices were carrying from, then looked back towards her.
Merlin, she looked amazing like this. Her eyes were so dark from her dilated pupils and her lips were so much more enticing now that they'd been plumped up by his own.
He wanted to talk to her, but the voices were carrying closer and likely were from people bound for the room they were currently in. So, he took her by the hand and dragged her towards the other exit that led to the outside.
The cobbled pathways were lit up every few meters by lanterns and they followed that path over towards one of the groundskeeper sheds that held a fireplace they used to Floo to and from work. He guided her away from there a bit though and over towards one of the ponds.
It felt nice just to have her hand clasped in his. He was doing his best not to let the cheesiest of grins break out over his face.
They'd just snogged in the breakroom and she'd been the one to instigate, now they were on a romantic walk, hands clasped with fingers interlocked, over to a pond that was lit with lanterns and had a pretty little fountain in the middle of it.
"I want to do this again," he blurted out.
"Good," Ginny grinned. "Because sober Harry kisses a little better than drunk Harry. And like I said, I was hoping for something fun this summer."
Summer, he repeated in his mind. She was just looking for something for the summer. And to keep it from everyone else, to sneak around with him and not let anyone know.
He only then realized that the grin she was giving him wasn't any different from the other friendly grins they had shared when she wasn't angry with him over something. She wanted them to go from having a summer fling, then they would go back to being just housemates and teammates when they got back to school.
He didn't know how he felt about that.
Figuring that out right here and now probably wasn't going to allow him enough time to process it though.
"Right, so. One more before we have to go and get some sleep before our shifts tomorrow?" he asked, feigning a playfulness that the sinking pit growing in his stomach was barely allowing him to pull off.
"Lay it on me Potter," she said before reaching up on her toes and kissing him again.
At least he still got to kiss her. That made it all worth it, right?
That night when he got home he wasn't entirely convinced that this was a good idea. He'd been falling in love with her for years, now he was being given the opportunity to kiss her with her being a full and active participant as well, but she didn't have the same end goal in mind for where this was going.
But that meant that he still had several weeks in the summer to change her mind, right? Surely they would be able to find several more opportunities to sneak away together unnoticed by anyone else, specifically Ron, right?
Harry didn't sleep well that night. He tossed and turned and kept catching the subtle taste of her lip gloss on his lips that would call up these vivid memories of what it had felt like to snog her properly.
By the time he got to work again the next morning he had barely grumbled a word to his parents, who had been enjoying a coffee in the breakfast nook of the kitchen, and tripped over the frame on his way into the locker room at work.
"Steady on there, Potter," Ron greeted him.
"You sound like Malfoy when you call me by my surname," Harry muttered.
"What's up with you then? Not get enough beauty sleep?"
"No, I didn't," he stated with emphasis as he pulled off his shirt to grab a fresh uniform polo to pull on. "Worked the wedding last night. Didn't get home 'til after midnight and couldn't fall asleep right away."
"Oh, how was it?" Luke, their previous trainer asked from the next bench down. "I worked one last summer where one of the bridesmaids declared her undying love for the groom," he snickered. "And another one where the bride did this, like, strip tease for the groom. It got really awkward. I mean, there were grandparents there."
"Well, nothing that crazy happened. But it was a lot of fun. Never been on that side of an event like that before," Harry told him.
"Always the one being catered to," Ron jutted his chin out a bit.
Harry wasn't going to get defensive about that though. "Yeah," he admitted. "And you know what? I actually liked being on this side of it more," he grinned.
"Seriously?" Ron gave him a look like he was crazy.
"Seriously." Ginny had chosen that moment to come into the locker room. Harry wasn't sure if he was supposed to act any different around her, so he simply carried on. "Having to go to charity functions or awards ceremonies or whatever, I have to get all dressed up in uncomfortable clothes and pretend like I care what everyone is blathering on about. On this side of it we're kept busy and we get leftover cake."
"Oooh," Ginny chimed in. "Did you guys try that cake last night? It had this cream cheese frosting. It was incredible."
"Did you bring any home?" Ron asked brightly.
"No, but there might still be some in the staff fridge."
"Dibs!" Ron and Luke said at the same time and rushed out of the room, leaving just Harry and she behind.
Ginny sauntered over to him with an obvious swagger. "Looks like you didn't get much sleep last night," she pointed out and brought her hands to the side of his face, her thumbs tracing gently below the frames of his glasses where his sleep deprivation was apparent.
She didn't seem to have the same problem, but looking at her closely he could tell that she had put on a bit of make-up this morning, so perhaps she had just covered it up better.
"I may have been wondering how we could make this summertime arrangement of yours work out, if at all."
"You don't want to?" A line appeared between her eyebrows.
"No, I do," he assured her. "It's just. Last night was the first time in three weeks we'd ever wound up in here alone together."
"Oh, you don't think we'll be able to orchestrate it." She grinned at him and went up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. "Notice how we're alone in here now?"
"Yeah," he replied in a daze, leaning down to give her a few kisses of his own.
"That's because I'm not avoiding you anymore." With that she gave him one more kiss and pulled back, spinning around on her heel and stopping by her locker to grab something before heading back out through the club side exit.
Okay, so maybe this could be a good thing this summer.
()()()
It turned out that Ginny was excellent with stealth. He knew she was great at a lot of things, but the ability she had to play innocent and manipulate situations so that she got what she want, she was diabolical. It had to be due to her learning from so many of her brothers mistakes. The twins had been pretty brilliant, but they got caught for far more than they needed to. Plus, with Pompous Percy and his penchant for kissing arse, she must have learned how to be cooler about it where Percy was so obvious.
It was all these skills she'd learned and used that allowed for them to 'happen' to run into each other all over the club through out their shifts. At least once a day they would find themselves alone together, and Merlin, was it ever worth all the build up he'd conjuring up in his mind before they'd started these little trysts.
The hands on her, the lips, the tongue!
That was it, all he ever wanted to do, all he aspired to now was simply being the person that Ginny Weasley wanted to spend her time snogging.
Unfortunately, it wasn't all sunshine and daisies.
See, as much as he loved it, he knew that there was something missing.
And actual 'relationship' portion was missing.
They didn't talk, they didn't make plans to see each other outside of work, she hadn't mentioned anything about wanting this to continue once they were back at school.
And he wanted to. He wanted to send her hearts and flowers, he wanted to sit across from her at a table at the Three Broomsticks, he wanted to be able to carry on a proper conversation with her.
She didn't seem to want to let him though, and it was throwing him way off.
He was the guy, shouldn't it be her that had all these issues about what they were to each other, what they were lacking?
Yes, yes, it was sexist and whatever. Equal rights, blah, blah, blah. But he legitimately fancied her and she was treating him like a dirty secret that was going to be nothing more than a fling to be… flung.
He wanted more than that.
His birthday was coming up and he wanted to celebrate his sixteenth birthday with her. Every time that they were around each other though she was in a conversation with someone else, or they were in a closet with their mouths otherwise occupied and then she was running away back to her post to carry on with her job.
He was also getting along with Ron right now and they were on the verge of becoming mates. He didn't want to just chuck that aside by breaking his promise not to ask Ginny out.
It turned out Ron wasn't so bad to be stuck digging trenches with or raking sand traps or any other labor-intensive jobs they got stuck doing. Harry had been expecting Ron to put in minimal effort, it was how he played things at school, but when it came to actual back breaking work, Ron was who you wanted on your team.
Normally Harry would have confided some of this to Neville or Seamus, but the two of them weren't around this summer. Neville had done so well on his Herbology Owl that his Grandmother had taken him on some South American adventure to see special plants down there, and Seamus was visiting family of his in America that had a pub in New York City.
He probably could have talked to his Godfather about it, but Sirius wasn't really one to understand 'girl trouble'. At least, he didn't think that Sirius would see this as girl trouble; a girl only wanting you for snogs, no strings attached?
No, Sirius wouldn't see the problem there at all.
That left him to simply fester over it. And try to talk to her, he guessed. Maybe he could convince her that she should give him a real chance.
If it was his birthday then she might actually feel obligated to say yes and go somewhere with him that wasn't the golf course supply closet. He could work with her only saying yes due to circumstances. It would have them spending proper time together. He didn't really care what brought her there, so long as she was there and they could actually talk.
He showed up to work on the morning of July 31st, his sixteenth birthday, armed with cupcakes topped with cream cheese icing since they were Ginny's favorites.
"Brought treats this morning," Harry announced to the six people in the locker room, Ron and Ginny were among them.
"Nice, what's the occasion?" Luke asked as he took one.
"My birthday," Harry grinned.
"Shouldn't we be the one's giving you cake then?" asked one of the breakfast waitresses.
"No," he waived her off. "I was craving these cupcakes, so I got them and figured I'd bring some in for everyone. Make sure you all enjoyed my birthday."
He held out the tray to Ron first for him to take one, then to Ginny.
Ginny caught his eye and wished him a happy birthday before biting into the cupcake. The real gift for him was seeing the look on her face when she realized that it was her favorite kind of icing.
"I'm just going to put the rest in the staff fridge if anyone wants one later," he excused himself from the room.
Ginny followed him out and walked alongside him to the staff room. "It's your birthday, huh? Why didn't you mention this before?"
"Mention it when?" he asked. "It isn't like you allow for much time for talking."
"And you have a problem with that?" she scoffed, completely dismissive of the suggestion.
They had reached the staff fridge and he opened the door and turned to her while he placed the tray down. "Yeah. Kind of. I mean, don't get me wrong, you know I've wanted to spend time with you like that for years now. But I had kind of pictured there being more to it than this."
Ginny took an apprehensive step back and cast a glance around the room to make sure they wouldn't be overheard, a blush breaking out over her face. "I'm not. Harry, I'm not that kind of girl. Snogging is one thing, but-"
"What?! No! That's not what I meant!" he cut her off. "I'm not asking to get into your knickers. That isn't the 'more' I was referring to," he assured her. "Look," he closed the fridge and rested back against the door, "I promised Ron I wouldn't ask you out this summer, and I'm trying hard to stick to that. But that doesn't mean that we can't act like friends at least. And friends talk to each other."
"Oh." She relaxed her stance and looked to be giving it some real thought. "Well. Um. Maybe we could go out to get an ice cream or something after work today. To, uh, celebrate your birthday. As friends."
He grinned at her, "that would be great!"
He had thought that was part of his mission accomplished. But she hadn't said anything about bringing Ron, Luke, and one of the other girls named Henrietta along. She hadn't not said anything about bringing them either, and that was a loophole that he himself had used once or twice.
Thus, after work the five of them got a ride into town in Luke's car, he was a Muggleborn, as was Henrietta, and found themselves at an outdoor patio table at a fast food place.
Harry managed to sit beside Ginny at least.
"So, you three are all in Gryffindor?" Henrietta asked. She had gone to school with them four years ago but was a Hufflepuff and their paths hadn't crossed. She shared a few stories on the ride over of what she remembered of some of the Weasley boys though.
"Yeah, Ginny and I are on the Quidditch Team together, and Ron and I are in the same year," Harry told her.
"It's great that you could all work together then. I never got to see my friends through the summer."
Ron let out a laugh. "We weren't very friendly to each other at school. I've only just stopped thinking that he's a twat." He gave Harry a good-natured punch in the arm.
"And I've only just realized that you are good for something other than putting your foot in your mouth," Harry gave it right back to him. They shared these comments with smiles on their faces. The snide remarks had now given way to teasing over their several hours in the sun.
"Harry here has the ability to rub those of us that aren't quite so 'well-to-do' the wrong way sometimes. But he's decent enough so we haven't kicked him out of the tower yet," Ginny added.
"That and I'm the reason we keep winning the Quidditch Cup," he scoffed.
"Oh please, I'm better at Quidditch all around. One on one, I bet I could catch it first. Particularly if I had a broom that would do the job for me," Ginny said.
"Oh, anyone got somewhere we can test this theory out?" Luke asked. "It's been ages since I've seen a good Quidditch show-down. I'm so tired of watching golf," he rolled his eyes.
"We've got a pitch," Ron offered.
"But we don't have a Snitch," Ginny pointed out.
"I have one!" He was eager for this idea! Not just ice cream with her, but they could play Quidditch together too, just for fun. "I've got a pitch too."
"Then how about this; you get your Snitch, then we all go back to The Burrow and have a game there. You have to use a Cleansweep 7 and we give the Snitch a five minute lead," Ginny laid out.
It took all he had not to make a face at the offer of a Cleansweep 7. He was pretty sure that broom was essentially out of commission when his dad was playing Quidditch in school.
"I'll need to fly a few laps around with the broom before we start, but you're on." He held out his hand for her to shake, then they piled back in Henrietta's car to head back to the club and the gatehouse at the far end of the property with the Floo grate.
()()()
Harry had gone to his house, taken the Snitch he had in his room, and left before his parents had been able to intercept him. He was pretty sure that they didn't have anything big planned for him that evening, and he'd left a note on the kitchen counter letting them know that he was out with friends and would likely be gone until late into the evening.
Everyone had been waiting patiently for him when he Floo'd back to the gatehouse, from there they all went to the Weasley family home.
Harry hadn't known what to expect. His first impression of the home was that it looked like a clubhouse. Sort of like what a five-year-old would imagine that the inside of tree would look like if it were the home to Keebler Elves.
There were things absolutely everywhere and a dangerous looking staircase that was leading up to more staircases. He could see through to the kitchen from the sitting room and there was an amazing scent wafting over to him from there.
"Hey mum," Ron called out. "We've brought a few people from work back. Were going to have a bit of a pick-up game on the pitch."
"Alright, grab a biscuit on your way out. They're still warm and buttery," she called back from where he could see her standing over the stove.
Ron and Ginny navigated around the furniture with no issues, there were a few more footstools and chairs than the other three were expecting and Harry and Luke accidentally kicked legs that were sticking out.
"Thanks mum," Ginny said as she took a roll and gave her mum a kiss on the cheek.
Luke and Henrietta gave Mrs. Weasley a thank-you as well, as did Harry, but he was the only guest that got a second look.
"My, you look just like your father, don't you?" She didn't seem at all surprised to see him there, or question what circumstances would arrive with him being welcomed by Ron or Ginny to their house. Perhaps she hadn't been told all the shenanigans that had gone on between he and her children over the years. It was doubtful, but maybe Ron had mentioned they'd been getting on alright.
"Er, yes. I've been told that before. And that I have my mother's eyes."
She reached out and took a gentle hold of his chin to tilt his head towards the light. "Ah yes, Lily always had those beautiful green eyes, and there you've got the same. Shame about needing the glasses. It does block the full effect they might have on the girls, doesn't it?"
Harry cast a glance over to Ginny who was standing on the inside of the backdoor waiting for him, he was looking for assistance with what to say.
"Alright mum, we've got a wager on that needs a victor. Please unhand the guest," Ginny chuckled.
"Oh, yes. How rude of me," she quickly pulled her hand back. "Enjoy your game. I'll have stew ready for dinner time. There'll be plenty to go around."
"I wasn't expecting to be fed," Harry told her as they walked side by side down the little hill towards their pitch.
He was struck by how pretty it was around her home. There was a bit of a hobby farm, but there was a pond, a makeshift Quidditch Pitch, various types of trees and flowers growing around the perimeter. He looked back at the house and seeing the topsy-turvy architecture brought a smile of delight to his face.
He could absolutely see this as being a story tale Keebler Elf home.
"This place is brilliant!" he exclaimed.
"I certainly enjoy living here," Ginny told him. "There was so much land and work to do around us, we never get bored."
"I bet. My place isn't huge, but there is still more house than we need. It's one of those old manor homes though. Has a wing with a ballroom that just sits collecting dust."
"Did you ever sneak in there as a kid and play war or anything?"
"Yeah," he laughed. "Neville and I grew up with our families pretty close and we would go in there while our parents were being boring and we'd play pretend with all these fake explosions and impossible missions and enemies and such."
"We did the same out here," she gestured to the woods. "That last year before I went to Hogwarts was the most boring time of my life, but I still had Luna who lives not too far off. It was the first time I'd ever played princesses instead of soldiers." She started guiding him back down towards their make-shift pitch.
That explained her friendship with Loony Lovegood.
Ron had already pulled out the brooms from the shed. They were filthy and looked more like tree branches than brooms.
"You're sure they still fly?" Harry couldn't resist asking.
"Hey, give them a try, or maybe you can pull the stick out of your arse and see if that one will work," Ron challenged him.
Harry rolled his eyes and didn't take the bait. He held his hand over the closest broom and shouted 'Up'. It rose into his hand no problem, but it was well slower than his Nimbus 2001. The Cleansweep was still little better than the school brooms.
They did have enough for all five of them to give them a go though.
Luke and Henrietta didn't have any experience playing Quidditch, but they were up for giving two a side a go while Harry got comfortable with the broom. Ron was playing Keeper. Ginny got the Quaffle and Harry let go of his Snitch to let it get the head start.
It was an interesting experience playing against Ginny instead of with her. They were playing men versus women, and Ginny was a force to be reckoned with.
After Ginny managed to score ten times to Harry's three on Ron in under a half hour, they called it quits on that portion of the game and went to grab a drink of water before he and she were going to hunt for the Snitch.
"Are you thinking of going pro?" Harry asked her.
"Oh yeah," Ron answered for her. "She's got it all mapped out. You should see her room. Covered in posters of her favorite players and Quidditch Weekly magazines with articles dog-eared."
"Thanks, Ron," Ginny deadpanned.
Harry thought he wouldn't mind seeing her room. He looked up at the house again and tried to guess which window was hers.
"Have you thought about getting into any of the Quidditch Camps?" Harry asked her. "Your good enough, for sure. You might even get recruited for the National Team the way you play. You know Krum for Bulgaria was still in school when he played for them."
"I know," Ginny said, less enthusiasm behind her voice. "Those camps are expensive though. Kind of what I'm saving up for this summer."
He opened his mouth but managed to stop himself for asking why her parents wouldn't be the ones paying for it.
Because they couldn't afford to. Duh.
Only two kids left at home now though. They must have been living a bit more comfortably than they were when they had all seven kids under the same roof.
His mum and dad were on him about earning his own independence, that must have been something that the Weasley kids just knew right from the off. How many times could they have possibly asked their mum or dad for some gift or other and gotten a look in response that simply told them that wasn't in the cards?
He said nothing more and drank down the glass of water that Ron had gotten him.
By the end of their two a side he had gotten a better feel for the Cleansweep7 and it wasn't such a terrible broom, it just needed a lot of polishing and tail trimming. Obviously, it wasn't as fast as his own broom, but clearly this model was made to last.
"You ready for this?" he asked Ginny. His Snitch had a 300 meter range from where it was released and would only allow for two hours before it would go back to where it was first released and then deactivate. They'd given it a half hour now so there was only an hour and a half left and the Snitch could be anywhere. There were lots of tree branches it could be hiding behind, and the house as well with its many roofs.
"I'm always ready," she told him with a devilish look in her eye that was meant to be playful.
The pair of them launched into the air with the cheers of the three below encouraging them.
Harry resisted the urge to tail Ginny for the first loop around. She did know the lay of the land much better than he after all. Then again, she wasn't a Seeker and Ron had said that they didn't have a practice Snitch that she could have honed her skills on.
He was the youngest player in a Century. Not that he wanted to sound cocky or anything, but he was sure that he had this in the bag, inferior broom or no.
He turned the opposite was from her and did a lap around the house, checking under the eavestroughs and happening to find which out of the several rooms in the house was Ginny's. She really was a Quidditch fanatic. It was wall to wall Harpies colors and front pages of Quidditch Weekly posted up. She had a broom polishing kit out on her dresser and he noticed a piggy bank that made reference to the Quidditch camp that she was saving up for to attend next summer.
He tried not to get too distracted by it all, he did have a Snitch to find after all. Moving on from there he circled the building twice and then turned towards the trees, catching Ginny weaving in through the branches still.
He decided on a different tactic and rose above it all. He went fifty feet up and looked down over the area keeping his eyes peeled for a glint of gold being reflected by the sun.
Ron and the others had gone down to the Pond. A game being played with only two Seekers wasn't very entertaining for them.
It was thirty minutes later that the golden glint did catch his eye. Unfortunately, it caught Ginny's eye as well and she was slightly closer to it. Advantage for the spectators was that the Snitch was currently hovering over the pond area so they were able to see when Harry and Ginny reached the Snitch at the same time, crashing into each other but managing to stay on the broom until the Snitch was almost in reach and Ginny literally launched herself off her broom, catching it as she fell to the earth.
They had been thirty feet up at the time. On instinct, Harry dove for her. He didn't care about their little match anymore because seeing her become airborne without a broom had caused his heart to jump into his throat from the shock and panic. He chased her down with gravity and managed to wrap his arm around her waist. His attempt to pull her onto his own broom and correct his trajectory meant that the only thing he'd accomplished was slowing her down as he too fell off his broom and they both landed with a large splash in the pond.
He broke the surface gasping in shock. "Are you crazy?!" he shouted at her.
"Oh, come off it. I knew where I was going to wind up falling. I've done it before," she laughed.
"Well, I didn't know that, did I? You could have given me a heart attack!" he continued berating her.
"Awe, nice to know you care," she teased.
"Of course, I bloody care about you! Why do you think I'm always wanting to be around you and bring you bloody cupcakes!" He'd been wading water and not realized just how shallow the current spot they were in was until Ginny stood up and her shoulders were fully visible above the water.
"What?"
Now he was caught. He'd given it away and there was no taking back what he'd said. Ron and them would have heard it too.
"Those cupcakes this morning were for me?" she asked quietly, staring at him with wide eyes.
He found his footing and was now standing a few inches above her in the murky water. "Er, I actually prefer Butter cream frosting," he said sheepishly, his anger not completely abated.
She got that brow crease line again as she narrowed her eyes at him in confusion. "But, you don't actually like me though. I'm just, I don't know, some conquest you need to cross off your list or whatever. Why would you be doing something like that for me?"
"What? What are you talking about?" He legitimately had no idea what list she was going on about.
"You. You and the other boys at the school. You've got some list assembled with challenges on it and yours has got something to do with me. That's the only reason that you've been after me."
He could do no more than stare at her. He did have a list of challenges that he had to accomplish at school before his Hogwarts career was up, but there was nothing on there about her!
"Let me be perfectly clear," he started, making sure to enunciate every word. "The only items I have left on my Hogwarts 'Bucket' List is to make Quidditch Captain and hoist Snapes pants onto a flagpole and light them on fire. You are not now, nor have you ever been on that list in any capacity. And if you had been, then I've already kissed you, you've already kissed me. Why would I still be pursuing you this hard if I didn't truly fancy you?"
"But… but… no," she shook her head. "I've seen my brothers lists. They all have at least one girls name on it. I was sure that the only reason you were still trying is because, well, you know, snogging wasn't the end goal," she said, her face going even more red.
He felt like he'd just been slapped. "Why were you willing to snog me this summer then if you thought I was just playing you like that?" This didn't make any sense.
"I thought it would just be a matter of time before you gave up," she told him flat out.
"So, you don't like me at all? You were just tired of me trying?!" This was the worst birthday ever.
Two years! Two years ago he'd realized he fancied her and those feelings had just gotten stronger over that time span. Now, to find out the only reason she was snogging him was because she figured it would be less of a nuisance, that she never saw any potential there; he was crushed.
"Ginny!" Ron yelled at her from the shore. "You didn't! You weren't actually sneaking around with him, were you?"
Harry was so devastated, but he didn't want to lose control of his emotions here. Ron and he were still toeing the line of friendship, and he didn't know Luke and Henrietta well enough to be able to come back from the embarrassment easily.
Honestly, he'd forgotten the three of them were there by the pond.
He worked to free his feet from the mud that they had sunk into from his standing still and tried to get around her to the opposite side of the pond that the others were at.
"Wait," Ginny gripped his arm and pulled herself around through the water to be standing in front of him again. "Wait. So, so you're saying this has all been real for you? You haven't just been playing me?"
"Yeah. That's what I'm saying," he grumbled at her, still attempting to make it out of the water, and she kept putting herself in front of him and slowing his progress. "And I can't recall a single scenario that would have made you think that."
"Can you look at me and say that?" she asked, tugging hard on his arm to make him turn to her.
"Why? Me shouting it at you wasn't believable enough?"
"Hey." She gave a sharp tug on his arm to force him to stop this time and focus on her. "I may have been getting false information for several years in regards to you from my brothers, so you'll excuse me if I need a little extra assurance that you aren't actually an asshole before I let myself give into these feelings I've been telling myself I don't have for you."
That made him stop and look down at her properly.
"What?" he asked quietly, searching her eyes to see if what she'd just told him was true.
Ginny sucked in a deep breath. "Look, when I was little I used to listen in on my brothers and their conversations with each other at night. I know that they too had lists of what they wanted to accomplish before they were done with school; for Bill it was becoming Head Boy, for Percy it was being top of everything in his class, for Charlie it was being Quidditch Captain, you get the point. But they also had girls on those lists, specific girls. And when you started paying attention to me I had started off being flattered, even though you and my brothers didn't get on, but then they told me that they'd seen my name on your list."
Harry's eyes shot across the pond to where Ron was still standing with his arms crossed and glaring at them. Ron couldn't hear what Ginny was saying right now though, he was too far away, and she was talking only just above a whisper.
"Ron told you that?" His blood was pounding furiously through his veins.
"And Fred, and George," she told him. "And I believed them because it was the only thing that made sense. I mean, why else would you have been paying attention to me? You're near the top of your year academically, you're in line for Quidditch Captain, you come from money and I've no doubt you realize how attractive you are. What the hell could you possibly see in me when you could have anyone?"
He looked deep into her gorgeous eyes and took a step closer to her. "So, the only reason you've been saying no is because of something your brothers said? Not because you aren't interested? You've been stopping yourself from actually feeling something for me?"
"Yes," she told him firmly.
The biggest grin broke out over his face then. "Ron," he yelled out, not taking his eyes off Ginny for a moment, "I'm breaking my promise to you."
"Ginny," Harry started, now speaking only for her to hear. "Please, please, please will you go out with me. I've been desperate for your affection for ages, and I swear that I have no ulterior motives. And if you ever find proof of any you can use your most powerful Bat-Bogey Hex on me or string me up by my pants petrified on a flagpole."
She looked intrigued by those suggestions. There was a minute of it simply being the two of them standing there in the water grinning at each other before Ginny gave him a one-shouldered shrug and tried to look nonchalant about it. "Yeah, alright, I guess I can give you a chance."
Forget what he thought earlier, this was the best birthday ever!
He leaned down quickly but managed to catch himself. "Oh, uh, can I kiss you?"
Ginny let out a small laugh, "yes, you can kiss me."
Harry barely registered Ron's protests, nor the discomfort of still being up to his waist in the pond, because he was too happy to have his arms around Ginny with her fully reciprocating his kiss for the first time out in the open!
It was a full minute later that they pulled apart.
"Alright, can we get out of the pond now?" Ginny asked him. "I've got a few brothers that deserve a walloping. After that I have some thinking to do about what I want my prize to be since I was the one that won our bet, wasn't I?"
"Yes, you did," he grinned and followed her out of the pond, sloshing his way behind her as she went around to the other side of the shore and then he stood back with Luke and Henrietta watching as Ginny launched herself at Ron and tackled him to the ground.
They were all pretty impressed at how Ginny managed to pin Ron down and made him confess that he and the twins had made up about Harry having her as an item on his 'to do' list.
Their fight didn't last to long because Mrs. Weasley came down and waved her wand, wordlessly casting a spell that had them springing apart, then she cast a drying spell on Ginny and he so their clothes were suddenly rid of the pond water and mud. She didn't pause to listen to the reason behind the siblings fighting, nor did Ginny or Ron offer one, Mrs. Weasley just called everyone up to the kitchen to get some food and lead the way.
Harry and Ginny took up the rear of the procession.
"So, we're good then?" he asked, unable to help himself from getting confirmation from her one more time.
"Very," Ginny assured him and gave him one more kiss before they went into the kitchen.
When he sat down at the table beside Ginny he found he was sitting directly across from Ron, who amazingly looked a bit sheepish about how he'd been lying to his sister and keeping them apart for so long.
Harry knew he should have realized before now that with the Weasley's being such a tight knit family, that meant that if he was going to be dating Ginny, that meant that he and Ron were going to have to keep working on their friendship.
At least they had one more month of working together before school to figure out how that was going to work.
()()()