AN- Another Muggle AU. Changes are self explanatory as you read along. Claiming the 'Friends with Benefits' Bingo Smut
()()()
June 2002
Ron fell down into the seat beside him in the booth, well more sloshed than Harry was currently, but he was working on catching up. "Are you having a good time?" Ron slurred.
"Having a great time, Ron," Harry assured him with a laugh. He hadn't seen Ron let his guard down this much. If he was going to do it, tonight was the night; it was his bachelor party after all.
Harry was glad he could make it out for the festivities. He'd been concerned that his leave wouldn't get approved. He was completely ready for this break. He would have liked to have been able to agree to be in Ron's wedding party if he'd known for sure, but Ron already had several brothers and lots of mates from his days before the service to pick from. He didn't really need his old army buddy up there as well. It was an honor to have been asked though. Harry didn't have many close friends like Ron.
They'd kept in touch even though it had been two years already that Ron had left the service. Something Harry was considering more and more.
Ron had a pretty great life set up for himself. He'd earned enough in the army to put down a sizable down payment on a house and reconnected with his sweetheart from his school days, Hermione, who was as lovely a girl as they come, and now they were living in this quaint village close to their families with regular jobs and down time.
All very appealing.
Another person slid into the booth across from them, someone else who was well on their way to being sloshed. Unfortunately, this guy was obnoxious before he'd started drinking and was even more so now. "So how many times do you figure you're going to give it to her on the honeymoon, eh?" Dean asked Ron.
"Hey! That's my future wife you're talking about," Ron made an angry face at him.
"I'm not talking about me banging her!" he defended. "Though she is entirely bangable."
"Dean," Ron warned.
"Alright, alright, next rounds on me!" he stood up and stumbled towards the bar.
"Dunno why I'm still friends with him," Ron muttered.
"Me either," Harry agreed.
"If he talks about nailing my sister again, can you hit him? Think I might miss," Ron squinted at Harry and asked seriously.
"He'd talk about that around all your brothers?" Harry's eyes wandered around the pub and he picked out the five other ginger men that were milling about having a good time.
"Wears it like a fucking badge of honor. And she hates him for it. So, we all hate him a little bit for it."
"Then why was he invited to the wedding?"
Ron gave a shrug, "small town."
Harry supposed that would be reason enough for Ron's family to have allowed Dean to join in. Harry hadn't met a more welcoming family. Their first deployment when Ron and he were put into the same team Ron's mum had sent everyone in their unit a tin of fudge, and Harry even got a hand knit sweater with a note thanking him for keeping an eye out for her youngest boy. He'd been very touched by the gesture.
Harry himself was an orphan, he had some blood-related family about, but they didn't want him, so he'd been a ward of the state. Bumped around to a few foster homes and had pieced together scraps of family as he'd gone. There were a few of his foster parents through the years that had become as close to parents as they could. His closest pseudo father though had passed away from cancer a year after Harry had signed up for the service. The Christmas that Mrs. Weasley had sent him the gift was his first without Remus around. It had made her gift all the more special.
Harry had met all of the Weasley boys now, and Ron's mum had brought him into a tight hug when he'd first arrived two days ago. She'd insisted he feel right at home staying in their farmhouse, even enlisting him to do a few chores, which he was happy to do.
He'd met Hermione and a few of her bridesmaids, the only one left to meet was Ron's sister Ginny. She was a journalist. War correspondent actually. They'd never crossed paths though, doing their tours. He'd tried to reach out to her once when Ron told him they were in the same city in Afghanistan, but by the time he'd gotten the letter he found out she'd been sent back to England.
Her mum was not at all keen on her only daughter being in dangerous countries though. She was worried Ginny would wind up one of the reporters that gets captured and held for ransom by guerrillas or ISIS. Harry had been about to tell her the odds of that happening being slim, but he'd been kicked in the shin by Ron, and later told that it was useless saying anything of the sort, his mum would just start laying into him instead.
A tray of drinks was put down on the table, "drink up boys! We all have to be equally liquored up for darts." Seamus was one of Ron's school mates that Harry didn't mind. He was a little crass, but in a funny way, not an 'out to prove yourself' way like Dean seemed.
Harry was the only one of their old unit that managed to make it out for the wedding, so Ron was really the only one he knew well, but he got on famously with Ron's twin brothers, and Charlie, who was the second eldest of the family. Charlie had done a few years in the army too and had been Ron's reason for joining up.
The stag night carried on and the drinks flowed. There was a pornographic cake, thankfully there weren't any strippers that popped out of it (he could only imagine any strippers in this area of the country would have been well known by everyone), and the darts and pool games had turned into a tournament.
The next morning though Harry was regretting it.
He woke in the small guest room at the Weasley farmhouse. How he'd gotten there he wasn't sure, but he was grateful that someone seemed to have taken care of him. He was still fully dressed save for his shoes and socks and he was warmly wrapped in a blanket. His head was absolutely killing him and the amount of sun shining in must have been conjured by a demon.
His mouth tasted horrible. Smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth a few times he tried to figure out if it was vomit or simply an ill-advised combination of beer and shots.
There was no telling what time it was. The last two days when he'd woken up it had been to the lovely scent of bacon cooking in the kitchen. If he smelled it right then though it might have made him dash for the bin in the corner. He fumbled around, trying to figure out where his mobile might be. He usually kept it on the nightstand, unless it was still in his pocket on the jeans he could tell he was wearing.
He turned his head and waited for the horrible thumping feeling to stop before opening his eyes a tiny bit and seeing there was a glass of water and two pills set out for him, and yes, his mobile was there on the stand.
Managing to pull himself up he popped the pills into his mouth, not bothering to check what exactly they were and downed half the glass of water before sinking back down on the bed and putting the pillow over his head.
Just twenty minutes or so, that'd be all he'd need for the pills to start working their magic.
His body gave a lurch. He must have fallen asleep. The pillow was still over his face, but there was less pain in his head. Not too gracefully he made it to sit up on the bed and get his feet over the side.
The house was still quiet save for water that was running in the bathroom.
He really needed to use that bathroom himself. A wee and a shower would probably make all the difference right then; he smelled ripe and felt it too.
This was a one-bathroom house though. He'd been told the rules about the bathroom when he'd first arrived. After spending the past four years on army bases he didn't have any qualms about those rules. The Weasley household had no lock on the bathroom door. If someone was in the shower, then someone else could still go in and use the toilet or the sink. They had all their toothbrushes and such down at a second sink in the kitchen however to free up the bathroom time for someone else who needed it, but guests were allowed to leave theirs in the main bathroom.
He got to his feet and managed to keep his eyes open just enough to get out of his room and head towards the bathroom. Halfway there he had to stop and rest a hand against the wall, there was a gurgling going on in his belly that was posing a threat. He closed his eyes and willed his throat to close up and make anything he'd ingested last night go the opposite way out of his stomach.
Now he smelled the faint scent of breakfast. Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen humming away.
He cringed at the smell.
She was probably trying to be nice. She probably heard him getting up and put bread in the toaster and bacon in the pan. She probably knew the smell was going to set all the stag night attendees spewing their guts up and was doing it all maliciously. While cackling under her breath.
Harry rushed the rest of the way to the bathroom with a hand over his mouth, turning the doorknob and making a beeline to kneel in front of the loo, retching up the appetizers and whiskey from last night until there was nothing left.
He sat back against the wall when he was done, grasping for toilet paper to wipe his face and feeling both better for it and awful. He hated throwing up, but in situations like this it was the best course of action.
The steam in the bathroom felt good, like it was slowly making the alcohol seep out of his pores. He gave a groan of satisfaction and flushed the toilet, causing a feminine squeal to come from the shower.
"You prick!" a woman shouted. "You knew I was in here, why'd you flush the bloody toilet?"
Oh shit, the thought. He'd forgotten that the plumbing in this house was set up like that. He might have laughed a bit if it had been one of the boys in there, but he wasn't sure which of the girls was behind the curtain. So far as he knew all the ladies in the bridal party from out of town were staying at Ron and Hermione's.
The shower shut off and a small hand darted out to the towel rack, yanking one of the large ones in the stall with her.
Harry just sat there, unable to move from his exhaustion and sickness, staring dumbly as the curtain was pulled back to show it was Ginny Weasley, the youngest and only girl of the brood. Whom he was meeting for the first time as she was standing there dripping wet and modestly covered in a towel with her hair piled high on her head.
He could do no more than stare at her. She was so fit. He'd thought so every time he'd seen a picture of her that Ron showed him. She'd been a good-looking girl when she was a teenager and the more recent pictures he'd seen of her showed she'd been getting better looking as the years went on.
She didn't seem too surprised to see that it wasn't one of her brothers that had accidentally turned her water from hot to freezing cold. She just pursed her pretty lips together and stepped out of the tub and onto the mat.
He watched with a slack jaw and slightly raised eyebrow as she turned around and began toweling herself off, always keeping the important bits covered, but getting every bit of her dry. If his brain could function properly in his haze he'd have appreciated the show a little more. As it was though he couldn't help wondering if there was any mouth wash.
He closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall with a small moan at a sensation that swept through his belly and caused his head to throb slightly.
"Sorry," he managed in a raspy voice.
"It's fine. You get a one time pass as a guest," she told him. "If you were one of my brothers your nose would be bleeding by now. I suggest you take that as fair warning for next time." She had the gently yet threatening tone down to a science.
He gave a small smile and a single laugh, keeping his eyes shut. "Noted."
"You must be Harry then," she said, her voice drawing closer to him, but staying mercifully low.
"Must be."
"Here," she whispered.
He felt something being pressed into his hand and looked down to find Listerine. "Oh, I love you," he mumbled and struggled to take the lid off. Stupid child locking lids, he thought, I am pressing both sides of the cap, just come off already!
He heard Ginny snickering by the sink.
"Stop it," he whined.
She came back over to him and took the bottle, removing the cap and handing it back to him. He took a swig and held the bottle back up for her. She put it down by the sink and held her hand out for him. "Come on you, let's get you to the sink so you can spit that out."
He took her offered hand and she helped him up, guiding him to it like the invalid that he currently felt. He spat the liquid out and felt much better. "Now just a shower and I should feel proper again."
"And some bacon grease," Ginny told him. "Something about that after a night out just seems to cure the hangover. That or cheesy chips before you pass out."
Food still wasn't feeling like the answer and he scrunched up his face into an expression that stated as much.
"Come now. The water should be right again. Need a hand getting naked? I can see you properly now, don't think I'd mind being of more assistance."
He looked at her through the mirror. She had put a pair of glasses on. He didn't know she needed glasses. They looked good on her, really suited her face. Her smirking and suggestive face. The rest of her was still only wrapped in a towel.
"I think I have the hang of it, maybe later," he told her with a small smirk of his own. She was most certainly trying to be funny. She and her brother wore the same expression when they were having a lark.
"I'll just make sure mum's got the coffee on for you then," she winked and went out.
Ginny wasn't in the kitchen when he'd got there. It was just Mrs. Weasley and Ron, whose head was resting down on the table. Harry was very glad he was past that point of the hangover already. A warm cup of coffee was pressed into his hands and he gave Mrs. Weasley a grateful smile and a kiss on the cheek for it.
"Where'd you wake up, mate?" he asked Ron. He hadn't heard anyone moving around upstairs since he'd gotten out of the shower, and no one had gone into the bathroom either.
"Chicken shed," he muttered into the table.
Harry had been about to take a seat beside him, but corrected course and moved to sit on the opposite side of the table. There was no reason he should be smelling that at this point in the day.
"Ginny told me you two met finally," Mrs. Weasley told him, setting down a plate laden with bacon, hash browns, sausages and egg.
It was entirely too much food for his sensitive stomach, but it smelled wonderful now. He'd just have to pace himself.
"We did. Forgot the no flushing rule and she was in the shower. She didn't punch me this time though."
"Oh, she wouldn't actually. You're a guest!" she dismissed.
Ron snorted into the table. "Yeah she would. Remember when… when… oh, it hurts too much. Tell you later."
Harry kept his chuckle quiet enough for Ron to not hear. "Anything you need me to help out with today?" he asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Lawn needs mowing. We've got the ride on, think you can manage?" she asked. Harry nodded. "Wonderful. The tent people are coming to set up this afternoon. Should only take you under an hour to get the full area. It's ten now, so you finish up your breakfast. Ginny's out in the barn, she'll show you where it is and getting started if it's being stubborn."
It was comforting for him to be treated like this by her, like another one of her brood. If he was told to simply sit around he'd just feel useless. He was used to keeping busy and wanted to help out. Ron wasn't looking like he was going to manage being of much use today, and the other Weasley boys were matching the groom shot for shot last night.
"Heyya," Harry stepped into the barn and found Ginny with a pitchfork throwing hay down from the loft. "Your mum wants me to use the ride on and get the grass dealt with." He checked around and saw a tractor and a smaller ride on mower beside it. "Do you know if it's got any petrol in it?"
"You'll have to check," she called down. "I only got in last night, don't know when it's been used. There should be a jerry under the back tyre."
"Were you somewhere on assignment?" he asked as he went around the machine.
"Chile," she told him, "spent the last three months there."
"I've read some of your stuff, you know," he found the jerry can and got the nozzle on it. "Kept my eye out for your name after Ron had told me you were on with the BBC. Like the way you tell it. You not getting on camera at all though?"
"Not interested in that," she said climbing down the ladder. "Was one of the things that I do to make my parents feel better about my job. Those that are on camera are more likely to be taken."
He started pouring the petrol into the mower. "How long are you home then?"
Ginny gave a shrug as she drew closer. "I'll be heading back to London after the wedding. I'll be at headquarters until I'm posted again. What about you?"
"Headed to London after the wedding as well. Taking a week extra of leave before I have to report in at Hampshire. I'll find out where I'm going and how long for then."
"Figure you're a lifer?"
"Dunno," he admitted. "Might be, but then when I see things like the way Ron has set his life up with Hermione it makes me wonder."
"Hmm, same," she popped the hood on the mower. He peaked under there with her to see what she was doing. "Making sure the battery terminals and spark plugs are all good," she told him. "I know that Christiane Amanpoor was able to be an international correspondent and have a full life, but sometimes I have to wonder how she managed it, or if it's for me."
"What's your back up?" he asked. His was to join Scotland Yard, but he wasn't sure how much longer he wanted to be in the service before putting that option into effect.
"Just getting a posting at a local paper, I guess. At least until print media goes under. Perhaps I could find a job on a show, coming up with story pitches and such. That might be fun."
"I'm thinking maybe four years," he said in thought. "I'll have put in several good years, but will still be young enough to settle down and get a family started with plenty of time left to enjoy them."
"You're a man though, you can keep cranking kids out into your eighties. My mum keeps writing me and reminding me that my clocks ticking. She had three kids by the time she was my age, and the twins were on the way." It all sounded more dubious than idyllic to her though.
"You're what? Twenty-two? Doesn't that mean there's a good thirteen years left before you have to start worrying?" he asked with a laugh. "Assuming you want kids anyhow?"
"I do. Eventually," she slammed the hood closed. "This is all set to go. You used one before?"
"No," he shrugged. "But I've done a tank, a motorcycle and a car. I think a lawn mower would be straight forward."
"Then onward you go, and I'll go gather some eggs."
He watched her walking out towards the chicken coop and hopped on the mower. She made a few trips back and forth to the house as he drove his way around the lawn, trying to make it so the grass showed nice lines; and succeeding.
The tent people showed up and then the table and chair delivery, then the linens, then Hermione and her other bridesmaids and Harry was set to work by all of them.
The men had all recovered properly after lunch and another nap and were thrown into the set-up as well. He exchanged pleasantries with some of the girls but kept seeing Ginny out of the corner of his eye, not getting the opportunity to chat with her anymore.
Once the tent and accompanying accoutrement were all dealt with it was early evening and they were all herded inside for dinner. Unfortunately, that was when Seamus showed up and brought that Dean guy along with him.
Harry had grabbed a seat at the table beside Ginny and the both of them gave a groan when Dean came in. He exchanged a chuckle with her at their synchronized disappointment.
"Not a fan of him already, eh?" she asked quietly. "You caught on that he was a ponce well faster than it took me. Good on you," she tipped her glass at him.
"To be fair to you, he looked alright until he opened his mouth."
She laughed into her glass and tried to recover as she put it back on the table. "I was also young, and he was my first boyfriend. I'm blaming it on naivete."
"Just glad you've learned really. Some people don't."
"Very true," she nodded and subtly tilted her head towards one of the other bridesmaids, Chartreuse, "she's been with her boyfriend for six years. All they do is fight, and not in the cute bickering way that Ron and Hermione do, where it ends in a scoff and a snog. Five quid says she leaves the wedding tomorrow in tears."
"Not taking that bet. You know these people better than I do."
"Alright then, I bet you that Ron mis-pronounces a word in his vows," she grinned.
Harry snickered at that. Hermione was well read, Ron probably would put something in his vows with adjectives that he wasn't familiar with to try and make himself not sound like a simple country boy. "I already know I'm going to lose that one, but there's a slight chance that he'll have practiced it and been corrected by now. I'm not going to make the bet for five quid though. It needs to be something more interesting than money."
Ginny nodded in thought. "Victors choice then?" she said with a glint in her eye, leaning towards him slightly.
Harry liked the sound of that. She seemed like she was being rather flirty with him then. He wondered if there would be any parameters to this bet, he certainly wouldn't mind if there were more racy prizes in store.
()()
The ceremony was beautiful and Ron mispronouncing the word 'undemonstrative' had Ginny giving Harry a wink. The reception was in full swing after dinner and speeches. Harry had a few glasses of wine and was alternating with water. He'd made the rounds and talked to several people, even got pulled onto the dance floor by one overly eager cousin of Hermione's who kept letting him know that she was single.
He had been looking for an out when he caught Ginny and Dean off in a corner and Ginny was rather red in the face with anger. Harry excused himself from the cousin and made his way over to them.
"You're just being a bitch," Dean said in a scornful hush.
"No, I am not. And I think you could do the whole of the female population a favor and start sucking cock. Immediately," Ginny told him back through gritted teeth.
"You didn't have any complaints about me fucking you back then."
"I am complaining now. You were shit at it, both times. And I thank my lucky stars that I saw you for the piece of shit that you are when I did." It looked like she was about ready to take a swing at him if he said one more word to her.
"Hello," Harry jumped right in, "care to dance with me?" He put a hand gently on her clenched fist. "Probably wouldn't be a good idea to make a spectacle," he whispered to her.
Her eyes flashed at him with her anger before she glanced around and seemed to calm down a bit. Ginny took his hand and started tugging him towards the dance floor.
"Thank you," she said as she put her arms up on his shoulders. "You're right. He isn't worth Hermione yelling at me, no matter how much I wanted to kick him."
"Thought you took care of him pretty well verbally. Telling him to switch to sucking cock was one I hadn't heard before."
She snorted at that and rested her head on his chest, shaking slightly in laughter. He chuckled along with her and guided her around the dance floor. "Can we get some fresh air actually?" she asked. "I'm still a bit worked up."
"Sure," he let her go and she led the way out, heading over to the barn. Harry took a look around to see if there were any other people milling about, but there weren't any heading towards the farm side of the property.
"So, looks like I won the bet," Ginny said smugly.
"It does," he grinned. "What is the victor's choice?"
"Well," she started, "there is something I could do with, but I'm not sure if you're up for it?" Ginny cocked an eyebrow at him. There wasn't much light in the barn, but it was just enough to see her expression.
"Really?" he asked as smoothly as he could manage, trying to cool his excitement.
She shrugged. "Something about hooking up at weddings. You're leaving tomorrow, I'm leaving tomorrow. I know you're good friends with Ron and we'll probably wind up meeting again at some point down the line." She came forward and tugged on his tie. "Thought you might be up for a one-off though. Maybe?"
"Absolutely," he looked around. "In here?"
"Up there," she pointed up the ladder to the hayloft and headed straight for it.
Sex in a hayloft with the farmers daughter, Harry thought, well okay then.
By the time he'd climbed the ladder she'd lain down blankets over the hay and was shimmying down her knickers. If she wasn't going to be wasting any time, he wouldn't either. His hand went for his belt and he popped the button on his trousers.
"Don't take them all the way off," she said. "They'd likely fall below." She lay down and spread her legs for him.
"Fair warning," he told her. "It's been a while. If I disappoint I will make it up to you."
Ginny chuckled, "duly noted. Now get down here."
He came to his knees between her legs and dropped his trousers and boxers, sliding his hands up the soft skin of her thighs and bringing her skirt up.
"Just shagging?" he asked.
Ginny hummed in agreement, "I could really do with a good fucking. It's been ages."
"Well, alright then."
He lay over her, stroking her entrance gently as she shifted her hips around to get used to the sensation. She was already wet and his dick twitched at how hot she was down there. Coming forwards he eased himself into her and took a tick to groan at how good it felt to be inside a woman again.
Ginny hummed in pleasure of being penetrated and started rocking against him. "Mmm, you've a good size one, haven't you?" she purred in his ear.
"Thanks, grew it myself," he retorted, building momentum with his thrusts.
She started snickering, but it turned to moans quickly. They were both done with talking. The only sounds in the barn was their panting and the slapping noise of him being buried completely inside her over and over again.
It wasn't taking him long to feel like his finish was around the corner. He switched from pumping in and out of her to grinding up against her in a way that would stimulate her clit. Her arms and legs clamped around him at that and her sighs grew louder. He loved hearing a girl get closer to cumming. And when they started fluttering and pulsing around his cock.
Ginny's head fell back and she arched up towards him, muffling her finish. Once she was properly clamped around him he started thrusting into her with determined vigor and was shortly groaning his own finish.
"You know," he panted, "that's exactly what I would have wanted if Ron was able to say undemonstrative."
Ginny started laughing, "good to know."
()()()
They wound up taking the same train the next morning back to London.
They'd gone back to the party last night and were each pulled in different directions, not seeing each other again until breakfast the following morning, then her dad gave them both a ride to the train station. They settled in seats beside each other for the journey, sharing their food and chatting easily about nothing and everything.
"So, do you have a place you're going to in London?" Ginny asked him.
"I have a few friends I can call on for a sofa to surf on, but I don't have a permanent place. No point having a place all to my own with my transient life-style," he explained. "I'm only in England for about a month of the year total. Was just going to report into the barracks early."
"And share a bunk room with five other smelly men for a week before you ship out again?"
Harry shrugged. It was the life he knew. "What about you then?"
"I've a flat. Well, sort of. I've an eccentric aunt who has an attic room that has a loo and a separate entrance, used to be servants quarters. It's an old house. I keep all my things there and she doesn't charge me for it. Just says it's 'coming out of my inheritance'," she chuckled.
"Was she at the wedding?"
"No, she's agoraphobic. Will only let a few into her house as well. She's lovely, but when she lost her husband a decade ago it was like she lost part of herself as well, went a bit strange."
"That's sad," he frowned.
"It was," Ginny sighed. "But she still carries on as best she knows how." Ginny considered him for a moment. "If you aren't keen on heading to the barracks early… I don't have a sofa, but the bed is big enough for two."
Harry raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk. "What is it exactly you are suggesting there, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny snorted and picked up her coffee, "look, you and I get on perfectly well. So far, anyhow. I don't know about you, but the opportunity for a decent shag doesn't come up much in the field, well, any shag really. I'm suggesting that we try and 'take off the edge' for the next few days and then carry on with our merry lives."
Harry found the idea extremely appealing. If they were both in another walk of life then perhaps there could be something more to this, but with him going to one side of the world, and she the other, a few days in the company of this bright and down to earth, and sexy as hell, farm girl sounded like the perfect vacation before real life started up again.
"I am absolutely all for that idea."
()()()
March 2003
Harry was laying in the medic tent and thinking pleasant thoughts about those six days he'd managed to get with Ginny in her small room in London. It was where his mind went when he had down time, and laying here wrapped in bandages and waiting to be told he could leave constituted down time.
She'd had to work during the days that he was there, but it gave him time to sit around and watch her telly and just be alone stretched out on a proper sized bed between runs. Then when she'd come home they'd head out for some take away and spend the evenings seeing how many times they could make each other cum.
It had been brilliant.
That was eight months ago now and he felt an ache for her intermittently since then.
"Alright, Potter," the medic came over. "You were damn lucky you weren't any closer to that I.E.D. You've a few scrapes on you, you'll need to keep the bandages on and re-apply them after every wash. Two weeks of anti-biotics and Polysporin. You can stop wearing the bandages after a week, but you're on light duties until you're done the pills, understood?"
"Yeah, got it," he sat up carefully. His chest and forearm had taken the brunt of the shrapnel and it smarted to move too much, but it was a manageable pain.
He made his way straight for the mess hall, frowning at the pain. He heard someone rushing his direction from behind, their footsteps slowing as they approached him. His frown settled further as he waited for some inane questions or razing to come from one of the fellow helpmates.
"Hey there, soldier," came the lightly chiding voice he hadn't heard in so long.
His steps faltered and he turned sharply towards her, staring at her dumbstruck and wondering what else was in those pills he'd just been given.
Ginny was beaming up at him, kitted out in her own camo, but with her fiery red hair hanging down at her shoulders rather than pulled back tightly, as was regulation. It was much shorter than it had been eight months ago.
"Saw you leaving the medic tent and heard you'd gotten injured," she lightly pulled open his shirt to peer at the bandages.
"You're here," he stated, still astounded to see her.
"I just got re-assigned, but I'm really just passing through. I hoped you were here too, was asking around for you."
"It is so good to see you!" he exclaimed. "I'd give you a hug, but I've only had an hour or two since I was nearly blown apart," he joked darkly.
"I understand," her grin wavering and concern flashing in her eyes. "Where were you headed? Anywhere you could use some company?"
"Food," he said shortly. "How long are you here for? What are you working on?"
"Only here for a few nights. Grabbing a few lifestyle stories from the men and women at arms, then I'm off to Syria with the Women's Protection Units," she told him quickly. "Think they'll allow me in the mess? Food sounds great right now."
He showed her the way and they exchanged a few stories of what they'd run into since they'd seen each other last. He had a few new scars and so did she. There was a small one that was just above her left eyebrow that wasn't too pronounced. He'd only noticed it because he was doing a thorough study of her face, memorizing it again to get him through to the next time he might see her again.
"Anyone else in your unit get injured?" she asked as they left the mess.
"No, thank God. I was the one closest. Felt like getting hit with a ton of bricks, which I essentially was. They were able to get me back here quickly, and I wasn't harmed too badly."
"Very lucky."
They walked silently beside each other for a stretch. He was still reeling from seeing her again. He might not have run into her at all if that bomb hadn't gone off.
"The, um, the rest of my unit is out," he said uncertainly as they drew closer to his team's quarters. He felt his neck heating up from something other than the sun as her eyes turned to him.
"Oh really?" she grinned. "And about how long would you say it'll be until they're back?"
He cleared his throat, "probably a few hours."
"We'll have to be pretty careful about it," she smirked.
"Yeah?" he asked brightly.
"Of course, if you can't even accept a hug from me," she stated as though it was obvious.
Harry sighed and looked skyward for a moment. "I was referring to the-"
"I knew what you meant, Harry," she laughed. "I was just being a little shit."
He led the way to his quarters, trying not to speed walk the rest of the way. It was difficult to get in so much as a private wank when you're in a room with five other guys so the prospect of having an actual shag whilst having the room to themselves was amazing.
Ginny was very gentle with him as she helped get his shirt off, telling him to lay down while she took charge of the situation.
"Fair warning," she said before removing more than her shirt. "I haven't had time for proper grooming for about a month, so you'll either have to just deal with that, or I can lay beside you for a cuddle."
"You could look like the fawn from Narnia below the waist and I couldn't give any less shits than I already do," he told her honestly.
She bit her lip and her shoulders shook slightly with laughter, "just too eager for it?"
"Hell yes! You were the last shag I had. That's about six cat years," he stated and gestured to how he was already forming a rather large tent in his boxer briefs. "And I haven't had much of a time for a shave either."
"Fair enough," she pulled off her trousers, knickers dropping at the same time and ambled to sit astride him.
Her hand went to his erection to slide up and down it over the cotton fabric and his fingers on his non-injured hand went to her, working her over with a mixture of fast and slow movements to get her properly wet while she hummed satisfactorily over him.
"Been a while for you too?" he asked with pleasure, watching her grind against his fingers.
"Hmm, you were it," she admitted with a soft smile on her face, eyes closed and simply enjoying herself.
He twitched in her hand at that and she pulled him free of the cloth, carefully lowering herself down on him. He let out a long, satisfied groan at the feel of being pulled inside her. His hands came to her thighs and she braced herself upright, leaning back slightly and holding onto his knees for leverage as she started to ride him.
"God, you're so deep like this," she panted.
He was torn between keeping his eyes open and watching the sight of her riding him and closing his eyes to focus on how good it felt to be buried so deep inside her again. Either way it didn't feel like it was going to take him long.
He moved his good hand back to her clit and started rubbing her there.
Too soon they were both recovering. She had gotten dressed again and was laying down beside him, keeping a bit of distance so she didn't accidentally tug on any of his bandages.
She filled him in on what was going on back home with her family and carrying on about this and that at the BBC, stroking his forehead until he fell asleep.
It was dark by the time the sound of the closing door shocked him awake. Ginny was gone, it was just his bunk mates that were coming back from shift.
"Hey mate, alright?" one of them asked.
"Yeah, I'll recover soon enough. On light duties for now," he looked around for any sign that Ginny had been there, only coming up with how he was currently feeling very relieved below the belt.
"Look, some gorgeous bird gave me this to give you. Said she knew you from home and didn't have time to drop it off. Was on her way to the air base."
Harry took the note and blinked the sleep out of his eyes to focus on the words there;
Harry,
Looks like my 'few days' turned into a 'few hours'. Luckily, I managed to talk to a fair few of the men and women for my article before finding you earlier. Recover well. Hope we cross paths again soon. Keep your head down.
x, Ginny
()()()
June 2004
He wasn't at all sure that this was a good idea. It had been over a year since he'd seen her last, but he was already here. The least he could do was drop a line to her agoraphobic aunt and leave the letter for her that he'd written up on the plane back.
He was on leave for a month before he was signed up to deploy again.
Two more years of duty. That's what he'd promised himself.
He hadn't been hurt again since the last time he'd seen her. Not physically anyhow, mentally… well, he might think about joining a group when he got out of the service, just so he could talk about some of what he'd seen and get it off his chest.
This month back he wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do to fill his time. He wanted to get out to visit with Ron and check in on him. Maybe offer to help out on the Weasley farm if they could use the help, give Mr. & Mrs. Weasley a bit of a break. They had said he was always welcome, and he was sure that they meant it.
He and Ginny hadn't exchanged letters or e-mails or anything. But he was sure that this companionship, or whatever it was, between them went beyond the need for letters.
Save for the one in his hand.
He just wanted her to know that he thought of her. That he'd been grateful for the small amount of time they'd spent together. That he hoped she was alright.
He went up to the main door, hoping that her Aunt Muriel wouldn't be too scared to answer the door. He didn't know much about agoraphobics. As he raised his hand to knock though he heard his name from behind him.
She was there. Wearing a simply dress at the open gate to the walk. Her lovely hair now hanging down to just past her breasts in soft waves. Her eyes were wide and puffy, it looked like she'd been crying.
Her dress was black.
"Ginny?" he breathed out.
"You're here," she whispered.
From their distance he could see her sucking in a shaky breath, her chin warbling slightly.
At a rapid pace he strode down the stairs toward her and wrapped his arms around her. Her knees gave out in his arms and he held her tight as she cried into his chest.
"Who?" he asked quietly after a minute.
"A friend," she sniffled.
He stroked her hair and hugged her tighter while she composed herself. She pulled back and took him by the hand, leading him over to the stairs to her own entrance. Once they were inside, she sat down on the bed and kicked off her shoes, he went to put the kettle on.
Everything was exactly where it had been the last time he'd stayed there two years ago. It was all familiar to him, even though it had only been for a little bit that he'd stayed there.
"His name was Colin," she told him quietly as they sat back against her pillows, each with a hot tea in their hands. "He was a photographer. It was all just right place, wrong time," she shook her head sadly. "We'd done a few trips together. He was so energetic and talented. And young." She turned her head to look at Harry directly, "he was my age. And you know what? I haven't even told my parents or brothers that I'm back in the country. Because then I'd have to tell them why, and I just don't think I could deal with them using this as another reason I should start on a 'safer' career."
Harry set their mugs down on her table and gathered her up in his arms again. They lay down together and he just held her close. He too had lost a few that he'd grown close to over the years. There wasn't anything that you could say, he just wanted her to know that he was there for her to talk to if she needed.
By morning time he was absolutely starving.
He'd arrived mid-afternoon and the only thing he'd ingested was the few sips of tea. The two of them fell asleep just after tea-time, now his eyes were scouring her bookshelf-made-pantry for anything instant; cereal, bread, anything.
His belly gave a rumble and he winced at how loud it seemed.
Carefully detangling himself from how he'd been spooning her, he turned over and drank down his ice-cold tea that had been left unfinished.
"That can't taste good," Ginny muttered sleepily.
"It did not," he agreed.
She rolled over and opened her eyes, looking him over in his rumpled clothes with a soft smile, "you're here."
"I'm here," he said fondly, enjoying the sight of her. "And I'm starving."
Ginny sat up and gave a stretch, "there're crumpets and a cream-cheese spread in the mini," she pointed to the small fridge. "There's also a good greasy-spoon diner down the way. We could get the Full-English."
Harry groaned in pleasure at the thought, "a Full-English breakfast sounds fantastic." He got up and went to his rucksack, pulling out a fresh change of clothes to change into, not bothering to head to the other room before pulling his shirt off followed by trousers; she'd seen him naked before.
He got a full view of her too when she pulled her dress over her head, his eyes settled on a scar on her shoulder though and he came up to her to examine it closer. "Did you get shot?!" he asked incredulously, coming around to stand in front of her and check the other side to see if it had the same sized wound.
Her jaw set as she stared at him with a blazing look, she seemed ready to defend her life choices to him, but as their eyes met the ferocity melted away. She must have realized he wouldn't react like her family about it. She was there just after he'd nearly been blown up and hadn't said a word against it.
"I was in Columbia," she explained, "it was a through and through. Felt like I'd been bitten or something, then I looked down and saw all the blood." Her eyebrows knit together. "Is the scar ugly?" she asked wearily.
"No," he told her softly and leaned down to give it a kiss, then did the same to her shoulder.
She hugged him close again. "I'm so glad you're here."
"I'm so glad I could be here for you."
It was a full week of everything between them picking up right how it left off. Like two best friends that simply enjoyed the pleasure of each-others flesh. She was working from London for a few months before she would be sent abroad again and assured him that he was welcome to stay at hers for his month-long break.
He's promised Ron he'd visit though and wound up staying at the Weasley Farm for two-weeks, helping out. Ron had a kid now, with another on the way and spent any time they had together raving about how great his life was going, encouraging him to get out and get settled as well. Ginny came out on the weekends and they spent those nights in each-others beds.
He spent his last week back at her flat as well.
"This thing we're doing?" he started a few nights before he was set to leave, "what is it? To you?" He'd wanted to know what exactly this was between them. He knew they were friends, but he wouldn't call them lovers, not really. They may have just had a spectacular and slow shag and were currently laying naked in her bed with just the top sheet over their lower halves. But he still didn't know what to call her, what she was to him. Besides the most important person in his life right then.
"We're…,' she searched for the words, "keeping each other company."
He nodded solemnly, "and that's it?"
"That's really all we can offer each other right now, isn't it?" she asked sadly. "You're going back to Afghanistan soon, I'm going to be put on assignment somewhere again as well. We don't know when or if we'll ever see each other again."
"Hmm, and I thought I was bringing the mood down with my girlie question."
She gave him a light back-handed slap to the middle of his chest. "It's true though. With the way our lives are, putting any more pressure on us by labelling it would just ruin whatever this is that we have."
"Yeah, I know," he said quietly and stretched out for her to curl up against his side.
She cuddled up against him and started tracing the lines of white scars on his chest. "I do miss you when we're apart though," she said softly and kissed his chest.
"I miss you too."
()()()
May 2005
Harry stood at the top of the hill looking down at the Weasley Farmhouse. He loved the sight of it. It was homey and warm and full of the best people.
It was the third place he'd gone as soon as he'd gotten released.
Honorably Discharged.
He'd been back in the country for a few weeks now, but he'd been in the army infirmary until yesterday.
His first course of action was to get himself cleaned up. He went to the barbers and got a clean shave, then he went to see her at her place. Only she wasn't there.
He'd heard from Ron that she'd been reassigned and was permanently in the country now. Just like him.
When she didn't answer the door he'd taken a peak inside and saw that it was mostly cleared out. Her aunt had seen him through the window and yelled at him. He gave Muriel a quick explanation for his visit and was told where she'd gone.
And it was here.
She was there in the farmhouse with her parents. Her new assignment had her working part time from home. This home. She had moved back to help her parents with the farm. Her dad was getting older and arthritic, her mum had a slew of grandbabies that she was helping out with for childcare while their parents worked.
He didn't know if she was still single though. That wasn't something he could bring himself to ask her aunt, or her brother.
He didn't really care though. He knew what he was going to do as soon as he saw her. It was the only thing that he'd been able to think of the whole time he was in recovery.
He was perfectly fine now. He'd just been stuck laying down for a while in order to let the… area, heal. He blushed now and shook his head at himself over his injury.
He started down the lane to the house, tugging reassuringly at his rucksack. Telling himself over and over again that it was all going to work out just fine. Even if she didn't want to be with him for real, her family would still want him around, and he could figure out how to be just her friend.
He had nearly made it to the porch when the door flew open and she was running at him, her eyes bright and smile beaming as she jumped into his arms and he kissed her. He hadn't planned on full-on snogging her the second he got close enough, but he'd been dreaming of this moment over and over again for nearly a year.
They stayed like that, clutching each other as close as possible, lip-locked, until there was a cough from the porch.
"I'll just assume that this was the reason you wouldn't meet anyone I suggested," Mrs. Weasley commented to her daughter with her hands on her hips and an amused smile at the pair of them.
"Yes, mum. This is the reason," Ginny told her, her eyes never pulling away from his.
"How long have you been here?" Harry asked her, tugging on a lock of her hair from her ponytail.
"Since Christmas," she said.
"And you've been waiting for me?" he asked, the biggest grin coming to his face. He'd hoped and prayed for as much. Ginny's blush was answer enough. "I'm glad."
"It isn't against the rules or anything?" she asked quietly, so that her mum didn't hear.
"No. Ginny, I'm done," he said.
"Done?" she asked, moving to pull back from him.
He tugged her back against him, "done with the army," he explained. "I've been honorably discharged. I'm here to stay."
She blinked at him, "why? What happened?"
He cast a weary and embarrassed look at Mrs. Weasley and leaned forward to whisper in Ginny's ear.
Ginny laughed loudly and pulled her head back to look at him properly, "like Forrest Gump?!"
Harry winced at the comparison. No doubt Mrs. Weasley knew exactly what had happened to him now. "Yes," he sighed, "like Forrest Gump. It was enough of an injury that they asked if I wanted to stay on or leave. I chose leave," he looked at her seriously, "I chose you."
"You want to be with me? Really be with me?" she beamed and drew her forehead up to press against his, her brown eyes shining behind her glasses.
"More than that," he said shakily, fishing in his pocket. "I suppose I'm meant to talk to your father first, but… Ginny there's no one else, you're it for me. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He pulled out the ring that had been his mothers. The one that he'd carried around with him in his rucksack since he'd first joined the army.
Mrs. Weasley gasped from the porch, but Ginny was just looking down at the diamond and emerald ring before her at a complete loss for words.
Fear grew in Harry's stomach as the time stretched out between them.
Finally, she looked back up at him, "You're really here, aren't you?"
"From now on, I promise," he swore to her.
She took the ring from him and slid it on her finger, pulling him back down for a kiss to seal it.
()()()
AN- Wasn't sure about him proposing at the end, but I wasn't about to 'Dear John' him either.