Title: Coming Home, Chapter 3, With This Ring

Rating: PG-13

Characters/pairings: Harry/Ginny

Summary: Now that the Final Battle is over, Harry wants to pick up the pieces of the life he left behind, starting with Ginny.

Author's Notes: Plot bunny that refused to shut up. Hope it's enjoyable. Extra special thanks to my betas rosiekatriona, and sassyfrass. Constructive criticism cheerfully accepted. Praise greatly enjoyed. Flames haughtily ignored.

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Ron had a problem. The more time passed, the more serious a problem it was becoming. In fact, it was becoming such a severe problem that it was causing him to not think about how hungry, or thirsty, or dirty he felt. It had even overtaken the worries about his right leg being asleep from Hermione's head resting on it. It was coming close to being more important than the fact that he had to use the loo. Simply put, he hadn't seen Ginny.

Not, he would clarify, that he had never seen her! He had certainly seen Ginny many times throughout his life, including a few of the unfortunately more memorable times he'd accidentally found her wrapped around Harry, snogging him for all she was worth. No, it was the fact that he hadn't seen Ginny in Gryffindor Tower after the Final Battle. He and Hermione had left the rest of the Weasley brothers with their parents in the Great Hall, on their mission to go watch over Harry while he slept. As the couple had left, Ron's mum had called to him to check on Ginny, too, as she had been headed that way.

But they hadn't caught up with his sister, and Hermione utterly refused to leave Ron alone in the Common Room, suspecting (probably correctly) that Ron would take the opportunity to bother Harry. So she hadn't gone up the girls' side to check for Ginny. And it was a certainty that Ron himself couldn't go up there-even if he knew some secret password to keep the stairs from turning into a slide, Hermione would give him one of those looks, and Ron would find himself sitting down on one of the sofas.

So, Ron was worried. His mind started running through the possible locations where Ginny could be hiding, but there were too many to think of. He had to believe she had come to Gryffindor Tower. Why wouldn't Hermione just go up and check? That had seemed a little off, to Ron. If Hermione had been so concerned about Ron possibly bothering Harry, why didn't she just Body-Bind him and then go check on Ginny? The more he thought about it, the more he started to suspect something. Hermione had seemed a little flustered when they had discussed trying to find Ginny. And she was rather passionate about them leaving Harry, and even his dorm room, alone.

Ron wasn't stupid. True, he didn't always grasp things as quickly as Hermione (which wasn't saying very much), or even Harry, but then, they never beat him in chess, either. Given enough time, and motivation, he could reason things out. And the conclusion he came to was as distasteful to him as it was unassailable: Harry and Ginny were up in the boys' dorms together.

Ron had risen halfway out of his seat before he remembered that Hermione was, or had been, sleeping on his leg. He sat down quickly, but the damage had been done-Hermione's head had slipped off his lap, and he ended up sitting on her forehead, sliding off it, and pulling her hair rather forcefully.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" she yelled, as she tried, unsuccessfully, to dislodge him from his seat. "GET OFF MY HAIR!"

Ron jumped up again, but knew, deep inside of him, that Hermione wasn't to be calmed by his mere obedience. He watched dispiritedly as she sat up, holding her head in pain. Her voice, when she finally spoke again, was a pained whisper, which made him feel even more wretched.

"Ron. Do you have any reasonable explanation for why you sat on my head?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally, he just lowered his head and said, "I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please forgive me?"

Hermione was startled. Ron was actually acting maturely! She had noticed, and was happy about, a few signs of his growing up throughout the past year. He had certainly performed his parts admirably, in most cases. True, he had abandoned them during their extended camping trip, but he had returned, and owned up to it. And he had fought very well, and even suggested warning the house-elves about the battle. Perhaps, just perhaps, the little boy she'd become accustomed to had finally decided to become a man.

"Yes, Ron. Of course I forgive you. But I would like to know why my hair was almost sacrificed to your bum."

The totally uncharacteristic, and rather risque joke, caught Ron off-guard, and he snorted, then burst out into laughter. Hermione laughed along with him, then stood up and walked toward him. She stopped just in front of him, and looked up into his eyes.

His laughter trailed off, and he looked back down at her. His eyes were captivated by hers, and he looked deeper, and deeper, and found himself falling, and falling, and never wanting to stop. Without realizing it, he put his hands on her shoulders, and gently drew her closer. And as he did so, he leaned down, and tilted his head slightly (he'd learned about bumping noses already), and kissed her.

And she kissed him back, and all other thoughts, Ginny's location, Harry's health, even Fred's death, flew right out of his head.

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"Merlin's soggy socks!" Ginny yelled.

Harry was slightly taken aback at Ginny's response. It really was a simple question-where had Ginny gotten that ring?

"Gin?" he ventured, tentatively.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't mean for you to find out like this. Of all the times to forget the glamor charm." She paused for a bit, then bit her lip and looked back up at her lover. "I don't suppose you want to wait until we, erm, finish what we were starting, do you?"

Truth be told, Harry was thinking the same thing. His beautiful, fiery, sexy, and completely naked Ginny was sitting in front of him, looking at him with those gorgeous eyes, and he found himself quite unmistakeably reacting to the sight. He dragged his eyes back up from where they had drifted. In a rather rough voice he said, "You'll tell me afterward, right?"

She nodded quickly, and even more quickly stretched out towards him, kissing his waiting mouth and melting into him. Harry's arms wrapped around her body, and as they kissed, and touched, and moved, and grew closer, Ginny found out the answer to her question-her being on top worked just as well.

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Some uncounted time later, when hearts and breaths had both calmed back down, Harry turned to the side, allowing Ginny to lie down next to him. She cuddled close, in what had become their favorite sleeping position, and then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Harry, love, I think I'm about ready for that shower now. Join me?"

Harry smiled down at her blurrily and nodded. "Yeah, I think I'd really like that."

Regardless, neither one of them moved for awhile, very happy to just be together, after the horrible time they'd had to spend apart, pretending they were nothing more than friends. Eventually, though, Ginny wiggled out of Harry's arm and sat up, stretching.

"Harry?"

Silence.

"Harry?"

Silence.

"Harry!"

Nothing.

Ginny finally turned to look at him, and noticed his eyes fixed firmly on her body. Ginny lowered her arms from her stretch and reached out and nudged him.

He blinked, then looked back up at her. "Uhhh. . . Did you. . . did you say something, Gin?"

Ginny giggled, then slapped his arm, lightly. "I might have to start being careful where I stretch, yeah? Wait a minute! You don't have your glasses on; how could you see me?"

Harry blushed furiously and glanced away. Turning back to her, he mumbled, "I can see enough-I saw what you were doing, and just imagined the details."

Ginny blushed, then threw herself back down on him and snogged him for all she was worth. Eventually, though, she drew back from the kiss and took his hands. "Harry, I'd really like to-"

"-have another round? I'm okay with that, it's bloody brilliant!"

Ginny giggled again. "That's not what I was going to say, love. I agree, though. It really is brilliant. But what I'd like to do right now is go get clean, and answer your question."

Harry looked blankly back at Ginny. He couldn't, for the life of him, remember what question he'd asked. Ginny snorted, then held up her left hand right in front of his eyes, and wiggled the fingers. "The ring, Harry. Remember?"

At this reminder, Harry looked shocked, then turned serious. "You're right, Gin. It's probably time to talk about that. Do you, maybe, want to talk while we're showering?"

"Oh, um, about that. Maybe we could take a bath, instead? I'm a little bit sore."

Harry couldn't guess why Ginny would be embarrassed about being sore-his muscles were pretty stiff too. Fighting so hard had taken a lot out of him, and he didn't know what-all Ginny had had to face. "Yeah, that sounds really good, I could use a warm bath too-I think my hand is permanently cramped from holding my wand so tightly."

Ginny just stared at him. What in Merlin's name was he talking about? "What? Your hand is cramped?"

Harry looked back in confusion. "Yeah. . . I mean, the fighting was really hard, wasn't it? And my legs are rather tired. I think I wrenched one of my shoulders too. . ." His words died as he watched the most interesting look come into Ginny's eyes. It seemed to be equal parts humor, embarrassment, and love. "What?" he finally asked.

Ginny took his hand and tugged so he'd follow her off the bed. "No, Harry. I'm not sore like that-well, okay, maybe a little bit. But I'm sore from our other activities."

Harry was still really confused. What other activities was she talking about? The only other things they'd done was-

Oh.

That other activity.

Ginny, who was watching, just about died from laughter. His face looked confused, then it turned completely white, then the deepest red she'd ever seen on a non-Weasley. She waited for him to say something, but he just stared at the ground, refusing to meet her eyes.

She tugged on his hand some more, until finally he looked up at her. She smiled gently at him. "Harry, it's okay. It's normal, and just means I've been-" and Ginny blushed bright red too, "-using muscles that aren't used to being used like that."

They stood there, having a veritable blushing contest, until Ginny leaned in and kissed Harry's cheek. "Come on, loverboy, let's go sit in a hot bath and talk about some very important things, okay?"

Harry nodded, then leaned in and kissed her. "Yeah, let's go. I'm looking forward to relaxing in a tub with you."

Harry stuck his head out of the curtains, just to make sure they were alone. Finding no-one else there, they traipsed across the floor and into the bathroom. Where they encountered another problem.

"Gin, I'm not sure the boys have bathtubs-I don't remember seeing one in here before."

Ginny just smiled and led him to the last shower stall. Making sure the door was shut, she tapped on the handle three times and said, "Bathtub, please," then opened the door.

Harry was astounded. Yes, Hogwarts was a magical place, but why hadn't anyone taught him about the bathtub option? "That's incredible, Gin. How did you know?"

"Well, we girls sometimes like baths, especially after a hard Quidditch match, or, I don't know, maybe some of the girls have a rough time in the Charms Club. But anyway, all the older girls pass on the secret to the new ones. I wasn't exactly sure that it worked the same for the boys, but it was definitely worth a shot."

Harry looked in, wondering what kind of bathtub it was. He was slightly disappointed that it wasn't as feature-rich as the one in the Prefect's Bath, but this one looked cosier, and given his feelings towards the beautiful red-head next to him, that could only be a good thing.

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"I think I've found my new favorite way to relax," Harry sighed as they soaked in the tub together. His arms were lazily wrapped around her body, allowing him to hold her close, and occasionally tickle her.

Ginny leaned her head back and looked up at him. "Really? A new favorite way?" Harry nodded. "So, are you referring to the bath? or perhaps some other activity that we might have done lately, three times. . ."

Harry smiled, then chuckled a bit. "Well, I was referring to the bath, but you're right, that other way was much more fun. But this is a close second. Just being able to hold you like this-it's more than I ever figured I'd be able to enjoy." He was silent for a bit, and Ginny was content to just relax against him while he put his thoughts in order. Eventually he shook his head a bit and continued. "When I. . . when I was down in the forest, waiting for Voldemort to kill me. . . all I could think about was you. About. . . about how I would never get to hold you again, or kiss you. I was so happy that you'd be able to live, mind you, but I was so sad that I wouldn't be able to share it with you. All those things I'd miss out on-flying with you, dancing with you, holding you. . ." He stopped, then started again, softly, "And that I'd never get to make love to you. But now. . . now I have you here with me, and I can't help but think we should grab all the happiness that we can, because . . . because something might go wrong, and I'd have to leave you again."

Ginny listened as her Harry, the one that defeated Voldemort, the one who suffered himself to be killed in order to protect his loved ones, cried softly into her hair. She just held his arms close, and murmured, over and over again, how much she loved him. When he stopped, she lifted his arms up, and turned around on his lap. After rearranging themselves for more comfort, she took his head in her hands and looked into his eyes. "Harry, don't you get it? We are together, and nothing will take me away from you. Anything you want to do, we'll do it together. If you decide to return to Hogwarts, then I'll come back too, but if you don't want to, then I won't either. We have the rest of our lives to spend together! This ring-do you know what it symbolizes? Eternity, Harry. It is as if you gave this to me when we were married."

"But-"

"No, I know. I know we agreed not to exchange rings, that the risk was too great. But I couldn't-" she sniffled a bit. "-I couldn't let you go without having something of yours to keep. Have you ever really investigated your vault?"

Harry shook his head at the apparent non-sequitur.

"Well, behind that pile of gold and silver are a few boxes-old trunks and such. When we went to Diagon Alley for school stuff last year, I snuck off and went to our vault." Harry smiled at hearing her refer to it as theirs. "The goblins didn't have any problems with your wife going down there-they're remarkably unflappable, you know? Anyway, in an old trunk I found a set of rings. I think they must have been some family heirloom or something. It felt as if I were being pulled, or magicked into taking this one out and putting it on my finger. And once it was on, I felt. . . I don't know, more connected to you, to your family."

"But, Gin, the danger-"

"Bollocks to the danger! I made sure I cast a glamor on it once a week-and no-one ever seemed to be able to feel it. Maybe it knew I wanted to keep it hidden-maybe there's some magic in it. But the first time anyone's ever noticed it was you, last night, or this morning, or whenever it was. Whatever the reason, it comforted me while you were gone."

"But why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I just. . . I never felt good about it. I didn't want you to worry about it. It was kind of my secret way of supporting you, and I just. . . I don't know. Maybe the magic in the ring worked to keep me from saying anything to anybody, even you. It's even kind of hard to talk about it now, too. But, I think, maybe, if we do this right, the magic will somehow include you, and I'll feel fine talking about it with you." She bit her lip, slightly nervous now. "Um, are you okay with it? I didn't mean to-"

Harry leaned forward and kissed her quiet. "Gin, that's. . . that's just perfect. I was worried-I didn't know whether someone might have seen it, or somehow recognized that we were married. But obviously it didn't harm you, and if it gave you courage, then I can't imagine anything I would have wanted more. Do you think, maybe, I could do it right?"

Ginny's eye's got very bright then, as she took the wedding ring off and handed it to her husband. He took it, kissed it, and reached for her left hand. Looking deeply into Ginny's eyes, he slid the ring onto her finger, saying, "With this ring, and all my magic and soul, I reaffirm my wedding vows to the most beautiful, gracious, and stunningly sexy Ginevra Molly Weasley-" he grinned at her, then added, "-Potter."

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A/N: It has come to my attention that the bold and italic parts of the first two chapters didn't transfer onto fanfiction dot net. I'm rather peeved about that, and I don't really want to go back and edit those two chapters. If you feel a burning desire to read those two chapters with the proper sections italicized and/or bolded, you can find them at the homepage link on my profile.