News and a new story
I finally (only 10 days late) finished my
hpgw_otp fortune cookie challenge story. I really have no excuse other than to say that the story I had written in my mind just royally stunk when I tried to write it. Ginny was dreadful, Harry was insensitive, and I didn't think the story itself was very realistic or fun. I tried to force it for a few days and just got more and more frustrated. Finally, I gave up, rethought the whole thing, and I think this works much better. I hope that those who read it, enjoy it, even though it's horribly past deadline.
Now for news, well, my little Harry Potter Missing Moments (
hpmssgmoments) community is growing quite nicely. I'm doing a biweekly (or so) newsletter and we're getting new members slowly but steadily. I'm getting lots of referred stories, more than I can really keep up with, but that's good news, I think. I'd like to invite you all again to set us up on your watch list. There isn't much to really watch, just the newsletter that lets you know any new stories posted, but there are some really great stories in the archive already with many more to come! I'm trying to decide if this story could fit my guidelines, as we currently have exactly none for the Post-Hogwarts section. I'll have to think about it.
Well, enough of that. On to the story. Please let me know what you think.
Title: A Small Piece of Land
Author:
snuggle_muggle
Challenge Prompt: You will inherit some money or a small piece of land.
Summary: What could a Weasley do with a small piece of land, especially now that she's a Potter?
Word Count: Around 1500
Rating: G for everyone
A Small Piece of Land
Ginny hummed happily to herself, laughing as she looked around her. Harry always teased her that she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, which was undoubtedly true, but since she was completely alone - more alone than she could recall being for quite a long time -- she didn’t care.
Harry was out of town on Auror business and had been for two weeks. They had talked via Floo a couple of times, but she still missed him like crazy. They had been married for six years now and they both traveled with their jobs but fortunately actually getting around when you were a witch and wizard wasn’t too difficult. He was due home within the hour, which meant she had to get there. He would never be able to find her here, wouldn’t even know to look. So much had happened over this two-week period and she wasn’t really sure he’d be happy about some of it. Normally they made big decisions together as a couple. Well, what was done was done and she was ready to face the consequences.
She apparated home, into the bedroom, and threw her muddy clothes and shoes into a pile to be dealt with later. She took a quick shower and got dressed as fast as she could into clean blue jeans and a loose jumper. September could be cold sometimes and since they would be outside she didn’t want to risk getting a chill. Not now. She put some water on to boil for tea and looked into the icebox to determine what to fix for dinner once they returned. Maybe they’d just get take out. No, that wouldn’t work. Harry would want a home-cooked meal after being gone for so long.
She heard the pop of someone Apparating and ran into the living room to greet her husband. He looked exhausted, pale, gray, and grimy. "Oh, Harry! You look terrible." She could have maybe been more diplomatic, but he did look rather shocking, even when she was used to him after missions.
"I hope so. I’d hate to feel this miserable and not look it. If I have to suffer, so should you." They both chuckled and then he wrapped her in his warm hug and their lips met. "I’ve missed you, Gin. It’s so good to be home. I have a few days off and my goal is never to bother to leave my wonderful house, my beautiful wife, and my oh-so-comfortable bed."
"I’ve missed you, too. Are you hurt anywhere? Is this your blood!?" she squealed as she looked at his sleeve.
"I’m fine and yes, it’s my blood, but it was from a bloody nose.. The idiot punched me, but that’s a long story. I’m going to go take a long hot shower."
"No you aren’t. We’re going out."
"What? I don’t want to go anywhere except the bathroom, then bed. You’re welcome to join me if you want." He waggled his eyebrows attempting to look seductive. Ginny laughed.
"Seriously, Harry. We’re going out. I need to show you something."
"Is it a dead body? A dying body? Your mother or dad?" At her negative response, he strode up the stairs. "I’m not-"
"Harry James Potter! You are coming with me and we are going out. Now, I can either body bind you and drag your unconscious self along for the ride or you can be an active participant." She waggled her eyebrows back at him. "It won’t take long and I promise I will reward you when we get back with company in the shower and the bed."
"All right. Hold onto your broom. Didn’t realize it was a matter of nearly life and death." He grumbled, shedding a couple of layers of robes and doing a quick washing spell on his face and hands. He did look a bit better, Ginny rationalized, feeling guilty for dragging him away. But, she really wanted him to know. Now.
They Apparated there and he tried to look relaxed when she said he wouldn’t know the place and she’d have to lead, with him only as a side-along, but she could feel the tension in his body all the same. "Calm down, love. It’s somewhere nice, you’ve just never been there before. A lot has happened while you’ve been away." He didn’t relax but he did paste a sickly smile on his face and Ginny appreciated the effort. A moment later, they were standing in an almost empty field on one of the Orkney Islands. The wind was whipping hard through the stubbly grass and Ginny shielded her eyes with her arm.
"Whoa! It wasn’t like this a while ago. Of course, I’ve heard storms can come and go quickly here." She smiled and hugged Harry. "What do you think?"
"It’s windy. What am I supposed to think? And where are we?" He had to yell but the wind whipped his voice away instantly.
She yelled back, hoping he could hear and understand her. "We’re on a small piece of property Aunt Muriel left me in her will. She promised me she’d leave me something. This is it. The advocates sent me the deed last week. Isn’t it beautiful!"
Harry flinched as the wind threatened to rip his glasses off his face. "It’s something, all right. Is there anywhere we can go to get out of this wind?" Ginny dragged Harry behind a low wall and they both sat down, panting, catching their breath. "Wow. That was interesting." He smiled at her. "I really think we could rent this out for cattle grazing or something, you know? It was nice of her to think of us but the property doesn’t seem, er, developed."
"Cattle grazing!" Ginny tried not to be offended, but she punched Harry in the arm. "Look over the wall, to the left and right and tell me if you want to graze cattle here."
Harry stood up against the force of the wind and a moment later sat back down. "A Quidditch pitch! She left you a Quidditch pitch?"
"No, silly. She left me the land and a bit of money to turn it into a Quidditch pitch - a full sized one and since the whole island is shielded from the Muggles, we don’t have to worry about balls escaping or someone seeing the children flying around on brooms." She looked at him slyly, but her last sentence seemed to have passed him by.
"That’s great! We’ll have to do something about this wind, though. No one could play in this. There must be spells."
"That’s true. We’ll want to start him young, say in a couple of years or so. Little miniature broom and kit and everything." She leaned back against the wall of what would eventually be a changing room and storage area and waited.
Still nothing. Harry’s eyes were wide with excitement at the idea of his own full-sized pitch. "Oh, it’ll be brilliant. Everyone will love coming here for family games and parties and-"
He stopped suddenly and Ginny waited. "Did you say something about children?"
"Maybe."
"You did! You said something about starting him young!"
"It could be a girl, but I don’t think so. I just have a feeling-"
"Ginny Weasley Potter, tell me what’s going on!"
"We’re pregnant, Harry! Finally, after all these years! I found out on the same day I heard about the property. It seemed like fate, somehow, that we will finally start our family and I wanted, I don’t know, I wanted something we would love for generations." They kissed, then, passionately, letting their hopes and dreams for the future come through their softly murmured words and their gentle touches. Neither of them really wanted to move, but as the sun set and the cool evening settled around them, the wind died down, and both of the Potters stood up, looking out over the quiet dusk of the empty pitch. The rings were up, professionally-sized ones, the entire 50 feet in the air. To the opposite side of the field stands stood, as yet unfinished, but obviously there. "I think Muriel would be happy, really, that I used up her money getting this built."
"You’re probably right. She’ll be happier, though, when there’re lots of little Weasleys and Potters running around using it. She always said your dad was the best thing that ever happened to your mum." His arms slipped around her waist and he patted her tummy, where right this instant their son was growing. The awe in his voice was unmistakable and Ginny leaned back in his arms, content to stand on this near-empty field in the dusky darkness with the man that made her so complete.
"And she always said that you were the best thing that ever happened to me. So, even though she was crazy, she was obviously very smart."
"It seems to run in the family," Harry agreed. He grabbed his wand from his pocket and a moment later, they were both standing in their bedroom. "And I’m very glad our son will inherit that from you." Those were the last words either of them said for quite a long while.
hpgw_otp fortune cookie challenge story. I really have no excuse other than to say that the story I had written in my mind just royally stunk when I tried to write it. Ginny was dreadful, Harry was insensitive, and I didn't think the story itself was very realistic or fun. I tried to force it for a few days and just got more and more frustrated. Finally, I gave up, rethought the whole thing, and I think this works much better. I hope that those who read it, enjoy it, even though it's horribly past deadline.
Now for news, well, my little Harry Potter Missing Moments (
hpmssgmoments) community is growing quite nicely. I'm doing a biweekly (or so) newsletter and we're getting new members slowly but steadily. I'm getting lots of referred stories, more than I can really keep up with, but that's good news, I think. I'd like to invite you all again to set us up on your watch list. There isn't much to really watch, just the newsletter that lets you know any new stories posted, but there are some really great stories in the archive already with many more to come! I'm trying to decide if this story could fit my guidelines, as we currently have exactly none for the Post-Hogwarts section. I'll have to think about it.
Well, enough of that. On to the story. Please let me know what you think.
Title: A Small Piece of Land
Author:
snuggle_muggle
Challenge Prompt: You will inherit some money or a small piece of land.
Summary: What could a Weasley do with a small piece of land, especially now that she's a Potter?
Word Count: Around 1500
Rating: G for everyone
A Small Piece of Land
Ginny hummed happily to herself, laughing as she looked around her. Harry always teased her that she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, which was undoubtedly true, but since she was completely alone - more alone than she could recall being for quite a long time -- she didn’t care.
Harry was out of town on Auror business and had been for two weeks. They had talked via Floo a couple of times, but she still missed him like crazy. They had been married for six years now and they both traveled with their jobs but fortunately actually getting around when you were a witch and wizard wasn’t too difficult. He was due home within the hour, which meant she had to get there. He would never be able to find her here, wouldn’t even know to look. So much had happened over this two-week period and she wasn’t really sure he’d be happy about some of it. Normally they made big decisions together as a couple. Well, what was done was done and she was ready to face the consequences.
She apparated home, into the bedroom, and threw her muddy clothes and shoes into a pile to be dealt with later. She took a quick shower and got dressed as fast as she could into clean blue jeans and a loose jumper. September could be cold sometimes and since they would be outside she didn’t want to risk getting a chill. Not now. She put some water on to boil for tea and looked into the icebox to determine what to fix for dinner once they returned. Maybe they’d just get take out. No, that wouldn’t work. Harry would want a home-cooked meal after being gone for so long.
She heard the pop of someone Apparating and ran into the living room to greet her husband. He looked exhausted, pale, gray, and grimy. "Oh, Harry! You look terrible." She could have maybe been more diplomatic, but he did look rather shocking, even when she was used to him after missions.
"I hope so. I’d hate to feel this miserable and not look it. If I have to suffer, so should you." They both chuckled and then he wrapped her in his warm hug and their lips met. "I’ve missed you, Gin. It’s so good to be home. I have a few days off and my goal is never to bother to leave my wonderful house, my beautiful wife, and my oh-so-comfortable bed."
"I’ve missed you, too. Are you hurt anywhere? Is this your blood!?" she squealed as she looked at his sleeve.
"I’m fine and yes, it’s my blood, but it was from a bloody nose.. The idiot punched me, but that’s a long story. I’m going to go take a long hot shower."
"No you aren’t. We’re going out."
"What? I don’t want to go anywhere except the bathroom, then bed. You’re welcome to join me if you want." He waggled his eyebrows attempting to look seductive. Ginny laughed.
"Seriously, Harry. We’re going out. I need to show you something."
"Is it a dead body? A dying body? Your mother or dad?" At her negative response, he strode up the stairs. "I’m not-"
"Harry James Potter! You are coming with me and we are going out. Now, I can either body bind you and drag your unconscious self along for the ride or you can be an active participant." She waggled her eyebrows back at him. "It won’t take long and I promise I will reward you when we get back with company in the shower and the bed."
"All right. Hold onto your broom. Didn’t realize it was a matter of nearly life and death." He grumbled, shedding a couple of layers of robes and doing a quick washing spell on his face and hands. He did look a bit better, Ginny rationalized, feeling guilty for dragging him away. But, she really wanted him to know. Now.
They Apparated there and he tried to look relaxed when she said he wouldn’t know the place and she’d have to lead, with him only as a side-along, but she could feel the tension in his body all the same. "Calm down, love. It’s somewhere nice, you’ve just never been there before. A lot has happened while you’ve been away." He didn’t relax but he did paste a sickly smile on his face and Ginny appreciated the effort. A moment later, they were standing in an almost empty field on one of the Orkney Islands. The wind was whipping hard through the stubbly grass and Ginny shielded her eyes with her arm.
"Whoa! It wasn’t like this a while ago. Of course, I’ve heard storms can come and go quickly here." She smiled and hugged Harry. "What do you think?"
"It’s windy. What am I supposed to think? And where are we?" He had to yell but the wind whipped his voice away instantly.
She yelled back, hoping he could hear and understand her. "We’re on a small piece of property Aunt Muriel left me in her will. She promised me she’d leave me something. This is it. The advocates sent me the deed last week. Isn’t it beautiful!"
Harry flinched as the wind threatened to rip his glasses off his face. "It’s something, all right. Is there anywhere we can go to get out of this wind?" Ginny dragged Harry behind a low wall and they both sat down, panting, catching their breath. "Wow. That was interesting." He smiled at her. "I really think we could rent this out for cattle grazing or something, you know? It was nice of her to think of us but the property doesn’t seem, er, developed."
"Cattle grazing!" Ginny tried not to be offended, but she punched Harry in the arm. "Look over the wall, to the left and right and tell me if you want to graze cattle here."
Harry stood up against the force of the wind and a moment later sat back down. "A Quidditch pitch! She left you a Quidditch pitch?"
"No, silly. She left me the land and a bit of money to turn it into a Quidditch pitch - a full sized one and since the whole island is shielded from the Muggles, we don’t have to worry about balls escaping or someone seeing the children flying around on brooms." She looked at him slyly, but her last sentence seemed to have passed him by.
"That’s great! We’ll have to do something about this wind, though. No one could play in this. There must be spells."
"That’s true. We’ll want to start him young, say in a couple of years or so. Little miniature broom and kit and everything." She leaned back against the wall of what would eventually be a changing room and storage area and waited.
Still nothing. Harry’s eyes were wide with excitement at the idea of his own full-sized pitch. "Oh, it’ll be brilliant. Everyone will love coming here for family games and parties and-"
He stopped suddenly and Ginny waited. "Did you say something about children?"
"Maybe."
"You did! You said something about starting him young!"
"It could be a girl, but I don’t think so. I just have a feeling-"
"Ginny Weasley Potter, tell me what’s going on!"
"We’re pregnant, Harry! Finally, after all these years! I found out on the same day I heard about the property. It seemed like fate, somehow, that we will finally start our family and I wanted, I don’t know, I wanted something we would love for generations." They kissed, then, passionately, letting their hopes and dreams for the future come through their softly murmured words and their gentle touches. Neither of them really wanted to move, but as the sun set and the cool evening settled around them, the wind died down, and both of the Potters stood up, looking out over the quiet dusk of the empty pitch. The rings were up, professionally-sized ones, the entire 50 feet in the air. To the opposite side of the field stands stood, as yet unfinished, but obviously there. "I think Muriel would be happy, really, that I used up her money getting this built."
"You’re probably right. She’ll be happier, though, when there’re lots of little Weasleys and Potters running around using it. She always said your dad was the best thing that ever happened to your mum." His arms slipped around her waist and he patted her tummy, where right this instant their son was growing. The awe in his voice was unmistakable and Ginny leaned back in his arms, content to stand on this near-empty field in the dusky darkness with the man that made her so complete.
"And she always said that you were the best thing that ever happened to me. So, even though she was crazy, she was obviously very smart."
"It seems to run in the family," Harry agreed. He grabbed his wand from his pocket and a moment later, they were both standing in their bedroom. "And I’m very glad our son will inherit that from you." Those were the last words either of them said for quite a long while.