* * *
She felt the gentle pressure of his hand on hers and readjusted her limbs in the branches of the tree that they were sitting in, to be closer to her raven haired lover. He leaned down to kiss her, the passionate kind that made her knees weak. Ginny only felt this way when she was kissing Harry.
Like her heart was swelling up to a balloon’s size, this balloon was full of ecstasy, not helium, and was ready to burst. She felt fireworks on her mouth, her cheeks, her hands, the small of her back, where ever Harry was touching her the crackers burned.
How picturesque they must look in the country side orchard, entwined in the old apple tree’s branches. It was already a beautiful day. The Technicolor blue sky was empty and endless, except for the fluffy cotton candy clouds, occasionally drifting lazily across the bright golden sphere that was the sun. But the brief shadows couldn’t dampen Ginny’s spirits. This was her happy place. No one could bother her here. Or at least that’s what she thought.
“Ginny! Harry!” Mrs. Weasley shouted up at them from the bottom of the tree. “Ron and George just arrived! They’ve brought Hermione, too! Come say hello!”
Ginny sighed and Harry brushed the leaves out of her flaming red hair. “We’d better go,” he said.
Ginny shoved him playfully and Harry pretended to fall out of the apple tree’s outstretched branches.
“Catch me?” he asked. Ginny shook her head knowingly.
“Not a chance.” she answered, about to shimmy down the bark covered trunk.
“Then I’ll have to take you with me.” Harry grinned. He encased Ginny’s petite figure with his warm arms and made to jump entirely from the tree.
“Harry!” squeaked Ginny.
“Don’t worry,” his breathed, which tickled her ear. “It’s magic.”
They were plummeting downwards towards the green, grassy ground. The rush made Ginny’s hair fly up in the air and the pure surprise of the fall made her want to scream with joy. Then she landed, sprawled on top of him and smiling.
“I love you,” she whispered, laying her head on his chest. “Now we’d better go, before mum realizes we’re still gone!”
* * *
“Ron!” Harry grinned. How great it was to see his best friend again. Harry had been so busy over the past year with reestablishing the Order, rounding up the remaining Death Eaters, a bit of Auror training here and there, getting over the losses, and finding himself after the war. So, until a week ago when he arrived at The Burrow, he hadn’t had much down time. Ron, of course, had also been busy working at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes with George, having his own Auror training and grieving with his family.
“Harry!” Ron clapped him on the back. “It’s been a while, mate. How’s it around here?”
“Same old, same old,” said Harry, being not entirely truthful. Ron had always been sensitive about the fact that Harry was dating his sister.
“George, how are you?”
“I’m alright,” said George. He was only just starting to get over the loss of his twin and hadn’t gotten his joking manner back yet.
At that moment, Mrs. Weasley and Hermione walked into the mix matched Weasley sitting room, deep in conversation.
“-That’s wonderful! Absolutely wonderful, Hermione! I can’t wait to meet the little darling! If she’s anything like you-“
“Harry!” cried the bushy haired young woman, streaking across the room and squeezing him tightly.
“Seriously Hermione, he needs some air. It’s only been a couple months,” said Ron, grinning. Harry was forcefully reminded of the summer before his fifth year of Hogwarts, in which a similar encounter had occurred. The only difference was that after the previous occasion, Harry had shouted at his two best friends rather angrily.
“So what were you and Mum talking about?” asked Ginny. Hermione beamed at them.
“I’ve just told you’re mother the news! I’m not an only child anymore, I have a little sister!”
“That’s great!” exclaimed Ginny.
“Positively positive,” George alliterated, smiling feebly.
“I know,” said Hermione. “After I sent them to Australia they had obviously forgotten they had a daughter, so they decided to have a new addition to the family. Her name’s Lia. Short for Ophelia,” she beamed.
“You’re parents sure thought up unusual names,” said Harry curiously.
“They had a thing for Shakespeare,” Hermione replied, shrugging. Ron looked like he was about to ask who Shakespeare was, but Harry said, “It’s so great seeing you guys again!”
He had missed his friends, but was a little surprised at their attitudes towards each other. He hadn’t thought their personalities would’ve changed that much, apart from being in love. What was with their new no bickering policy?
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to go unpack. Mum wants me to visit here for a while,”
With a flick of his wand, George’s suit cases were soaring along and he was following brusquely behind them.
“I’d better unpack too,” said Hermione. “Will you help me Ron?”
“Actually, me and Harry were going to play Quidditch,” said Ron sheepishly.
“But you said you would help me unpack,” she said. She was obviously hinting that she wanted to be alone with him.
“I haven’t seen my best mate for ages! Besides, Ginny will help you, you’re staying in here room!” said Ron as if this made all the difference.
Hermione tutted, apparently things hadn’t changed that much.
“As much as I love you, Hermione, how can you be with my brother? He’s such a prat!” Ginny said, looking disgusted.
“Quidditch?” asked Harry. Ron nodded. “Well see you later then Gin, Hermione.”
The two young men left the room and Hermione sighed melodramatically.
“Quidditch!” she said exasperatedly. “It’s all they care about, sometimes!”
“Well, let’s go get you unpacked before your head explodes from trying to understand Quidditch,” Ginny said.
The two girls trotted up the flights of stairs, carrying Hermione’s suit cases between them, to Ginny’s room. Ginny flopped down on her bed and Hermione stacked the luggage beside her friend and began fumbling with the latches.
“So how’ve you been?” asked the brunette.
“Hermione I just talked to you last weekend. Everything’s same as ever,”
“You and Harry are still going strong, then?”
There was a knowing look in Hermione’s eyes.
“Yes…” said Ginny. “But it would help if Mum wasn’t always breathing down our necks all the time! She even found us at our tree! You know, the one near the clearing where we all play Quidditch.”
“Yeah, well at least you’ve been spending time together! We’ve been so busy that Ron and I only saw each other on weekends, for the past six months! And you’re mum can be a little overbearing. She wouldn’t even let Ron and I stay in the same room.”
“Urgh, Hermione! My brother, remember? My brother!” said Ginny, cringing.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” Hermione reasoned, blushing. “I just want to spend more time with him.”
“Uh huh,”
Her tone suggested that Ginny didn’t entirely believe her.
* * *
“Look at us, mate,” said Ron optimistically to Harry as he blocked an apple from going through the imaginary hoops. “We’re alright!”
“Yeah, I reckon we can’t be too bad,” said Harry sarcastically.
“Not about Quidditch, you know what I mean. We’re actually having lives now!” Ron enthused.
“Because we never had lives before?”
“Look, I mean, we’re going to be Aurors! We stat at the Ministry on the fifth of September! That’s only a month away!”
“I know, I’m excited too,” Harry said, pulling out of a Wronski Feint.
“It’s going to be really different this year, starting our jobs and that. It’s mental how Hermione’s going to that Muggle thing, collage or whatever it’s called.”
Hermione would be attending University to Major in Law in the fall because she’d decided to pursue a career in Magical Law that would help her, “take S.P.E.W. farther,”. Harry and Ron were both perplexed on why she’d want to submit herself to four more years of education, but Hermione just said that Muggle Law would help her out in Magical Law and her parents wanted her to go to University because they had savings.
“It is going to be strange next year,” said Harry.
“’Mione reckons she’s getting a flat near her campus. She thinks we should move in together. It wouldn’t be too different because we can Apparate anywhere now.”
“Whoa,” said Harry, breaking the silence. “So you two are really serious, then? You’re going to end up married and-”
“Stop it, Harry!” said Ron frantically. “I don’t want to think about any of that yet!”
“Let’s get back to Quidditch!” said the boys in unison.
* * *
The table was pretty roomy that night at The Burrow. Mrs. Weasley had cooked up a marvelous dinner for Ron, George, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley, herself, Harry, Hermione, and Percy plus his new girlfriend Audrey, a pretty Muggle with dark brown hair and eyes. They both insisted on coming to dinner every night.
“It’s amazing, you going to college, Hermione!” exclaimed Mr. Weasley excitedly. “I can’t believe it, having education after going to Hogwarts! Who would think of it! The things Muggles dream up!”
“Well, secondary education is actually quite common in the non-magical world, Mr. Weasley,” said Audrey pompously.
“Audrey spent four years at university.” said Percy smugly.
“You two make such a laid back, easy going, modest couple,” said George with false admiration in his voice, which Audrey took as the real thing.
Mrs. Weasley, who knew better, cleared her throat loudly.
* * *
Later on, Hermione was pulling the trundle bed out from underneath Ginny’s bunk and smoothing out the sheets over it. She was deep in thought so, when she turned around to see Ron sitting beside her, it came as a shock.
“Goodness, Ron, don’t surprise me like that!” she said breathlessly.
“It seems like I haven’t seen you in ages,” Ron said, staring at Hermione, who was feeling a little self conscious. It had been too warm to wear her flannel pyjamas tonight, so she had borrowed some of Ginny’s, how should we say, skimpier variety.
“Well,” she said. “It seems you’d rather play Quidditch then be with me so…”
But then Ron was kissing her and she and she was pressed down against the trundle bed, her fingers trailing through Ron’s soft hair.
“You’re better than Quidditch,” Ron whispered to Hermione before pressing his parted lips frantically just under her jaw.
“What would you say if I told Harry you said that?” Hermione said while jerking Ron’s head urgently back up to her lips.
“You wouldn’t,” he panted, through kisses. “But I’d deny it.”
Hermione grabbed his shirt and threw it on the ground. Ron was still urgently pressed against her and-
Just then, Ginny opened the door, looked stunned for a second and then loudly said, “Could you please stop snogging in my bedroom!”
Close Encounters by Sunny_Rainbow
Story Notes:
Hey hey hey! You're reading this story, that means your cool. If you wanna be Mega Foxy Super Awesome Hot Cool, then keep reading this story.
Sexual Situations=Pure precaution, not graphic.
DH Spoilers=This spoils DH.
Warning for EXTREME FLUFFINESS! PWP occurs.
Disclaimer: I don't own it ;)
Chapter Notes: The first! Numero Uno! Read, read, read and you'll be mega foxy super awesome hot! :)
Chapter Endnotes: Reviews get you extra Potter Points!