The Wishing Wand, Challenge Fic: Diagon Alley
TITLE: The Wishing Wand
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Ginny goes Christmas shopping in Diagon Alley and finds the perfect gift for Harry.
WORD COUNT: 4,800
AUTHOR NOTE: I so wanted to write a new Christmas story for H/G, but this re-gift (an excerpt taken from chapters 11 and 12 of A Time to Remember) will have to do for now. For those of you who haven’t read A Time to Remember, Ginny is a Harpies player and is engaged to Harry. In a freak accident, she has lost all of her memories of Harry. As the story progresses, she remembers more and more.
The Wishing Wand
Ginny was enjoying her day out shopping in Diagon Alley. Even though it was crowded the week before Christmas, it didn’t take long to find everything on her list. Her brothers were easy to shop for - all of them loved sweets so she loaded her basket at Honeydukes. Dad and Hermione both liked books, so she bought Hermione a vegetarian cookery book, Swedes Never Scream, and her father got the coffee table edition of Plugs, a Retrospective. Ginny bought Mum a new dressing gown at Madam Malkin’s, not because she needed it, but because it was a soft cornflower blue and everyone should have something pretty to wear around the house.
She didn’t dare buy Fleur clothes, but luckily Fleur’s brand of fragrance was on sale at Bobbins Apothecary. Ginny got her the shampoo and conditioner since Bill would never think to buy her that. Wizards never understood the importance of hair care. Then on impulse, she bought Luna the Aromatherapy Bath Beads Sampler. Hopefully one of the scents would help her relax so she could get over her writer’s block.
By the middle of the afternoon, she had no one left to shop for but Harry and Teddy and Victoire. Since she and Harry were going together to Geppetto’s Toy Shop, it was now time to find Harry’s gift.
She wanted to buy him a jumper - a good one - knit from the finest lambs wool or cashmere. She wasn’t sure she could afford cashmere, but she thought Harry should have something really nice. It should be warm because he had to do so many patrols around those cold Dementors. And it should be soft since she didn’t like to touch scratchy material.
She smirked at thought of the last requirement.
After searching through the moderately priced Waldo’s Wizard’s Wear and Sorcerer’s Styles, Ginny worked up enough nerve to enter the exclusive Twilfit & Tattings. The haughty shop assistant showed her a charcoal grey v-neck cashmere jumper that was just what she was looking for. It was expensive, but she could afford it if she didn’t buy anything new to wear to Percy’s wedding. The jumper also came in green or black, but Ginny thought the grey would go better with Harry’s dark blue Auror robes.
She smiled as she passed over the green. Only Mum thought Harry should wear clothes the exact color of his eyes. As she touched the soft cashmere, another memory tingled at the back of her skull.
She was ten years old. It was a sunny autumn day. They had spent what seemed like hours at the wool shop picking out the exact shade of green for the jumper Mum wanted to make for Harry. “This one!” Ginny had shrieked. “It’s the color of fresh pickled toad.”
Mum and the saleslady had laughed and Ginny had blushed. But it was the only way she knew to describe that shade of green.
“We must give Harry a happy Christmas,” Mum had said.
Ginny thought about that as she waited for the clerk to wrap up the jumper. Harry didn’t have a family. Hers drove her up a wall half the time, but she couldn’t imagine not being with them for Christmas.
Then she started to have doubts as watched the assistant carefully fold the jumper to fit the gift box. It probably wasn’t the most exciting present for a wizard - no matter how soft or expensive. And it wasn’t very personal or imaginative.
Harry would understand, wouldn’t he? It was a miracle she got to go shopping at all.
She paid for the jumper and found herself outside in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. It seemed like she had been to every shop already - and nothing but this jumper had stood out as a gift meant for Harry. She walked slowly down the busy street, deep in thought.
Perhaps she could get Harry something else, maybe something small to make him smile. Then she remembered the WWN Shop. Surely they would have something ridiculous enough to make Harry smile - or even laugh. Unfortunately, most of the merchandise was picked over or sold out. The blankets with sleeves were gone, as were the child-rated Wishing Wands. However, there were a few adult-rated wands left.
Ginny gulped when she realized that she could get Harry an adult-rated Wishing Wand.
Last night she had whispered for him to show her - not tell her.
With a wave of an adult-rated Wishing Wand, she would be able to see what he wanted - and what it would be like. Her heart hammered as she remembered last night. Twenty-three - the real Twenty-three - had been a complete surprise because it was so, so, so . . .much more than her mind had anticipated.
Her body had known, though.
Her body had anticipated the pleasure - from the moment he had looked at her with that gleam in his eyes and had said she was sexy.
Merlin.
Even now - the next day - her body remembered the sensations he had plucked from her - one sensation at a time - until she was quivering from the pleasure.
She looked at the plain brown wrapping of the adult-rated wand.
He had promised her more - all night if she wanted it. All night?
Anticipation - this was better than looking back. She grabbed the wand and strode to the queue in front of the till.
She was not going to over think this.
****
Before meeting Harry, Ginny sent all of her packages to The Burrow through the Floo. Mum promised to stack them in her bedroom and to not peek. She probably wouldn’t, but Ginny charmed the adult-rated wand to look like umbrella just in case.
Harry was late, so Ginny had a few uncomfortable minutes outside the windows of Geppetto’s, trying to ignore the animated wooden puppets hanging there. The talking puppets had made the toyshop famous two hundred years ago, but ever since she was a little girl they had given her the creeps. Dolls were bad enough, but when they were animated by magic and said creepy things like ‘I love you’ or ‘let’s play outside’ she just wanted to run away.
“Sorry I’m late.” Harry looked at the window. “Puppets try to chat you up again?”
She shouldn’t be surprised that he knew about her fear of puppets. “I didn’t make eye-contact.”
He smiled. “Good idea.” Then he took her hand. “What are we going to buy Teddy?”
They spent a happy quarter of an hour looking at all of the toy brooms, Quidditch play sets, exploding cauldrons and talking spell books. They finally decided on a toy Knight Bus that was charmed to Apparate from room to room. It made a lovely loud bang and it came with a uniformed driver and two passengers. Ginny thought the passengers were too normal looking and argued that they should also buy a hag and perhaps the miniature yeti to make it more interesting.
Harry sensibly pointed out that no beasts were allowed to ride the Knight Bus, but Ginny explained that you got to make up your own rules when you played - that was the beauty of being a child.
Then Harry went with Ginny to the pink aisle, as she called it, to look for Victoire. “No dolls,” Ginny said firmly. “I was given a bride doll when I was a little older than Victoire and I hated it ever after.”
“Why ever after?” Harry asked, looking askance at a ballerina doll twirling so fast it made a slight breeze. “I can see being disappointed when you got it - ”
“I wasn’t disappointed when I got it. I liked her. She was blonde and had a pretty white lace dress. It was after. I couldn’t do anything with her. I tried to take her outside once. We were racing boats across the frog pond and Fred and George wouldn’t let me crew my ship with a bride.”
“Why not?”
“They said brides weren’t allowed to do anything fun. They had to stay dressed up and not get their white dresses dirty.” She still chaffed the memory. “And Mum backed them up! She said that the doll was for display and shouldn’t be played with.”
Harry listened patiently.
“Have you heard this story before?” Ginny asked, feeling a blush steal up her cheeks. “I don’t want to be like Great-Aunt Muriel and tell the same story over and over again.”
He laughed. “No. I haven’t heard that part of the story, but now I know why the ghoul sleeps with a bride doll.”
Ginny laughed. “I was tired of those vacant blue eyes staring at me in my room, so I took it up to the attic.”
“Sounds like Cornelius Fudge’s statue and the troll.”
“Eww. I hope not.” She giggled. “Although it would explain the moaning.”
They skirted the doll aisle completely and debated whether Victoire was old enough for an Easy Cauldron Cake Oven that allowed you to bake a tiny cake over a single candle flame. Ginny had always wanted one, but that didn’t necessarily mean Victoire would want it. Finally Ginny found the perfect gift for Victoire - a pink, child-sized handbag with a vivid green plush pot-bellied dragon to go inside it.
“I don’t know how authentic this is,” Harry said doubtfully. “The pot-bellied dragon looks smarter than the real thing.” He pointed to the shiny button eyes. “And don’t you think Victoire is a little young for a bag? It’s not like she needs to have money with her or anything.”
“But a bag is dead useful when you’re three. You can carry important things around in it - like your favorite toy - or say Ron’s favorite toy that you nicked from his room.”
“So you had a bag when you were young?” He smiled. “Sounds like there was a bit of girly girl in you.”
She tossed her hair. “I did have a handbag. And it was light purple and when I filled it with rocks and swung it over my head, no one would bother me.”
He laughed. “Why is it that all of your stories about childhood sound like it was a constant a battle between you and your brothers?”
“Probably because it was.” She smiled. “It was the best training for Quidditch. I have to say that.”
Ginny was hoping they would have time for a quick cup of tea, but it was so crowded that they had a long wait in line to pay. Harry stood with the large box that contained the Knight Bus play set under his arm, and Ginny held the pot-bellied dragon.
“So what about you?” Ginny asked as the harried clerk at the till counted a pile of Sickles and Knuts while the line grew restless. “What kind of toys did you have growing up with the Muggles?”
“Um.”
As soon as she said it she wished she could take it back. “Harry, sorry. I forgot- ”
“No, that’s all right.” He took a firmer grip on the box under his arm. “Dudley had a lot of toys that you would have found interesting.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. At least Harry wasn’t upset with her for bringing up something painful in his past.
“Actually, we should go sometime.”
She frowned in confusion. “Go where?”
“Oh! I was thinking about Dudley’s toys. We should go to Hamleys. It’s the biggest toyshop in Muggle Britain. There are seven floors of toys.”
Her eyes widened. “Seven floors?”
“It was Dudley’s favorite place in the world - well, besides the sweet shop.” Harry shook his head. “I went along once. Dudley was allowed to pick one present from each floor. So seven presents.”
Ginny’s mouth dropped open. “Seven presents! Just on an ordinary day? That’s more that Asteria Greengrass bragged about getting on her birthday.”
Harry frowned. “Asteria Greengrass?”
“Never mind her - she’s a rich spoiled brat from my year at Hogwarts. Did Dudley get a toy from each floor?”
“I don’t really remember.” Harry smiled. “However many it was, it took all day. That place is huge and Dudley had a hard time deciding.”
“That must have been boring for you.” Ginny was angry just thinking about it. “Since you didn’t get anything.”
He shrugged. “I made the best of it. I stayed on the floor with the toy bricks.”
“Toy bricks?”
“To build things. They had loads of them out on a table for the children to play with. I stayed there for hours.”
He had a slight smile on his face. Ginny had the feeling it was one of his few happy memories from that time in his life.
“So what did you make?”
“A house.”
“A house?” She would have thought a castle or a boat or something more exciting.
He shrugged and nudged her arm. “It’s our turn.”
Ginny turned around. They were indeed at the head of the line. She looked at her watch. Five minutes before she had to start Apparating back to Wales. “Harry, I’m sorry.”
He stiffened as if he thought she was going to say she was sorry for him. She was sorry for him, but she knew not to say it. “I’m sorry we didn’t have a chance to talk more last night and today.” Her eyes met his. “I have to leave in five minutes.”
He didn’t touch her, but his smile did. “I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to a Christmas quite like this.”
We must give Harry a happy Christmas.
“Me too,” she whispered, vowing with all of her heart that it would be a good one - for both of them.
*******Huge Snip********
The one bright spot on that Boxing Day was when Harry stopped to see her at the Burrow during a lull in the investigation. Ginny was sitting alone in the darkened living room. Everyone else had gone to bed, but she was too restless to sleep - or maybe she was just pathetic - hoping Harry would send her a Scroll or use the Floo to contact her.
When she heard the faint Apparition crack outside the kitchen door, she knew who it was and hurried to answer the door.
“Harry.” He still looked tired, but when she went to hug him, he smelled like he did when had nice, safe desk duty - coffee and ink and a hint of fried take-away food.
“Hi,” he said, after kissing her. “You won your match. I heard on the wireless. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there.”
“Is this investigation ever going to be over?” Ginny asked as they sat on the sofa together by the Christmas Tree. The fairy lights cast a soft glow over the whole room.
“Just a few more leads to follow and then I think we’ll have our story straight for the newspapers.”
“Anything you can tell me?”
He smiled at her. “I can, but I’d rather not talk about goblin politics right now.”
Happiness welled inside of her at his smile. It didn’t matter that Christmas was over - Harry was with her now. “Me neither.” She stood up and took out her wand. “I have presents for you. Accio, Harry’s gifts.”
“For me?” His eyes lit up as the two boxes sailed into the room.
“You’re surprised I got you a present?” She frowned at him. Their relationship had been one-sided lately, but she truly hoped that it hadn’t always been like that.
“I just kind of forgot about Christmas with all of this other stuff going on.” Harry touched the gilt bow on the box that held his jumper.
“I know.” She leaned over and kissed the top of his head and then she sat down next to him. “But you didn’t forget my gift - which I love by the way.”
“Do you?” Harry looked pleased. “I thought the flowers were pretty. They had dragon ones, but I don’t associate you with dragons.”
She laughed. “Now that’s a compliment.” She gestured toward the box. “Open it. I’m dying to know if you like it.”
Harry pulled on the ribbon and then lifted the lid of the box. “A jumper.” He fingered the neckline. “It’s nice.”
“It’s cashmere,” she said. “See how soft it is? It will keep you warm when you have to go and patrol those cold moors.”
“It will.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
“I know you blokes don’t get excited about clothes, but I really wanted you to have something nice. It’s from Twillfit &Tattings.”
“I love it.” He kissed her.
“Do you?” She didn’t know why, but she wanted to be sure he knew that she had put some thought into it. “I didn’t want you to be cold.”
His eyes darkened. “I’m never cold when I’m around you.”
She shivered in anticipation at the look in his eyes. Just wait until he saw his other gift.
“Um. I got you something else.”
“Oh! Right.” He put the jumper box on the floor and opened the long narrow box that contained the adult-rated Wishing Wand. “An umbrella?”
Ginny giggled. “I forgot to take the charm off.” She waved her wand and the plain brown wrapper that covered the Wishing Wand appeared.
“Is this?” He turned quickly to stare at her.
She bit her lip. “Um yeah. It’s a Wishing Wand. An adult-rated one.”
“I see.” He looked at the wand and his mouth worked.
“Don’t you like it?” Her voice sounded shrill even to her own ears.
“What?” To Ginny’s mortification he was frowning. “Um. Yes, of course. I just don’t know - ”
She ripped the box right out of his hand. “You don’t have to keep it if the idea offends you so much.”
“Ginny, no!”
She stood up and turned and her back on him, clutching the wand box to her chest. “Then what’s wrong with it?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it. Ginny -”
“Then what’s wrong with me?” She was suddenly so very, very angry. All this worry about marriage and sex and her Harpies career seemed to have been for naught.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, honest. Ginny, I’m not explaining this very well, but since you don’t remember us as lovers there are some things - ”
She didn’t wait to hear what he had to say, she was too embarrassed and hurt and angry. Instead, she took out her wand and Apparated to where she always went when she wanted to get away from The Burrow and clear her head.
It was cold on the top of Pixie Hill - and quite dark. There must be a thick cloud cover because she couldn’t see any stars whatsoever. She took a step and stumbled, falling on her knees to the soft ground. Cursing, she stood up and wondered what she was going to do next. Maybe flinging the adult-rated Wishing Wand down the side of the hill would be a good start.
She lifted it over her head and felt someone pluck it out of her hand.
“That’s mine.”
“Harry! How did you know I was here?”
“You always come to Pixie Hill when you’re upset.”
“Well, bully for you. The big bad Auror can track down the stupid little girl who bought a stupid present.”
“Ginny.” He grabbed her wrist and held it a strong grip. “If you try to Apparate again, I’m going with you.”
“Thought you didn’t like to be Side-along Apparated,” she taunted.
“Ginny, please stay so I can talk to you.”
“Talk about what? How you don’t like your gift? How I did something wrong again when it comes to us?” She tried to yank her arm away, but he held her fast, which made her lash out even harder. “Did we have a bad experience with a Wishing Wand once? Did the role-playing go wrong? Did you have some little kink that I didn’t like? What?”
“No, we’ve never used a Wishing Wand aside from a few kisses.”
His calm tone made her feel even more out of control. “Let me go.”
He ignored her “Ginny, please listen. I have to get back to the office soon.”
“Then go. No one is stopping you.”
“Ginny.” He didn’t sound so calm now. “You wanted to make me happy. Am I right? That’s why you got me the wand?”
She almost didn’t answer out of spite. Let him worry.
“Ginny?” he whispered. “Am I right?”
“Yes.” She cleared her throat - for some reason a lump was forming there. “So why didn’t it make you h- happy?”
She was not going to cry. Not in front of him.
“Ginny, don’t.” Now he sounded like he wanted to cry. She felt him wrap warm arms around her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
She stood stiffly in his embrace and then she shivered. She was cold - and confused.
“Ginny,” he said. “You do make me happy - whatever you give me makes me happy. A jumper or a kiss or Wishing Wand. But what I want most of all - what I wish for - is to give you what you want - when you want it - not because I’ve waved a Wishing Wand. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to force you into anything.”
She gently pushed against his chest so she could look up at him. It was too dark to see - his face was a white blur - but it made her feel better to have that distance. “I was trying to tell you that it wouldn’t be forced. That I’m ready to take the next step.”
“Ginny, I don’t know what that next step is in your mind.”
She stilled. “I thought you knew.”
“No.”
A breeze stirred around them and Ginny shivered. “We should go back,” Harry said. “You’re cold.”
She was cold and she was nervous. It wasn’t everyday you told a man you wanted him to sleep with you. “Harry, I think we should have sex - together.” The she giggled nervously as she realized how that sounded. “Together really would be more fun than apart.”
Now it was his turn to go completely still.
“Harry?”
“I - uh.” To Ginny’s ears he sounded as if he were in shock, and she didn’t understand it.
“What did you think I was giving you a Wishing Wand for?” She didn’t try to hide her annoyance.
“I didn’t know,” he said faintly. Then he groaned. “I mucked this up, didn’t I?”
“You did.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t know what you had in mind and I was trying to find out - but I hurt your feelings instead.”
She sniffed and nodded.
“And I feel terrible.” His arms tightened around her. “You were being generous and just wanting to make me happy. I’m sorry.”
She let that sink in. “Okay.” She was still feeling a little raw and hurt from what felt like rejection, but now she wasn’t angry.
“Ginny, I’m not going to say ‘are you sure’ or anything like that. But - ” He took a deep breath. “I do want to know what prompted you to want this all of a sudden. Did you remember something?”
“It wasn’t all of a sudden.” She leaned her forehead on his chest. “No, I can’t say I remember anything with my mind, but - ” She bit her lip and decided to say it. “This is going to sound strange - but it’s like my body remembered all of those feelings after you touched me in the car. And ever since, I’ve . . . I’ve craved that feeling again.”
His breath hitched. “It doesn’t sound strange at all. I crave you all the time. I think about you all the time.”
“You do?” His words were a balm to her hurt pride.
“I do.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ve missed you and I can’t wait to be with you.”
“I had you in my bed the other night, but all you did was sleep.” She was half-teasing, but only half. She knew he was exhausted at the time, but part of her had been disappointed that he hadn’t tried anything.
“And did I feel foolish in the morning,” he said, a smile in his voice. “There you were in that thin little shirt and your hair on the pillow and I had to leave.”
“So you have been wishing.”
“Of course! But I haven’t wanted to say anything. I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
“I thought that’s what you might have been thinking. And that’s why I got you the Wishing Wand.”
“You were right.”
“I still feel stupid about it.”
“Don’t.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Don’t you dare feel stupid about it. It was sweet and giving and warm, just like you are. And it got us talking. I just want to make sure everything we do is what you really want and not because I wish it.”
“You’ve said that before.” She frowned.
“I suppose I’d feel better at this point taking my cues from you.” He touched her hair.
“Did you always take your cues from me?”
“Uh. I dunno. We just sort of worked it out together - or things just happened - you know, over time.”
Ginny pulled away from him and this time he let her go. “I feel . . .” She crossed her arms in front of herself. A bitter poison was spreading from her belly to her heart.
“What?”
“I feel jealous.” She tossed her hair and blinked back the tears. “And left out. Even thought it’s stupid. I know it was me you had all of these first times with - but I can’t remember - and I’m jealous of that Ginny. Especially since nothing you do with me will be special or new for you.”
In the dim light, she could see him pace restlessly. Then he moved closer to her. “Ginny, I could shake you for that.”
“What?” His angry tones shocked her out of her self-pity.
“You really don’t get it, do you?”
She lifted her chin. “No I don’t.”
“There’s no need to be jealous since I can assure you that our next time will be ten times better than our first time.”
“How can you say that? How do you know?”
He touched her arm. “Because after several years of practice I actually know how to make you happy with out fumbling around like an idiot.”
Ginny shivered as he stroked her arm. He did seem to know just what she liked the other night in the car. Why was she making this so difficult? “I see.”
“You will see,” he said in a husky voice.
Now that sounded promising. Suddenly Ginny felt better about the whole thing - the Wishing Wand - her bald statement of what she wanted. “So I have a highly-trained sex slave waiting to do my bidding?”
He laughed. “I’d grovel at your feet, but I only grovel when you’re naked, and it’s too cold for that.”
Ginny held that image in her mind. She naked, looking down at the top of Harry’s dark head and he was . . . Oh, God. She swallowed. “Then hand over the wand.”
“Oh, no. It’s mine. And someday I’m going to use it.”
She liked the playful teasing in his voice. “Oh? And when is that going to be?”
“When the timing is right and we have a whole afternoon and a whole night and the next morning to work it out.”
“Oh, Harry.” Her voice was full of longing, but she didn’t try to hide it. “Do you think we’re ever going to spend a whole night and the morning after together?”
“We will, don’t worry. The department owes me all kinds of time, and even the Harpies can’t keep you locked up forever.”
She snorted. “Don’t bet on it.”
“I’ll see you home.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I’m not leaving you on Pixie Hill in the middle of the night.”
“For a sex slave you’re awfully bossy.” She took out her wand to Disapparate.
When they met in front of the door of The Burrow, she saw that he was smiling and had the adult-rated Wishing Wand in the front pocket of his cloak. “Your co-workers are going to see you with that,” she said.
“I want to show everyone the umbrella you got me for Christmas.”
“Harry! They’ll think you have the lamest girlfriend in all of Britain.”
He laughed and she realized he was teasing. She kissed him good-bye. “Be careful at work.”
“I will.” Then he pulled her into a fierce hug. “Thank you for my gifts,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m the luckiest bloke in the world.” Then he Disapparated.
Ginny stood still in the dark and wished there was a wand that could magically stop time. Not for long - she wasn’t that greedy - just one whole night and the morning after.
****
If you want to see what Harry wishes for with his adult-rated Wishing Wand, see Chapter 14, Part II on my journal. (warning: NC-17)http://stmargarets.livejournal.com/92631.html
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Ginny goes Christmas shopping in Diagon Alley and finds the perfect gift for Harry.
WORD COUNT: 4,800
AUTHOR NOTE: I so wanted to write a new Christmas story for H/G, but this re-gift (an excerpt taken from chapters 11 and 12 of A Time to Remember) will have to do for now. For those of you who haven’t read A Time to Remember, Ginny is a Harpies player and is engaged to Harry. In a freak accident, she has lost all of her memories of Harry. As the story progresses, she remembers more and more.
The Wishing Wand
Ginny was enjoying her day out shopping in Diagon Alley. Even though it was crowded the week before Christmas, it didn’t take long to find everything on her list. Her brothers were easy to shop for - all of them loved sweets so she loaded her basket at Honeydukes. Dad and Hermione both liked books, so she bought Hermione a vegetarian cookery book, Swedes Never Scream, and her father got the coffee table edition of Plugs, a Retrospective. Ginny bought Mum a new dressing gown at Madam Malkin’s, not because she needed it, but because it was a soft cornflower blue and everyone should have something pretty to wear around the house.
She didn’t dare buy Fleur clothes, but luckily Fleur’s brand of fragrance was on sale at Bobbins Apothecary. Ginny got her the shampoo and conditioner since Bill would never think to buy her that. Wizards never understood the importance of hair care. Then on impulse, she bought Luna the Aromatherapy Bath Beads Sampler. Hopefully one of the scents would help her relax so she could get over her writer’s block.
By the middle of the afternoon, she had no one left to shop for but Harry and Teddy and Victoire. Since she and Harry were going together to Geppetto’s Toy Shop, it was now time to find Harry’s gift.
She wanted to buy him a jumper - a good one - knit from the finest lambs wool or cashmere. She wasn’t sure she could afford cashmere, but she thought Harry should have something really nice. It should be warm because he had to do so many patrols around those cold Dementors. And it should be soft since she didn’t like to touch scratchy material.
She smirked at thought of the last requirement.
After searching through the moderately priced Waldo’s Wizard’s Wear and Sorcerer’s Styles, Ginny worked up enough nerve to enter the exclusive Twilfit & Tattings. The haughty shop assistant showed her a charcoal grey v-neck cashmere jumper that was just what she was looking for. It was expensive, but she could afford it if she didn’t buy anything new to wear to Percy’s wedding. The jumper also came in green or black, but Ginny thought the grey would go better with Harry’s dark blue Auror robes.
She smiled as she passed over the green. Only Mum thought Harry should wear clothes the exact color of his eyes. As she touched the soft cashmere, another memory tingled at the back of her skull.
She was ten years old. It was a sunny autumn day. They had spent what seemed like hours at the wool shop picking out the exact shade of green for the jumper Mum wanted to make for Harry. “This one!” Ginny had shrieked. “It’s the color of fresh pickled toad.”
Mum and the saleslady had laughed and Ginny had blushed. But it was the only way she knew to describe that shade of green.
“We must give Harry a happy Christmas,” Mum had said.
Ginny thought about that as she waited for the clerk to wrap up the jumper. Harry didn’t have a family. Hers drove her up a wall half the time, but she couldn’t imagine not being with them for Christmas.
Then she started to have doubts as watched the assistant carefully fold the jumper to fit the gift box. It probably wasn’t the most exciting present for a wizard - no matter how soft or expensive. And it wasn’t very personal or imaginative.
Harry would understand, wouldn’t he? It was a miracle she got to go shopping at all.
She paid for the jumper and found herself outside in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. It seemed like she had been to every shop already - and nothing but this jumper had stood out as a gift meant for Harry. She walked slowly down the busy street, deep in thought.
Perhaps she could get Harry something else, maybe something small to make him smile. Then she remembered the WWN Shop. Surely they would have something ridiculous enough to make Harry smile - or even laugh. Unfortunately, most of the merchandise was picked over or sold out. The blankets with sleeves were gone, as were the child-rated Wishing Wands. However, there were a few adult-rated wands left.
Ginny gulped when she realized that she could get Harry an adult-rated Wishing Wand.
Last night she had whispered for him to show her - not tell her.
With a wave of an adult-rated Wishing Wand, she would be able to see what he wanted - and what it would be like. Her heart hammered as she remembered last night. Twenty-three - the real Twenty-three - had been a complete surprise because it was so, so, so . . .much more than her mind had anticipated.
Her body had known, though.
Her body had anticipated the pleasure - from the moment he had looked at her with that gleam in his eyes and had said she was sexy.
Merlin.
Even now - the next day - her body remembered the sensations he had plucked from her - one sensation at a time - until she was quivering from the pleasure.
She looked at the plain brown wrapping of the adult-rated wand.
He had promised her more - all night if she wanted it. All night?
Anticipation - this was better than looking back. She grabbed the wand and strode to the queue in front of the till.
She was not going to over think this.
****
Before meeting Harry, Ginny sent all of her packages to The Burrow through the Floo. Mum promised to stack them in her bedroom and to not peek. She probably wouldn’t, but Ginny charmed the adult-rated wand to look like umbrella just in case.
Harry was late, so Ginny had a few uncomfortable minutes outside the windows of Geppetto’s, trying to ignore the animated wooden puppets hanging there. The talking puppets had made the toyshop famous two hundred years ago, but ever since she was a little girl they had given her the creeps. Dolls were bad enough, but when they were animated by magic and said creepy things like ‘I love you’ or ‘let’s play outside’ she just wanted to run away.
“Sorry I’m late.” Harry looked at the window. “Puppets try to chat you up again?”
She shouldn’t be surprised that he knew about her fear of puppets. “I didn’t make eye-contact.”
He smiled. “Good idea.” Then he took her hand. “What are we going to buy Teddy?”
They spent a happy quarter of an hour looking at all of the toy brooms, Quidditch play sets, exploding cauldrons and talking spell books. They finally decided on a toy Knight Bus that was charmed to Apparate from room to room. It made a lovely loud bang and it came with a uniformed driver and two passengers. Ginny thought the passengers were too normal looking and argued that they should also buy a hag and perhaps the miniature yeti to make it more interesting.
Harry sensibly pointed out that no beasts were allowed to ride the Knight Bus, but Ginny explained that you got to make up your own rules when you played - that was the beauty of being a child.
Then Harry went with Ginny to the pink aisle, as she called it, to look for Victoire. “No dolls,” Ginny said firmly. “I was given a bride doll when I was a little older than Victoire and I hated it ever after.”
“Why ever after?” Harry asked, looking askance at a ballerina doll twirling so fast it made a slight breeze. “I can see being disappointed when you got it - ”
“I wasn’t disappointed when I got it. I liked her. She was blonde and had a pretty white lace dress. It was after. I couldn’t do anything with her. I tried to take her outside once. We were racing boats across the frog pond and Fred and George wouldn’t let me crew my ship with a bride.”
“Why not?”
“They said brides weren’t allowed to do anything fun. They had to stay dressed up and not get their white dresses dirty.” She still chaffed the memory. “And Mum backed them up! She said that the doll was for display and shouldn’t be played with.”
Harry listened patiently.
“Have you heard this story before?” Ginny asked, feeling a blush steal up her cheeks. “I don’t want to be like Great-Aunt Muriel and tell the same story over and over again.”
He laughed. “No. I haven’t heard that part of the story, but now I know why the ghoul sleeps with a bride doll.”
Ginny laughed. “I was tired of those vacant blue eyes staring at me in my room, so I took it up to the attic.”
“Sounds like Cornelius Fudge’s statue and the troll.”
“Eww. I hope not.” She giggled. “Although it would explain the moaning.”
They skirted the doll aisle completely and debated whether Victoire was old enough for an Easy Cauldron Cake Oven that allowed you to bake a tiny cake over a single candle flame. Ginny had always wanted one, but that didn’t necessarily mean Victoire would want it. Finally Ginny found the perfect gift for Victoire - a pink, child-sized handbag with a vivid green plush pot-bellied dragon to go inside it.
“I don’t know how authentic this is,” Harry said doubtfully. “The pot-bellied dragon looks smarter than the real thing.” He pointed to the shiny button eyes. “And don’t you think Victoire is a little young for a bag? It’s not like she needs to have money with her or anything.”
“But a bag is dead useful when you’re three. You can carry important things around in it - like your favorite toy - or say Ron’s favorite toy that you nicked from his room.”
“So you had a bag when you were young?” He smiled. “Sounds like there was a bit of girly girl in you.”
She tossed her hair. “I did have a handbag. And it was light purple and when I filled it with rocks and swung it over my head, no one would bother me.”
He laughed. “Why is it that all of your stories about childhood sound like it was a constant a battle between you and your brothers?”
“Probably because it was.” She smiled. “It was the best training for Quidditch. I have to say that.”
Ginny was hoping they would have time for a quick cup of tea, but it was so crowded that they had a long wait in line to pay. Harry stood with the large box that contained the Knight Bus play set under his arm, and Ginny held the pot-bellied dragon.
“So what about you?” Ginny asked as the harried clerk at the till counted a pile of Sickles and Knuts while the line grew restless. “What kind of toys did you have growing up with the Muggles?”
“Um.”
As soon as she said it she wished she could take it back. “Harry, sorry. I forgot- ”
“No, that’s all right.” He took a firmer grip on the box under his arm. “Dudley had a lot of toys that you would have found interesting.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. At least Harry wasn’t upset with her for bringing up something painful in his past.
“Actually, we should go sometime.”
She frowned in confusion. “Go where?”
“Oh! I was thinking about Dudley’s toys. We should go to Hamleys. It’s the biggest toyshop in Muggle Britain. There are seven floors of toys.”
Her eyes widened. “Seven floors?”
“It was Dudley’s favorite place in the world - well, besides the sweet shop.” Harry shook his head. “I went along once. Dudley was allowed to pick one present from each floor. So seven presents.”
Ginny’s mouth dropped open. “Seven presents! Just on an ordinary day? That’s more that Asteria Greengrass bragged about getting on her birthday.”
Harry frowned. “Asteria Greengrass?”
“Never mind her - she’s a rich spoiled brat from my year at Hogwarts. Did Dudley get a toy from each floor?”
“I don’t really remember.” Harry smiled. “However many it was, it took all day. That place is huge and Dudley had a hard time deciding.”
“That must have been boring for you.” Ginny was angry just thinking about it. “Since you didn’t get anything.”
He shrugged. “I made the best of it. I stayed on the floor with the toy bricks.”
“Toy bricks?”
“To build things. They had loads of them out on a table for the children to play with. I stayed there for hours.”
He had a slight smile on his face. Ginny had the feeling it was one of his few happy memories from that time in his life.
“So what did you make?”
“A house.”
“A house?” She would have thought a castle or a boat or something more exciting.
He shrugged and nudged her arm. “It’s our turn.”
Ginny turned around. They were indeed at the head of the line. She looked at her watch. Five minutes before she had to start Apparating back to Wales. “Harry, I’m sorry.”
He stiffened as if he thought she was going to say she was sorry for him. She was sorry for him, but she knew not to say it. “I’m sorry we didn’t have a chance to talk more last night and today.” Her eyes met his. “I have to leave in five minutes.”
He didn’t touch her, but his smile did. “I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to a Christmas quite like this.”
We must give Harry a happy Christmas.
“Me too,” she whispered, vowing with all of her heart that it would be a good one - for both of them.
*******Huge Snip********
The one bright spot on that Boxing Day was when Harry stopped to see her at the Burrow during a lull in the investigation. Ginny was sitting alone in the darkened living room. Everyone else had gone to bed, but she was too restless to sleep - or maybe she was just pathetic - hoping Harry would send her a Scroll or use the Floo to contact her.
When she heard the faint Apparition crack outside the kitchen door, she knew who it was and hurried to answer the door.
“Harry.” He still looked tired, but when she went to hug him, he smelled like he did when had nice, safe desk duty - coffee and ink and a hint of fried take-away food.
“Hi,” he said, after kissing her. “You won your match. I heard on the wireless. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there.”
“Is this investigation ever going to be over?” Ginny asked as they sat on the sofa together by the Christmas Tree. The fairy lights cast a soft glow over the whole room.
“Just a few more leads to follow and then I think we’ll have our story straight for the newspapers.”
“Anything you can tell me?”
He smiled at her. “I can, but I’d rather not talk about goblin politics right now.”
Happiness welled inside of her at his smile. It didn’t matter that Christmas was over - Harry was with her now. “Me neither.” She stood up and took out her wand. “I have presents for you. Accio, Harry’s gifts.”
“For me?” His eyes lit up as the two boxes sailed into the room.
“You’re surprised I got you a present?” She frowned at him. Their relationship had been one-sided lately, but she truly hoped that it hadn’t always been like that.
“I just kind of forgot about Christmas with all of this other stuff going on.” Harry touched the gilt bow on the box that held his jumper.
“I know.” She leaned over and kissed the top of his head and then she sat down next to him. “But you didn’t forget my gift - which I love by the way.”
“Do you?” Harry looked pleased. “I thought the flowers were pretty. They had dragon ones, but I don’t associate you with dragons.”
She laughed. “Now that’s a compliment.” She gestured toward the box. “Open it. I’m dying to know if you like it.”
Harry pulled on the ribbon and then lifted the lid of the box. “A jumper.” He fingered the neckline. “It’s nice.”
“It’s cashmere,” she said. “See how soft it is? It will keep you warm when you have to go and patrol those cold moors.”
“It will.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
“I know you blokes don’t get excited about clothes, but I really wanted you to have something nice. It’s from Twillfit &Tattings.”
“I love it.” He kissed her.
“Do you?” She didn’t know why, but she wanted to be sure he knew that she had put some thought into it. “I didn’t want you to be cold.”
His eyes darkened. “I’m never cold when I’m around you.”
She shivered in anticipation at the look in his eyes. Just wait until he saw his other gift.
“Um. I got you something else.”
“Oh! Right.” He put the jumper box on the floor and opened the long narrow box that contained the adult-rated Wishing Wand. “An umbrella?”
Ginny giggled. “I forgot to take the charm off.” She waved her wand and the plain brown wrapper that covered the Wishing Wand appeared.
“Is this?” He turned quickly to stare at her.
She bit her lip. “Um yeah. It’s a Wishing Wand. An adult-rated one.”
“I see.” He looked at the wand and his mouth worked.
“Don’t you like it?” Her voice sounded shrill even to her own ears.
“What?” To Ginny’s mortification he was frowning. “Um. Yes, of course. I just don’t know - ”
She ripped the box right out of his hand. “You don’t have to keep it if the idea offends you so much.”
“Ginny, no!”
She stood up and turned and her back on him, clutching the wand box to her chest. “Then what’s wrong with it?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it. Ginny -”
“Then what’s wrong with me?” She was suddenly so very, very angry. All this worry about marriage and sex and her Harpies career seemed to have been for naught.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, honest. Ginny, I’m not explaining this very well, but since you don’t remember us as lovers there are some things - ”
She didn’t wait to hear what he had to say, she was too embarrassed and hurt and angry. Instead, she took out her wand and Apparated to where she always went when she wanted to get away from The Burrow and clear her head.
It was cold on the top of Pixie Hill - and quite dark. There must be a thick cloud cover because she couldn’t see any stars whatsoever. She took a step and stumbled, falling on her knees to the soft ground. Cursing, she stood up and wondered what she was going to do next. Maybe flinging the adult-rated Wishing Wand down the side of the hill would be a good start.
She lifted it over her head and felt someone pluck it out of her hand.
“That’s mine.”
“Harry! How did you know I was here?”
“You always come to Pixie Hill when you’re upset.”
“Well, bully for you. The big bad Auror can track down the stupid little girl who bought a stupid present.”
“Ginny.” He grabbed her wrist and held it a strong grip. “If you try to Apparate again, I’m going with you.”
“Thought you didn’t like to be Side-along Apparated,” she taunted.
“Ginny, please stay so I can talk to you.”
“Talk about what? How you don’t like your gift? How I did something wrong again when it comes to us?” She tried to yank her arm away, but he held her fast, which made her lash out even harder. “Did we have a bad experience with a Wishing Wand once? Did the role-playing go wrong? Did you have some little kink that I didn’t like? What?”
“No, we’ve never used a Wishing Wand aside from a few kisses.”
His calm tone made her feel even more out of control. “Let me go.”
He ignored her “Ginny, please listen. I have to get back to the office soon.”
“Then go. No one is stopping you.”
“Ginny.” He didn’t sound so calm now. “You wanted to make me happy. Am I right? That’s why you got me the wand?”
She almost didn’t answer out of spite. Let him worry.
“Ginny?” he whispered. “Am I right?”
“Yes.” She cleared her throat - for some reason a lump was forming there. “So why didn’t it make you h- happy?”
She was not going to cry. Not in front of him.
“Ginny, don’t.” Now he sounded like he wanted to cry. She felt him wrap warm arms around her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
She stood stiffly in his embrace and then she shivered. She was cold - and confused.
“Ginny,” he said. “You do make me happy - whatever you give me makes me happy. A jumper or a kiss or Wishing Wand. But what I want most of all - what I wish for - is to give you what you want - when you want it - not because I’ve waved a Wishing Wand. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to force you into anything.”
She gently pushed against his chest so she could look up at him. It was too dark to see - his face was a white blur - but it made her feel better to have that distance. “I was trying to tell you that it wouldn’t be forced. That I’m ready to take the next step.”
“Ginny, I don’t know what that next step is in your mind.”
She stilled. “I thought you knew.”
“No.”
A breeze stirred around them and Ginny shivered. “We should go back,” Harry said. “You’re cold.”
She was cold and she was nervous. It wasn’t everyday you told a man you wanted him to sleep with you. “Harry, I think we should have sex - together.” The she giggled nervously as she realized how that sounded. “Together really would be more fun than apart.”
Now it was his turn to go completely still.
“Harry?”
“I - uh.” To Ginny’s ears he sounded as if he were in shock, and she didn’t understand it.
“What did you think I was giving you a Wishing Wand for?” She didn’t try to hide her annoyance.
“I didn’t know,” he said faintly. Then he groaned. “I mucked this up, didn’t I?”
“You did.”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t know what you had in mind and I was trying to find out - but I hurt your feelings instead.”
She sniffed and nodded.
“And I feel terrible.” His arms tightened around her. “You were being generous and just wanting to make me happy. I’m sorry.”
She let that sink in. “Okay.” She was still feeling a little raw and hurt from what felt like rejection, but now she wasn’t angry.
“Ginny, I’m not going to say ‘are you sure’ or anything like that. But - ” He took a deep breath. “I do want to know what prompted you to want this all of a sudden. Did you remember something?”
“It wasn’t all of a sudden.” She leaned her forehead on his chest. “No, I can’t say I remember anything with my mind, but - ” She bit her lip and decided to say it. “This is going to sound strange - but it’s like my body remembered all of those feelings after you touched me in the car. And ever since, I’ve . . . I’ve craved that feeling again.”
His breath hitched. “It doesn’t sound strange at all. I crave you all the time. I think about you all the time.”
“You do?” His words were a balm to her hurt pride.
“I do.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ve missed you and I can’t wait to be with you.”
“I had you in my bed the other night, but all you did was sleep.” She was half-teasing, but only half. She knew he was exhausted at the time, but part of her had been disappointed that he hadn’t tried anything.
“And did I feel foolish in the morning,” he said, a smile in his voice. “There you were in that thin little shirt and your hair on the pillow and I had to leave.”
“So you have been wishing.”
“Of course! But I haven’t wanted to say anything. I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
“I thought that’s what you might have been thinking. And that’s why I got you the Wishing Wand.”
“You were right.”
“I still feel stupid about it.”
“Don’t.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Don’t you dare feel stupid about it. It was sweet and giving and warm, just like you are. And it got us talking. I just want to make sure everything we do is what you really want and not because I wish it.”
“You’ve said that before.” She frowned.
“I suppose I’d feel better at this point taking my cues from you.” He touched her hair.
“Did you always take your cues from me?”
“Uh. I dunno. We just sort of worked it out together - or things just happened - you know, over time.”
Ginny pulled away from him and this time he let her go. “I feel . . .” She crossed her arms in front of herself. A bitter poison was spreading from her belly to her heart.
“What?”
“I feel jealous.” She tossed her hair and blinked back the tears. “And left out. Even thought it’s stupid. I know it was me you had all of these first times with - but I can’t remember - and I’m jealous of that Ginny. Especially since nothing you do with me will be special or new for you.”
In the dim light, she could see him pace restlessly. Then he moved closer to her. “Ginny, I could shake you for that.”
“What?” His angry tones shocked her out of her self-pity.
“You really don’t get it, do you?”
She lifted her chin. “No I don’t.”
“There’s no need to be jealous since I can assure you that our next time will be ten times better than our first time.”
“How can you say that? How do you know?”
He touched her arm. “Because after several years of practice I actually know how to make you happy with out fumbling around like an idiot.”
Ginny shivered as he stroked her arm. He did seem to know just what she liked the other night in the car. Why was she making this so difficult? “I see.”
“You will see,” he said in a husky voice.
Now that sounded promising. Suddenly Ginny felt better about the whole thing - the Wishing Wand - her bald statement of what she wanted. “So I have a highly-trained sex slave waiting to do my bidding?”
He laughed. “I’d grovel at your feet, but I only grovel when you’re naked, and it’s too cold for that.”
Ginny held that image in her mind. She naked, looking down at the top of Harry’s dark head and he was . . . Oh, God. She swallowed. “Then hand over the wand.”
“Oh, no. It’s mine. And someday I’m going to use it.”
She liked the playful teasing in his voice. “Oh? And when is that going to be?”
“When the timing is right and we have a whole afternoon and a whole night and the next morning to work it out.”
“Oh, Harry.” Her voice was full of longing, but she didn’t try to hide it. “Do you think we’re ever going to spend a whole night and the morning after together?”
“We will, don’t worry. The department owes me all kinds of time, and even the Harpies can’t keep you locked up forever.”
She snorted. “Don’t bet on it.”
“I’ll see you home.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I’m not leaving you on Pixie Hill in the middle of the night.”
“For a sex slave you’re awfully bossy.” She took out her wand to Disapparate.
When they met in front of the door of The Burrow, she saw that he was smiling and had the adult-rated Wishing Wand in the front pocket of his cloak. “Your co-workers are going to see you with that,” she said.
“I want to show everyone the umbrella you got me for Christmas.”
“Harry! They’ll think you have the lamest girlfriend in all of Britain.”
He laughed and she realized he was teasing. She kissed him good-bye. “Be careful at work.”
“I will.” Then he pulled her into a fierce hug. “Thank you for my gifts,” he whispered in her ear. “I’m the luckiest bloke in the world.” Then he Disapparated.
Ginny stood still in the dark and wished there was a wand that could magically stop time. Not for long - she wasn’t that greedy - just one whole night and the morning after.
****
If you want to see what Harry wishes for with his adult-rated Wishing Wand, see Chapter 14, Part II on my journal. (warning: NC-17)http://stmargarets.livejournal.com/92631.html