A Night Among Friends
Author tari3
Title: A Night Among Friends
Challenge: #68: Harry and Ginny have a dinner party with friends including Professor Longbottom and Hannah Abbott.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Moments during Harry and Ginny's first dinner party in their new house.
Genre: Fluff!
Word Count: 1578
Notes/Warnings: Sorry this is late! *hangs head in shame* Major thanks to ladyg_funk! You're awesome!
Thanks to katieay for the wonderful and quick beta!
~*~
With a small smile, Ginny Potter tucked the small six-year-old form of Teddy Lupin into bed. He looked so much like his mother, with his sweet, heart-shaped face; and yet, there was so much Remus Lupin in the young boy as well. The eyes were strikingly similar, though closed at the moment. And his hair--though Teddy could change it at will--was usually set to a soft, light-brown colour.
Ginny wondered if Teddy realized that he’d managed to capture his late father’s hair colour in such perfect detail.
Quietly, she stood and made her way out into the hallway, closing the door with care as she heard more laughter coming from the newly decorated dining room. It was one of the few rooms that was actually fully unpacked. Surprisingly--to Ginny, at least--it looked as though it belonged to actual, mature grown-ups, instead of a couple of kids pretending to be adults, as Ginny sometimes felt she and her new husband were.
It was the end of their first week living in their new house in Godric’s Hollow, and they’d just managed to get things in order for the small dinner party they were currently throwing.
Pausing in the door-frame of the cosy dining room, Ginny smiled anew at the remaining guests. Several of their guests had already left, as it was getting pretty late into the night, but those who remained into this late hour were very much awake and seemingly having a great deal of fun.
Every one of the remaining guests were smiling, each affected by the copious amounts of elf-made wine and Firewhisky that they had bought especially for the occasion.
Of course, Ron and Hermione were still there. They were sitting next to each other and alternately smiling and looking indignantly at one another as the conversation progressed.
Neville was there, too, and he’d brought a girl with him this time. Hannah Abbott was sitting next to him, looking shy but happy. From the angle Ginny was standing at now, she could see their hands clasped under the table.
Sitting by herself, Luna looked quite alone. Ginny very nearly felt a pang of regret for her single friend, but the airy smile on her friend’s face stopped that train of thought abruptly. Luna looked extremely content amongst her friends; her slightly bulbous eyes aptly watched the conversation flitter around her as though she were observing a pair of love-struck butterflies. Ginny couldn’t help but smile at the sight of it.
Across the room, Harry caught her eye and lifted his eyebrows, silently asking if everything was all right with her crouched in the corner of the door frame.
Ginny nodded and walked into the room to take her seat next to her husband. “Teddy fell right to sleep,” she whispered into Harry’s ear. “He’ll probably be very cranky tomorrow, though, since he went to sleep so late. We’ll have to apologize to Andromeda.”
Harry grimaced slightly in anticipation for that moment. “She thinks I indulge him too much.”
Smirking, Ginny turned her attention back to the guests. Harry did indulge Teddy a bit much, but as his Godfather, he had every right to do so.
~*~
Ginny was laughing so hard, she could barely breathe. Across the table, Neville was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, while Hannah was staring, open-mouthed, between Neville and Ginny.
“I didn’t know you went to the Yule Ball together,” Hannah remarked, halfway between horror and amusement.
“My poor feet,” Ginny gasped out as she tried to control her laughter. “I didn’t think I’d ever walk again!”
Ron snorted loudly from his end of the table, earning him a solid slap on the shoulder from Hermione.
“At least they were dancing! You and Harry were perfectly horrible to Parvati and Padma.”
“We’ve improved since, I think,” Harry said hopefully from Ginny’s side.
“Yeah,” agreed Ron enthusiastically. “I dance with you all the time, Hermione.”
Hermione rolled her eyes to this. “You’ve improved,” she granted taking a sip of her wine.
Neville’s face was red with embarrassment, but he was smiling goofily all the same. He leaned in to Hannah and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your feet. They’re safe with me.”
~*~
Ginny felt her face heat up in embarrassment as she stared open-mouthed at her friend across the table. “I can’t believe your brought that up, Hermione!” She stumbled slightly over the words, and she suddenly wished she hadn’t drunk quite so much Firewhisky.
Hermione, quite pink in the face thanks to the wine, laughed behind her hands. “I managed to keep all my clothes on me, thank you!”
“Oh, you missed out on that,” Luna said dreamily. “The waters at Bath are known for being very therapeutic. I had been developing a cold, but the waters cleared everything up straight away.”
“Skinny dipping in Bath at three in the morning in March is not going to do anything to help a cold,” Hermione said, slurring slightly.
Ron was staring at Hermione in what appeared to be awe. “You went skinny dipping?”
“No!” She pointed at Ginny and Luna. “Those two did,” she said indignantly before sputtering into giggles. “And Ginny lost all her clothes!”
Ginny felt her jaw drop. “Hermione! What happened to that night being just between the three of us?”
Hermione, though, was too lost in laughter to respond.
Harry was staring at her with a smile goofily plastered to his face, clearly remembering when she’d come home after that fateful night.
“All right, yes,” Ginny said, owning up. “I went skinny dipping in Bath with Luna. And I lost all my clothes, but at least I wasn’t the one to name my breasts.” She gave Hermione a playful smile as one half of the table erupted in laughter and the other half stared at Hermione open-mouthed.
“I’m sorry,” sputtered Hermione, looking rather embarrassed. “I’ve done no such thing!”
Cocking her head slightly, Ginny tapped her finger against her chin and furrowed her eyebrow in mock thought. “Then who are Pinky and Perky?”
Beside her, Harry’s laughter renewed as he asked, looking partly curious and partly horrified, “Pinky and Perky? Are you serious?”
“Oi!” Ron bellowed from across the table. “It’s Pinky and Perty. Get it right, mate.”
Hermione, meanwhile buried her head in her hands looking absolutely horrified. “Oh, Merlin,” she groaned through her fingers. “For the last time, Ron named them!”
Ron smirked cheekily, as though there was nothing to be prouder of than naming Hermione’s chest.
Luna, fingering her glass lazily asked, “Haven’t you named yours, Ginny?”
Before Ginny could answer, Harry leaned over and put his arm around her shoulders. “That,” he said slyly, “is something only I get to know, thanks.”
Ginny turned and lightly kissed her husband’s cheek. Across the table, she distinctly heard the sound of her brother gagging.
Loudly, as to interrupt anymore talking that might go on, Ron coughed loudly. “Sorry, but I do not want to know anything about my sisters….” He flailed his arms about wildly, indicated what he obviously could bear to say: his sister’s breasts.
“Hey, I didn’t want to know about Hermione’s… you know… either,” Harry said, his hand gesturing to fill in the words he couldn’t say either.
~*~
Ginny laughed into her palm as she watched Luna skip through the garden. With a soft pop, the last of their guests for the evening Apparated away.
She closed the door and, with a distinct wobble to her step, walked back into the house. When she nearly fell on her arse halfway back to the dining room, she grabbed at the wall, just barely catching herself. For her troubles, she knocked a few picture frames off a nearby table and scattered a handful of papers.
Perhaps she’d had a bit too much Firewhisky.
The sound of her almost-fall brought Harry into the hall, his green eyes curious under arched eyebrows. At the sight of her, though, an amused smirk broke out on his face.
“All right?” he asked darkly.
Not daring to let go of the very sturdy wall, Ginny flashed him a grin. “M’fine.”
“You’re a bit pissed, aren’t you?” he asked, unable to get through the sentence without slurring his way through it. He walked toward her--in not exactly a straight line--and placed his hands on her hips.
She smiled and her hands abandoned the wall in favour of Harry’s shoulders. “Quite probably. And I think you might be, too.”
Harry kissed her cheek and rested the side of his head against the side of hers. She could feel his glasses pressing into her hair. “Just a little. Firewhisky,” he explained needlessly. “But this,” he said as he lifted his arm to tug gently at her hair, “is better. More intoxicating.”
“Mmmm,” Ginny said, moving her hand down Harry’s chest and around his side to grab at his back. She kissed his earlobe with the corner of her mouth.
“Let’s leave the cleaning up for tomorrow,” he whispered, tugging at her hips, making it quite clear what he had in mind instead.
“That,” Ginny said through a smile, “is the best idea I’ve heard all night.” She punctuated her words with kisses running down Harry’s jaw. She could feel a hint of stubble scratch at her lips.
Without another word, Ginny stepped back from her husband, grabbing his hands. She led him up the stairs and they tip-toed past Teddy’s room, trying to make as little noise as possible.
~*~
fin
AN II: As for naming Hermione's breasts, the names come courtesy of Green Wing, while the idea came from an icon I passed by just after the release of DH. The icon in question (by x_smirk, I believe) read "For the last time, Ron named them." I'm fairly certain the "them" was referring to Hugo and Rose, but of course my mind went in a completely different direction. :P
Title: A Night Among Friends
Challenge: #68: Harry and Ginny have a dinner party with friends including Professor Longbottom and Hannah Abbott.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Moments during Harry and Ginny's first dinner party in their new house.
Genre: Fluff!
Word Count: 1578
Notes/Warnings: Sorry this is late! *hangs head in shame* Major thanks to ladyg_funk! You're awesome!
Thanks to katieay for the wonderful and quick beta!
~*~
With a small smile, Ginny Potter tucked the small six-year-old form of Teddy Lupin into bed. He looked so much like his mother, with his sweet, heart-shaped face; and yet, there was so much Remus Lupin in the young boy as well. The eyes were strikingly similar, though closed at the moment. And his hair--though Teddy could change it at will--was usually set to a soft, light-brown colour.
Ginny wondered if Teddy realized that he’d managed to capture his late father’s hair colour in such perfect detail.
Quietly, she stood and made her way out into the hallway, closing the door with care as she heard more laughter coming from the newly decorated dining room. It was one of the few rooms that was actually fully unpacked. Surprisingly--to Ginny, at least--it looked as though it belonged to actual, mature grown-ups, instead of a couple of kids pretending to be adults, as Ginny sometimes felt she and her new husband were.
It was the end of their first week living in their new house in Godric’s Hollow, and they’d just managed to get things in order for the small dinner party they were currently throwing.
Pausing in the door-frame of the cosy dining room, Ginny smiled anew at the remaining guests. Several of their guests had already left, as it was getting pretty late into the night, but those who remained into this late hour were very much awake and seemingly having a great deal of fun.
Every one of the remaining guests were smiling, each affected by the copious amounts of elf-made wine and Firewhisky that they had bought especially for the occasion.
Of course, Ron and Hermione were still there. They were sitting next to each other and alternately smiling and looking indignantly at one another as the conversation progressed.
Neville was there, too, and he’d brought a girl with him this time. Hannah Abbott was sitting next to him, looking shy but happy. From the angle Ginny was standing at now, she could see their hands clasped under the table.
Sitting by herself, Luna looked quite alone. Ginny very nearly felt a pang of regret for her single friend, but the airy smile on her friend’s face stopped that train of thought abruptly. Luna looked extremely content amongst her friends; her slightly bulbous eyes aptly watched the conversation flitter around her as though she were observing a pair of love-struck butterflies. Ginny couldn’t help but smile at the sight of it.
Across the room, Harry caught her eye and lifted his eyebrows, silently asking if everything was all right with her crouched in the corner of the door frame.
Ginny nodded and walked into the room to take her seat next to her husband. “Teddy fell right to sleep,” she whispered into Harry’s ear. “He’ll probably be very cranky tomorrow, though, since he went to sleep so late. We’ll have to apologize to Andromeda.”
Harry grimaced slightly in anticipation for that moment. “She thinks I indulge him too much.”
Smirking, Ginny turned her attention back to the guests. Harry did indulge Teddy a bit much, but as his Godfather, he had every right to do so.
~*~
Ginny was laughing so hard, she could barely breathe. Across the table, Neville was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, while Hannah was staring, open-mouthed, between Neville and Ginny.
“I didn’t know you went to the Yule Ball together,” Hannah remarked, halfway between horror and amusement.
“My poor feet,” Ginny gasped out as she tried to control her laughter. “I didn’t think I’d ever walk again!”
Ron snorted loudly from his end of the table, earning him a solid slap on the shoulder from Hermione.
“At least they were dancing! You and Harry were perfectly horrible to Parvati and Padma.”
“We’ve improved since, I think,” Harry said hopefully from Ginny’s side.
“Yeah,” agreed Ron enthusiastically. “I dance with you all the time, Hermione.”
Hermione rolled her eyes to this. “You’ve improved,” she granted taking a sip of her wine.
Neville’s face was red with embarrassment, but he was smiling goofily all the same. He leaned in to Hannah and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your feet. They’re safe with me.”
~*~
Ginny felt her face heat up in embarrassment as she stared open-mouthed at her friend across the table. “I can’t believe your brought that up, Hermione!” She stumbled slightly over the words, and she suddenly wished she hadn’t drunk quite so much Firewhisky.
Hermione, quite pink in the face thanks to the wine, laughed behind her hands. “I managed to keep all my clothes on me, thank you!”
“Oh, you missed out on that,” Luna said dreamily. “The waters at Bath are known for being very therapeutic. I had been developing a cold, but the waters cleared everything up straight away.”
“Skinny dipping in Bath at three in the morning in March is not going to do anything to help a cold,” Hermione said, slurring slightly.
Ron was staring at Hermione in what appeared to be awe. “You went skinny dipping?”
“No!” She pointed at Ginny and Luna. “Those two did,” she said indignantly before sputtering into giggles. “And Ginny lost all her clothes!”
Ginny felt her jaw drop. “Hermione! What happened to that night being just between the three of us?”
Hermione, though, was too lost in laughter to respond.
Harry was staring at her with a smile goofily plastered to his face, clearly remembering when she’d come home after that fateful night.
“All right, yes,” Ginny said, owning up. “I went skinny dipping in Bath with Luna. And I lost all my clothes, but at least I wasn’t the one to name my breasts.” She gave Hermione a playful smile as one half of the table erupted in laughter and the other half stared at Hermione open-mouthed.
“I’m sorry,” sputtered Hermione, looking rather embarrassed. “I’ve done no such thing!”
Cocking her head slightly, Ginny tapped her finger against her chin and furrowed her eyebrow in mock thought. “Then who are Pinky and Perky?”
Beside her, Harry’s laughter renewed as he asked, looking partly curious and partly horrified, “Pinky and Perky? Are you serious?”
“Oi!” Ron bellowed from across the table. “It’s Pinky and Perty. Get it right, mate.”
Hermione, meanwhile buried her head in her hands looking absolutely horrified. “Oh, Merlin,” she groaned through her fingers. “For the last time, Ron named them!”
Ron smirked cheekily, as though there was nothing to be prouder of than naming Hermione’s chest.
Luna, fingering her glass lazily asked, “Haven’t you named yours, Ginny?”
Before Ginny could answer, Harry leaned over and put his arm around her shoulders. “That,” he said slyly, “is something only I get to know, thanks.”
Ginny turned and lightly kissed her husband’s cheek. Across the table, she distinctly heard the sound of her brother gagging.
Loudly, as to interrupt anymore talking that might go on, Ron coughed loudly. “Sorry, but I do not want to know anything about my sisters….” He flailed his arms about wildly, indicated what he obviously could bear to say: his sister’s breasts.
“Hey, I didn’t want to know about Hermione’s… you know… either,” Harry said, his hand gesturing to fill in the words he couldn’t say either.
~*~
Ginny laughed into her palm as she watched Luna skip through the garden. With a soft pop, the last of their guests for the evening Apparated away.
She closed the door and, with a distinct wobble to her step, walked back into the house. When she nearly fell on her arse halfway back to the dining room, she grabbed at the wall, just barely catching herself. For her troubles, she knocked a few picture frames off a nearby table and scattered a handful of papers.
Perhaps she’d had a bit too much Firewhisky.
The sound of her almost-fall brought Harry into the hall, his green eyes curious under arched eyebrows. At the sight of her, though, an amused smirk broke out on his face.
“All right?” he asked darkly.
Not daring to let go of the very sturdy wall, Ginny flashed him a grin. “M’fine.”
“You’re a bit pissed, aren’t you?” he asked, unable to get through the sentence without slurring his way through it. He walked toward her--in not exactly a straight line--and placed his hands on her hips.
She smiled and her hands abandoned the wall in favour of Harry’s shoulders. “Quite probably. And I think you might be, too.”
Harry kissed her cheek and rested the side of his head against the side of hers. She could feel his glasses pressing into her hair. “Just a little. Firewhisky,” he explained needlessly. “But this,” he said as he lifted his arm to tug gently at her hair, “is better. More intoxicating.”
“Mmmm,” Ginny said, moving her hand down Harry’s chest and around his side to grab at his back. She kissed his earlobe with the corner of her mouth.
“Let’s leave the cleaning up for tomorrow,” he whispered, tugging at her hips, making it quite clear what he had in mind instead.
“That,” Ginny said through a smile, “is the best idea I’ve heard all night.” She punctuated her words with kisses running down Harry’s jaw. She could feel a hint of stubble scratch at her lips.
Without another word, Ginny stepped back from her husband, grabbing his hands. She led him up the stairs and they tip-toed past Teddy’s room, trying to make as little noise as possible.
~*~
fin
AN II: As for naming Hermione's breasts, the names come courtesy of Green Wing, while the idea came from an icon I passed by just after the release of DH. The icon in question (by x_smirk, I believe) read "For the last time, Ron named them." I'm fairly certain the "them" was referring to Hugo and Rose, but of course my mind went in a completely different direction. :P