Fic: Gryffindor Rubies
I wrote this FOREVER ago... I think Book 6 had just come out. Just found it while going through my Google Docs and figured I should put it up here for safe keeping! Please forgive the inconsistency with canon... and my lack of imagination on which Weasley JKR really meant to kill off.
Title: Gryffindor Rubies
Characters: Harry/Ginny
Word Count:3471
"Are there still tickets for the match?" "I hear the Minister of Magic is going to make an appearance." "How much did you say you bought Allyson's school robe for? They've gone up that much since last year?" "Get away from me, you blathering idiot!"
Harry was trying to look inconspicuous as he stood in the middle of Diagon Alley, the masses of humanity streaming around him as if he was made of stone and no one expected him to be able to move on his own. He'd been trying to make his way through the crowd when he'd suddenly seen a flash of red hair. A searing fissure of pain through his heart stopped him dead in his tracks as he was reminded his dead friend once
again. Even though he knew it wasn't Ron up ahead, he also didn't want it to be any of his family. Some time needed to pass before he spent any time with them. The funeral had been a hard affair that he'd only endured because of the constant need for his attention to be elsewhere. He was still quotable in all of the news journals and magazines and the two funerals, the only two of the supposed war, were
big news, drawing in all of the journalists, real or otherwise.
He'd since lost the person in the crowd but didn't dare move forward again. Maybe it was best if he came back later when the street was a little more deserted and he could skulk about from shadow to shadow with a bit more ease. The note from his solicitor had mentioned that he could come by anytime to get the packet of papers, although that might not mean midnight.
With renewed resolve, he took a deep breath and contemplated his next move. First and foremost, he needed to get out of the middle of the street so he could catch his breath. Second, he needed to find somefood. It was important that he was able to keep up his strength through the next several days. While he had no external wounds to heal from the fighting, he still had a nagging pain in his head that continued to interrupt his concentration and sleep patrons. If the nightmares weren't bad enough to wake him, the dull pounding brought him back to consciousness time after time.
A week ago he'd been in a fight for his life. Three days ago he'd been publicly mourning his friends. Today he was on his way to find out what his future really would be now that he'd defeated his mortal enemy once and for all. He'd never thought much past this part of his life. Once he'd thought about studying to be an Auror but he'd had his fill of that sort of thing already. There was still the option of
searching for a job with the few friends he had that were in trade but his best bet was probably the Weasley twins and he didn't relish the thought of working so closely with them just yet. His parents had left him enough money that he might be a man of leisure for at least a year until he figured things out but he didn't relish the idea of being idle as memories had a way of creeping up in such times.
But still he hadn't moved. In the space of several minutes he'd tried to come to terms with the entire rest of his life and was still in the midst of people where anyone might find him if they looked hard enough. There was excitement running through the crowds, keeping them concentrating on something other than the lost little boy without a family to run to and a face that had sold a million copies of well-worded parchment.
"You know, if you're planning on standing here for much longer, you're going to be run over by all the people heading to the match."
Harry turned his head, already grinning before he could remind himself he didn't want to deal with the Weasleys. But this was Ginny. He'd only been able to say a few words to her at Ron's funeral and had felt guilty that other things had gotten in the way. She should have been the first person he had talked to when he got back. The first person he ran to when his world verged on a collapse.
"I wasn't sure where to go," he replied, the pain subsiding for the first time as he smiled at her.
"I'm going to pretend that you were coming to see me but hesitated because you forgot flowers. A sad comment on how quickly you've forgotten your manners in the madness of the past couple of months. And your clothes leave something to be desired, but I don't suppose you've had a place to stop and wash up, have you? Other than that, you pass muster. Shall we?" She held out her arm for him to take and he complied, suddenly glad that she found him even when he wanted nothing more than to hide.
They walked in silence, the masses of people parting for them now that they were a couple and not just one lone man ambling slowly and without purpose. As Ginny steered them to the edge of the road, Harry felt more relaxed than he had in months... years... forever. There was something about putting his hand in hers that made everything seem a bit brighter. But going in the same direction as Ginny meant eventually seeing her family.
"I can't, Ginny."
She let him drag her to a stop but kept his arm twined in hers when he would have preferred to pull away. There was a spark of impatience in her otherwise stoic face. "Can't what, Harry?"
"I can't see your family yet."
With her head tilted to the side, Harry was amazed to see the little girl he'd met so many years ago staring back at him. In a blink of his eyes, she was gone and the older, wiser Ginny is staring at him with one eyebrow raised as if she was silently questioning his judgment. "We aren't going to see them. They're at the match. Haven't you heard? It's the first Quidditch match since... since the fighting broke out."
"Why aren't you going?"
"Because I noticed a friend of mine in the crowd and I decided to come to his rescue instead of shouting myself hoarse. Besides, Colin was looking for a ticket and I owed him a favor so now we're even."
He nodded and let her begin to lead him forward once again. With a quick movement of her wand, Ginny unlocked the front door of the Weasleys' shop, locking it again when they were both through. The darkness didn't stop her and Harry had to fight a strange sense of vertigo as he followed her. If her hand wasn't in his, he doubted he could have found her in this room. Tiny sparks flame up at the edges of his vision but nothing is there but black when he moves his head around. The room was full of magic and he wondered if it wasn't taunting him just a little bit.
"Still doing alright?" she asked as they came to a wall that even he could sense.
"Alright," he parroted back and squeezed her hand. She'd built up some callouses as any good Quidditch player might but mostly it was just soft skin that encased his own roughened hands. Once again, if she hadn't been holding onto him so tightly, he might have moved away from her as he continued to struggle with how right she still felt. Even in the darkness, he knew how she'd be smiling. No matter that a year had passed since he'd seen more than a glimpse of her, he knew that her hair would be curling oddly on the left side of her face but lying perfect on the right. Some things changed in the blink of an eye but Ginny would always be the same.
"I hope you don't mind warmed-up Chinese takeaway. I've had this craving for noodles lately and it's a tie between that and the little Italian place around the corner."
"That's fine," he murmured. Considering he hadn't eaten a decent meal since the day of the funeral and then for weeks before that, he didn't think it would matter what she sat before him.
A sliver of light erupted from a doorway as they rounded a corner. He'd always wondered what the rest of the store looked like but had never been around long enough for a tour. There were quite a few doors down this long hallway, making him wonder if this upstairs portion wasn't cobbled together much like the Weasley house was, with rooms where no room should be.
"Have you lived here long?" he asked as they stopped so she could bring out her wand again. Being the youngest child still made her cautious about her possessions and she was staying with the world's two biggest jokesters.
She hesitated until the door swung open and he could see the room he was entering. "Not long at all," she said with a hint of derision as she pulled him into the nearly empty room. A couple of well-worn chairs sat in front of a large window that overlooked the street below and a star-speckled sky above. The kitchen was a hot plate and a small ice box with a wobbly chair holding the remains of what looked to be a toaster that had probably gotten noticed by Mr. Weasley before his daughter could rescue it.
"Where's your bed?" When he realized what he'd said, Harry blushed. It sounded forward of him when he'd only meant for it to be a question of her comfort.
Ginny didn't answer, only pushed him toward one of the chairs. "We can discuss that later. You don't look like you could handle that sort of discussion right now. I think I'd forgotten how easily you turn red. How I envy you your ability to keep it on your face. When I get red, you can see it all over my body."
Even as he fought them, his thoughts immediately went to what she would look like embarrassed sans clothes. This wasn't the first time he'd had these sorts of images spring up but this was the first time he felt guilty for them. Ron had always been disappointed when it didn't seem to work out between his best friend and his little sister. What he might think of Harry being here tonight was something Harry didn't want to think about. It was still too painful.
She was still staring at him from her position beside his chair, her expression closed and guarded. Always before, he'd been able to read nearly every emotion she had. When had she closed herself off to him, he wondered. As he wondered that, she smiled gently and ran a hand over his hair.
"I always thought you'd grow out of that little bit of hair on the top of your head that always stood up. Guess not. You're looking a little messy, though. Haven't you had time to get a hair cut?"
"Not really," he admitted. "It seems to grow amazingly quick and I can never keep on top of getting it cut."
"I suppose that's acceptable, what with fighting a war."
"It wasn't a war," he growled, finding himself just as irritated now as he was every time it was called that. A group of kids fighting a soulless fiend wasn't a war. It was a slaughter. But he didn't move away from her hand as it continued to smooth over his head, ending at the nap of his neck only to come back to his forehead once again. Her touch soothed the angst that still boiled in his heart although he knew it was only a one-time fix and not a solution to the real healing he needed.
"Maybe after dinner I'll cut it for you. And speaking of dinner, I should go start it heating. Even takeaway leftovers need to be warmed through each time."
She didn't move, though, and Harry had a hard time keeping his eyes open as she continued to pet him. It wouldn't be the worst place to sleep, he told himself. There were no other options for him tonight since all the rooms to let were full because of the game. He hadn't wanted anyone to know he was here but now that Ginny knew, he might as well take advantage of her hospitality... even if she hadn't necessarily offered him a place to sleep.
"Ginny," he started to say but she shushed him. The possibility of staying awake much longer was slim to none, anyway, so he gave in and let his eyes close.
*****
He was back at Hogwarts, watching Dumbledore fall through the sky. Even though he hadn't witnessed this exact image in real life, he relived it in his dreams. This time, he found he wasn't watching it alone. Someone tugged at his hand and he wandered through the Great Hall, the Gryffindor rubies cascading about the room as chaos reigned. He wanted to stop to see if he could help but someone was leading him
forward. Always forward. This was new. He was always used to staying beside the broken body of his mentor in this dream. Something new couldn't be all that bad since he was tired of having this same dream over and over again.
"We brought you back a commemorative plate of the whole event."
"Well, isn't that sweet. Thank you, George. I'd invite you in but I'm feeling very tired right now. You two were out late."
"All the good parties didn't begin until nearly dawn anyway. The match went forever. You wouldn't have believed the crowds."
"Considering they all filed past my window, I think I would. I'll talk to you two tomorrow-"
"What's going on, sis?"
"Mum will want to know. You know how she feels about you not living at home anymore."
Harry shook himself awake as the conversation began to seep into his consciousness. He was still in the chair that he'd been in earlier but he know had a pillow under his head and a blanket wrapped around him. Without making too much of a commotion, he turned around and watched Ginny try to get rid of her brothers. He knew from experience that the Weasley Twins were hard to manipulate but Ginny had always dealt with them better than most.
"I'm just a little tired. A lot has happened lately." There were tears in her voice and he wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't have a few sparkling in the corners of her eyes. The only problem was that he was certain they were more than a little real, considering how tired she'd looked when he'd first seen her on the road. "Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night?"
"We'll bring the food. You'll try to feed us something from a plastic container."
Within moments, Ginny was able to close the door and he watched as she sagged against it, letting out a long sigh. There was still emotion on her face, left open for a moment now that she thought she was alone. Knowing Ginny, she'd spent most of her time recently trying to be strong for her family instead of mourning the loss of her brother and friends.
"Come here," he said quietly, pausing as she shook the emotion from her face and let the blank look slide back into place. He hated to see it and commanded her this time, "Come here to me, Ginny."
She obeyed, crossing the room quickly so that she was in front of him almost as soon as she started walking. Before she could think about what he was doing, he pulled her into his lap. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions considering the chair springs were now pressing that much more against the back of his legs, but he didn't care. Well, he did care, but he could stand it for this opportunity to give back to her. Even though he'd probably only been asleep for a couple of hours, he felt more rested than he had in months.
"What are you thinking?" he asked quietly, breathing in her unique scent of sun and hyacinth.
"I'm wondering how long you're going to hold me captive. This seems a rather nefarious plan you have going on, Mr. Potter."
Harry chuckled, surprising himself with the sound nearly as much as he shocked Ginny, her spasm pushing him against a rather unwelcome bit of chair frame. "The answer to that is clear. As much as I'm enjoying this, you have to get off me or this chair is going to impale me."
As quickly as she jumped up, she must have been waiting for this. "I found the chairs in an alleyway and couldn't resist taking them since they matched. Unfortunately, I think the reduction spell pushed them a little closer to the junk pile." She held out a hand and helped him up. "George enjoys coming in and counting how many times he gets poked. It's a game to him, I think. A game at my expense because the two of them pay me a pittance. That's what I get for being family."
"Is that one any better?" he asked, pointing to the other chair. The fabric of the two were identical, right down to the same lightened areas where time and chair design had worn away. While it was an interesting shade of puce with a variety of blue and green flowers, Harry wondered what it was about the chair that Ginny liked. Now that he'd had some sleep, he couldn't see a thing about them that the girl he once knew so well would like. Because she had changed just as much as he had, he wasn't about to ask her about it.
"Not really. Guess I'll have to show you the bed now." She sounded happy about that, so much so that Harry wondered if that hadn't been her plan all along. He could only imagine what this bed was like if her only other furniture was something from an alley so let her lead him toward a door he only now noticed.
The rest of the flat was a surprise but he should have known what was coming. Oddly, all three rooms had a window with the same view out of the same window. He wondered if it was the same sort of magic that her parents had used in constructing The Burrow or if this was something new. When she caught him looking out into the darkness instead of admiring the remarkably well-decorated bathroom and loo, he turned and made a sweeping gesture of the new rooms. "I take it you hide this from the rest of them?"
She nodded, her cheeks burning crimson. "Wouldn't want them to question me too closely. Besides, it's a place that I can call mine. And if the Twins think that I don't have enough money saved up to buy furniture, they pay me more."
When he tugged at her hand that was still clasped in his, he couldn't help but remember the new dream he'd been pulled out of so easily instead of thrust into a harsh reality by the pain in his head. He wasn't feeling anything but peace. "It's good to have a place of your own. You don't mind sharing it for tonight?"
"Harry, what kind of question is that?" At first he thought he'd made her angry but was relieved to see that she was laughing. "I wouldn't have showed you all of this if I hadn't wanted you to stay here. You're welcome... until you want to leave."
"It might take awhile to get everything in order," he hedged, feeling like a foolish teenager instead of a worn-torn warrior returning home... to the only home he'd ever really known.
"Good. I'll clear a spot for your shirts in the bureau. Try not to clutter the wardrobe, though. I have plans to buy some new Quidditch equipment soon and will need the room."
To seal the deal, he put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her with every bit of emotion he'd been saving up. He was done with mourning, done with missing out on life. He wanted to move forward.
"Only if I get to fill up the other half with... well, I'll figure out what I want to put there later," he replied, quite breathless when she finally let him step back.
"Deal."
Title: Gryffindor Rubies
Characters: Harry/Ginny
Word Count:3471
"Are there still tickets for the match?" "I hear the Minister of Magic is going to make an appearance." "How much did you say you bought Allyson's school robe for? They've gone up that much since last year?" "Get away from me, you blathering idiot!"
Harry was trying to look inconspicuous as he stood in the middle of Diagon Alley, the masses of humanity streaming around him as if he was made of stone and no one expected him to be able to move on his own. He'd been trying to make his way through the crowd when he'd suddenly seen a flash of red hair. A searing fissure of pain through his heart stopped him dead in his tracks as he was reminded his dead friend once
again. Even though he knew it wasn't Ron up ahead, he also didn't want it to be any of his family. Some time needed to pass before he spent any time with them. The funeral had been a hard affair that he'd only endured because of the constant need for his attention to be elsewhere. He was still quotable in all of the news journals and magazines and the two funerals, the only two of the supposed war, were
big news, drawing in all of the journalists, real or otherwise.
He'd since lost the person in the crowd but didn't dare move forward again. Maybe it was best if he came back later when the street was a little more deserted and he could skulk about from shadow to shadow with a bit more ease. The note from his solicitor had mentioned that he could come by anytime to get the packet of papers, although that might not mean midnight.
With renewed resolve, he took a deep breath and contemplated his next move. First and foremost, he needed to get out of the middle of the street so he could catch his breath. Second, he needed to find somefood. It was important that he was able to keep up his strength through the next several days. While he had no external wounds to heal from the fighting, he still had a nagging pain in his head that continued to interrupt his concentration and sleep patrons. If the nightmares weren't bad enough to wake him, the dull pounding brought him back to consciousness time after time.
A week ago he'd been in a fight for his life. Three days ago he'd been publicly mourning his friends. Today he was on his way to find out what his future really would be now that he'd defeated his mortal enemy once and for all. He'd never thought much past this part of his life. Once he'd thought about studying to be an Auror but he'd had his fill of that sort of thing already. There was still the option of
searching for a job with the few friends he had that were in trade but his best bet was probably the Weasley twins and he didn't relish the thought of working so closely with them just yet. His parents had left him enough money that he might be a man of leisure for at least a year until he figured things out but he didn't relish the idea of being idle as memories had a way of creeping up in such times.
But still he hadn't moved. In the space of several minutes he'd tried to come to terms with the entire rest of his life and was still in the midst of people where anyone might find him if they looked hard enough. There was excitement running through the crowds, keeping them concentrating on something other than the lost little boy without a family to run to and a face that had sold a million copies of well-worded parchment.
"You know, if you're planning on standing here for much longer, you're going to be run over by all the people heading to the match."
Harry turned his head, already grinning before he could remind himself he didn't want to deal with the Weasleys. But this was Ginny. He'd only been able to say a few words to her at Ron's funeral and had felt guilty that other things had gotten in the way. She should have been the first person he had talked to when he got back. The first person he ran to when his world verged on a collapse.
"I wasn't sure where to go," he replied, the pain subsiding for the first time as he smiled at her.
"I'm going to pretend that you were coming to see me but hesitated because you forgot flowers. A sad comment on how quickly you've forgotten your manners in the madness of the past couple of months. And your clothes leave something to be desired, but I don't suppose you've had a place to stop and wash up, have you? Other than that, you pass muster. Shall we?" She held out her arm for him to take and he complied, suddenly glad that she found him even when he wanted nothing more than to hide.
They walked in silence, the masses of people parting for them now that they were a couple and not just one lone man ambling slowly and without purpose. As Ginny steered them to the edge of the road, Harry felt more relaxed than he had in months... years... forever. There was something about putting his hand in hers that made everything seem a bit brighter. But going in the same direction as Ginny meant eventually seeing her family.
"I can't, Ginny."
She let him drag her to a stop but kept his arm twined in hers when he would have preferred to pull away. There was a spark of impatience in her otherwise stoic face. "Can't what, Harry?"
"I can't see your family yet."
With her head tilted to the side, Harry was amazed to see the little girl he'd met so many years ago staring back at him. In a blink of his eyes, she was gone and the older, wiser Ginny is staring at him with one eyebrow raised as if she was silently questioning his judgment. "We aren't going to see them. They're at the match. Haven't you heard? It's the first Quidditch match since... since the fighting broke out."
"Why aren't you going?"
"Because I noticed a friend of mine in the crowd and I decided to come to his rescue instead of shouting myself hoarse. Besides, Colin was looking for a ticket and I owed him a favor so now we're even."
He nodded and let her begin to lead him forward once again. With a quick movement of her wand, Ginny unlocked the front door of the Weasleys' shop, locking it again when they were both through. The darkness didn't stop her and Harry had to fight a strange sense of vertigo as he followed her. If her hand wasn't in his, he doubted he could have found her in this room. Tiny sparks flame up at the edges of his vision but nothing is there but black when he moves his head around. The room was full of magic and he wondered if it wasn't taunting him just a little bit.
"Still doing alright?" she asked as they came to a wall that even he could sense.
"Alright," he parroted back and squeezed her hand. She'd built up some callouses as any good Quidditch player might but mostly it was just soft skin that encased his own roughened hands. Once again, if she hadn't been holding onto him so tightly, he might have moved away from her as he continued to struggle with how right she still felt. Even in the darkness, he knew how she'd be smiling. No matter that a year had passed since he'd seen more than a glimpse of her, he knew that her hair would be curling oddly on the left side of her face but lying perfect on the right. Some things changed in the blink of an eye but Ginny would always be the same.
"I hope you don't mind warmed-up Chinese takeaway. I've had this craving for noodles lately and it's a tie between that and the little Italian place around the corner."
"That's fine," he murmured. Considering he hadn't eaten a decent meal since the day of the funeral and then for weeks before that, he didn't think it would matter what she sat before him.
A sliver of light erupted from a doorway as they rounded a corner. He'd always wondered what the rest of the store looked like but had never been around long enough for a tour. There were quite a few doors down this long hallway, making him wonder if this upstairs portion wasn't cobbled together much like the Weasley house was, with rooms where no room should be.
"Have you lived here long?" he asked as they stopped so she could bring out her wand again. Being the youngest child still made her cautious about her possessions and she was staying with the world's two biggest jokesters.
She hesitated until the door swung open and he could see the room he was entering. "Not long at all," she said with a hint of derision as she pulled him into the nearly empty room. A couple of well-worn chairs sat in front of a large window that overlooked the street below and a star-speckled sky above. The kitchen was a hot plate and a small ice box with a wobbly chair holding the remains of what looked to be a toaster that had probably gotten noticed by Mr. Weasley before his daughter could rescue it.
"Where's your bed?" When he realized what he'd said, Harry blushed. It sounded forward of him when he'd only meant for it to be a question of her comfort.
Ginny didn't answer, only pushed him toward one of the chairs. "We can discuss that later. You don't look like you could handle that sort of discussion right now. I think I'd forgotten how easily you turn red. How I envy you your ability to keep it on your face. When I get red, you can see it all over my body."
Even as he fought them, his thoughts immediately went to what she would look like embarrassed sans clothes. This wasn't the first time he'd had these sorts of images spring up but this was the first time he felt guilty for them. Ron had always been disappointed when it didn't seem to work out between his best friend and his little sister. What he might think of Harry being here tonight was something Harry didn't want to think about. It was still too painful.
She was still staring at him from her position beside his chair, her expression closed and guarded. Always before, he'd been able to read nearly every emotion she had. When had she closed herself off to him, he wondered. As he wondered that, she smiled gently and ran a hand over his hair.
"I always thought you'd grow out of that little bit of hair on the top of your head that always stood up. Guess not. You're looking a little messy, though. Haven't you had time to get a hair cut?"
"Not really," he admitted. "It seems to grow amazingly quick and I can never keep on top of getting it cut."
"I suppose that's acceptable, what with fighting a war."
"It wasn't a war," he growled, finding himself just as irritated now as he was every time it was called that. A group of kids fighting a soulless fiend wasn't a war. It was a slaughter. But he didn't move away from her hand as it continued to smooth over his head, ending at the nap of his neck only to come back to his forehead once again. Her touch soothed the angst that still boiled in his heart although he knew it was only a one-time fix and not a solution to the real healing he needed.
"Maybe after dinner I'll cut it for you. And speaking of dinner, I should go start it heating. Even takeaway leftovers need to be warmed through each time."
She didn't move, though, and Harry had a hard time keeping his eyes open as she continued to pet him. It wouldn't be the worst place to sleep, he told himself. There were no other options for him tonight since all the rooms to let were full because of the game. He hadn't wanted anyone to know he was here but now that Ginny knew, he might as well take advantage of her hospitality... even if she hadn't necessarily offered him a place to sleep.
"Ginny," he started to say but she shushed him. The possibility of staying awake much longer was slim to none, anyway, so he gave in and let his eyes close.
*****
He was back at Hogwarts, watching Dumbledore fall through the sky. Even though he hadn't witnessed this exact image in real life, he relived it in his dreams. This time, he found he wasn't watching it alone. Someone tugged at his hand and he wandered through the Great Hall, the Gryffindor rubies cascading about the room as chaos reigned. He wanted to stop to see if he could help but someone was leading him
forward. Always forward. This was new. He was always used to staying beside the broken body of his mentor in this dream. Something new couldn't be all that bad since he was tired of having this same dream over and over again.
"We brought you back a commemorative plate of the whole event."
"Well, isn't that sweet. Thank you, George. I'd invite you in but I'm feeling very tired right now. You two were out late."
"All the good parties didn't begin until nearly dawn anyway. The match went forever. You wouldn't have believed the crowds."
"Considering they all filed past my window, I think I would. I'll talk to you two tomorrow-"
"What's going on, sis?"
"Mum will want to know. You know how she feels about you not living at home anymore."
Harry shook himself awake as the conversation began to seep into his consciousness. He was still in the chair that he'd been in earlier but he know had a pillow under his head and a blanket wrapped around him. Without making too much of a commotion, he turned around and watched Ginny try to get rid of her brothers. He knew from experience that the Weasley Twins were hard to manipulate but Ginny had always dealt with them better than most.
"I'm just a little tired. A lot has happened lately." There were tears in her voice and he wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't have a few sparkling in the corners of her eyes. The only problem was that he was certain they were more than a little real, considering how tired she'd looked when he'd first seen her on the road. "Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night?"
"We'll bring the food. You'll try to feed us something from a plastic container."
Within moments, Ginny was able to close the door and he watched as she sagged against it, letting out a long sigh. There was still emotion on her face, left open for a moment now that she thought she was alone. Knowing Ginny, she'd spent most of her time recently trying to be strong for her family instead of mourning the loss of her brother and friends.
"Come here," he said quietly, pausing as she shook the emotion from her face and let the blank look slide back into place. He hated to see it and commanded her this time, "Come here to me, Ginny."
She obeyed, crossing the room quickly so that she was in front of him almost as soon as she started walking. Before she could think about what he was doing, he pulled her into his lap. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions considering the chair springs were now pressing that much more against the back of his legs, but he didn't care. Well, he did care, but he could stand it for this opportunity to give back to her. Even though he'd probably only been asleep for a couple of hours, he felt more rested than he had in months.
"What are you thinking?" he asked quietly, breathing in her unique scent of sun and hyacinth.
"I'm wondering how long you're going to hold me captive. This seems a rather nefarious plan you have going on, Mr. Potter."
Harry chuckled, surprising himself with the sound nearly as much as he shocked Ginny, her spasm pushing him against a rather unwelcome bit of chair frame. "The answer to that is clear. As much as I'm enjoying this, you have to get off me or this chair is going to impale me."
As quickly as she jumped up, she must have been waiting for this. "I found the chairs in an alleyway and couldn't resist taking them since they matched. Unfortunately, I think the reduction spell pushed them a little closer to the junk pile." She held out a hand and helped him up. "George enjoys coming in and counting how many times he gets poked. It's a game to him, I think. A game at my expense because the two of them pay me a pittance. That's what I get for being family."
"Is that one any better?" he asked, pointing to the other chair. The fabric of the two were identical, right down to the same lightened areas where time and chair design had worn away. While it was an interesting shade of puce with a variety of blue and green flowers, Harry wondered what it was about the chair that Ginny liked. Now that he'd had some sleep, he couldn't see a thing about them that the girl he once knew so well would like. Because she had changed just as much as he had, he wasn't about to ask her about it.
"Not really. Guess I'll have to show you the bed now." She sounded happy about that, so much so that Harry wondered if that hadn't been her plan all along. He could only imagine what this bed was like if her only other furniture was something from an alley so let her lead him toward a door he only now noticed.
The rest of the flat was a surprise but he should have known what was coming. Oddly, all three rooms had a window with the same view out of the same window. He wondered if it was the same sort of magic that her parents had used in constructing The Burrow or if this was something new. When she caught him looking out into the darkness instead of admiring the remarkably well-decorated bathroom and loo, he turned and made a sweeping gesture of the new rooms. "I take it you hide this from the rest of them?"
She nodded, her cheeks burning crimson. "Wouldn't want them to question me too closely. Besides, it's a place that I can call mine. And if the Twins think that I don't have enough money saved up to buy furniture, they pay me more."
When he tugged at her hand that was still clasped in his, he couldn't help but remember the new dream he'd been pulled out of so easily instead of thrust into a harsh reality by the pain in his head. He wasn't feeling anything but peace. "It's good to have a place of your own. You don't mind sharing it for tonight?"
"Harry, what kind of question is that?" At first he thought he'd made her angry but was relieved to see that she was laughing. "I wouldn't have showed you all of this if I hadn't wanted you to stay here. You're welcome... until you want to leave."
"It might take awhile to get everything in order," he hedged, feeling like a foolish teenager instead of a worn-torn warrior returning home... to the only home he'd ever really known.
"Good. I'll clear a spot for your shirts in the bureau. Try not to clutter the wardrobe, though. I have plans to buy some new Quidditch equipment soon and will need the room."
To seal the deal, he put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her with every bit of emotion he'd been saving up. He was done with mourning, done with missing out on life. He wanted to move forward.
"Only if I get to fill up the other half with... well, I'll figure out what I want to put there later," he replied, quite breathless when she finally let him step back.
"Deal."