Ginny’s eyes flew open in confusion when she realised that she wasn’t in her room, in bed. She tried to stand upright, only to hear a complaint from on top of her. Harry rolled off the sofa, onto the floor and hit the carpet with a thud.
–Harry?!†Ginny exclaimed, helping him up.
–Yes, that was me, the last time I checked,†he grumbled, plonking himself back down onto the sofa. –Why’d you wake me up?†he demanded, yawning loudly, resting his head back against the overstuffed cushions and closing his eyes.
–You were on top of me! I-I jumped up, then you landed on the floor,†she explained protectively.
Only one thing seemed to completely catch his attention out of what she’d just said.
–I was on top of you?†he asked, sitting up in bewilderment, his eyes snapping into focus for the first time since he’d been woken up. –Why would I be on top of you?â€
–Well, I don’t know! I guess we must have fallen asleep on the sofa and that’s just the way we ended up,†she suggested.
–Oh well,†he said grinning. –We now have new material to try out on Ron. How annoyed do you think he’ll be when we tell him that we ‘slept together’? He doesn’t need to know about the fact that it was on a sofa, fully clothed,†he winked mischievously.
Ginny giggled, –You are so bad! He’ll kill us both!â€
–If he tries, we can always tell him the truth, and have a jolly good laugh about it,†he informed her standing up and stretching his arms up above his head. He dragged his hand through his unruly, messy jet black hair, and ambled sleepily into the kitchen.
–I swear I’m a bad influence over you. You used to be so sweet and innocent before I moved in. I’m corrupting you into my brothers’ mischievous ways!†she grinned, shaking her head in denial.
–Ah, now that is where you’re wrong. My Dad was one of the Marauder s , it’s in my blood. Not to mention that my Godfather was none other than the Sirius Black! I think I was doomed to a fate similar to this somewhere along the line. Whether you just helped give that side of me a kick of encouragement we will never know. Anyway, I never really had much of a thing for sticking by the rules, did I?†he explained smiling, before pulling open the fridge door.
–That’s true. From what I’ve heard about the Marauders, you seem to be getting more like your Dad every day. I bet it would have kicked in sooner if you hadn’t had Voldemort hanging over your head,†Ginny pointed out logically.
Harry let out a snort of laughter. –Now I have the mental image of Voldemort being levitated in the air and him following me around!â€
–Now that I would have loved to see,†she smirked. –In a strange sort of way, you’re kind of experiencing your childhood a little late in life.â€
–Better late than never,†he said, setting the milk down on the counter and finding some eggs.
Ginny stumbled over to the window, drew the curtains and threw up the black-out blind. She had to shield her eyes from the glare of the sunshine.
She followed Harry into the kitchen and helped him prepare breakfast. Even though she actually wasn’t much of a help in the practical side of cooking, Harry liked having somebody to talk with whilst he was working; a post she was more than happy to fill.
Half an hour later, they were sat at the table directly across from each other, laughing and eating poached eggs on toast. They were still in their pyjamas and didn’t seem to be in any sort of rush.
Once they’d finished eating, they stuck their plates into the washing up bowl. Ginny turned back to the bright sunlight seeping in through the window.
–What time is it, Harry?†she asked casually.
He looked down at his watch, –Oh Merlin! It’s half past two in the afternoon!†he exclaimed after a second, jumping up out of his chair and downing the rest of his morning coffee.
–What!!! We were supposed to be at The Burrow ages ago!†Ginny announced franticly. –We’ve got to go. Now!â€
–Maybe we should get dressed first?†Harry suggested as she began rushing towards the door in her slippers.
–That might help,†she said running down the corridor and into her room like a rocket, with Harry at her heels until they parted at separate ends of the hall.
Harry had never been more surprised when Ginny came out of room again after only ten minutes. He had learnt quite a lot about her through living together for a year. One such thing was that she always took ages to get ready! But here she was, looking very presentable after only a fraction of her normal pre-morning ritual time slot.
In a normal morning before Quidditch practice, Ginny would get up at half six. After spending two hours doing things like showering, sorting her hair, make-up and getting dressed, she would wake Harry up and drag him out of bed. He was then towed into the kitchen where he made them breakfast before Ginny had the chance to burn anything and set the smoke alarm off - they despised the annoying bleeping device, but the building owner was a Muggle and the only rule he had was that the smoke alarm worked. While Harry was making breakfast, Ginny would go back into Harry’s room, choose his clothes for the day and lay out his stuff for when he got out of the shower. It was a strange routine, but they’d been doing it for so long that it was just normal for them now.
Ginny took one glance at Harry’s shocked face before doing a quick sweep of herself, making sure she’d remembered to assemble her clothes the right way around so that her underwear was in fact under her jeans and t-shirt.
Once satisfied that she’d dressed correctly, she raised an eyebrow at him. –Something wrong?†she demanded.
–No, no. It’s just that you only took a normal person’s amount of time to get ready! Are you feeling OK?†he asked, walking towards her. –You don’t feel sick, dizzy or nauseous?â€
–Oh, shut up!†she grinned, rolling her eyes. –Shall we go before Mum sends out a search party?†she suggested, picking up her handbag from the kitchen where she’d thrown it the night before.
–That’s a good idea,†Harry agreed, pocketing his wallet and keys off of the table, before walking towards the fire. –After you, Cookie,†he said with a grin.
–Why thank you, Muffin,†she smirked back, taking a handful of Floo powder and shouting, –The Burrow!†and disappearing in the mass of green flames.
It was fair to say that Mrs Weasley was far less than happy when the pair finally stumbled into the cramped household of redheads. But soon enough she was occupied with the Christmas Eve-eve preparations that she claimed where not going get finished by themselves. And as punishment for being late, Harry and Ginny were dragged into the kitchen; their wands momentarily confiscated, and made to peel the sprouts by hand.
–This is painfully familiar,†Harry sighed putting his fifty-sixth sprout in the bowl. He was remembering the time when they were still at Hogwarts and he and Ron had been forced to do this odious task too. And because they were underage, they couldn’t use their wands, it was just a cruel form of torture.
–I spent all of my childhood years pealing vegetables!†Ginny grumbled, from the counter next to him. –This is just so boring!â€
Harry was about to reply when an idea came to him. He splashed the water in the washing up bowl at an unsuspecting Ginny, and was rewarded by an alarmed squeak as it soaked the front of her jumper.
–Oh, so that’s the way you wanna play it?†she says threateningly, a playful - yet evil - smirk forming in the corner of her lips.
Harry wanted so badly to take cover somewhere and hide, but he stood his ground. –Yes,†he replied simply.
–You are sooon, Potter!†she exclaimed, grabbing the dripping dishcloth from the worktop. Before he had the chance to figure out what she was up to, or hide, she hauled the cloth at him.
It whacked him hard in the face, causing his glasses to half fall off and hang off one of his ears. The front of his hair was all drenched and was dripping water droplets onto the shoulder of his t-shirt. The offending dishcloth fell onto the floor with a soft thud.
Ginny raised one eyebrow challengingly, almost daring him to respond with another attack. Well, Harry thought to himself. We can’t disappoint a lady now can we?
Feeling slightly childish, he picked up a sprout and threw it at her; it bounced gently off her nose before rolling under the bottom cupboard.
–This means war,†she announced, grabbing a handful of the vegetables and stuffing then down the front of his jeans.
Harry responded by grabbing her in a headlock and quickly dunking her head in the washing up bowl. She came up spluttering, her red hair full of soapy water. She grabbed the washing up liquid and squirted him with it; the green substance covered the font of his glasses.
Taking advantage of his momentary blind state, she jumped on his back, locking her legs around his torso, and began hitting him around the head with a scrubbing brush.
Harry couldn’t help but laugh as he stumbled blindly around the kitchen, Ginny also squealing hysterically in his ear.
–What is going on in here?†exclaimed a voice from the doorway.
Harry and Ginny both stopped shouting at once and turned to face the owner of the voice. Ginny wiped the goo off of the front of Harry’s glasses so he could see who was stood at the door, but he didn’t even need to see to know who it was.
–Oh, hi Hermione,†Harry grinned sheepishly, letting Ginny drop down off of his back safely.
–Don’t ‘Oh, hi Hermione’ me, Harry Potter! What on earth is going on?!†she repeated, hands on hips with an eyebrow raised in a way that only Hermione Granger could make truly scary.
–Peeling sprouts,†Ginny said simply, not effected by Hermione’s expression at all. –Why? Do you want to help?â€
–No, I do not want to help!†she cried. –I want to know why you’re both covered in food and are soaked to the skin!â€
–Oh, well we had a water slash food fight,†Ginny smiled.
–Well, Molly is going to be furious when she sees the mess you two are in! Go clean yourselves up immediately,†she demanded.
–OK! OK! Come on Muffin,†Ginny rolled her eyes. –Oh, but, Hermione, would you mind…?†she asked signalling to the pile of vegetables that they’d not yet finished.
Hermione sighed, but with a flick of her wand the whole lot was peeled and washed. –What would you do without me?†she said shaking her head disbelievingly.
–Panic?†Ginny suggested.
–Get in more trouble than we already do?†Harry added.
–Yes, now go!†Hermione ordered, smiling slightly at her two friends as they disappeared around the corner out of the kitchen. She loved them both but sometimes they truly were thick.
To her it was painfully obvious that they liked each other in a way that was just more than friends, but they seemed to be just as oblivious as Ron was to feelings like that. Why couldn’t they just realise how they feel?
It was infuriating for her to watch their everyday playful banter and not just blurt something out. But she had already decided to leave them be and let them figure it out on their own. They had to realise someday didn’t they?
The rest of the day passed in a blur; it was all a flurry of tinsel, various tree decorations, food, wrapping paper and mistletoe.
Ron and Ginny had already gotten stuck under Fred and George’s magical mistletoe that they’d sprung in the landing outside the bathroom. It seemed like they hadn’t perfected it so much that it didn’t trap siblings under it.
They had been stuck for over an hour, with their feet planted to the floor, quite unable to move. And both of them had gotten exceedingly angry as the time passed. Eventually George remembered the counter spell and cast it silently before winking at his brother mischievously. They were defiantly up to something.
They all put up the Christmas tree the Muggle way, and they decorated it with different colours of tinsel and various baubles. The only thing that they didn’t do the Muggle way was the annual gnome at the top of the tree-which Fred had caught earlier and decorated in a tutu and spray-painted silver.
At about ten in the evening, Harry and Ginny finally managed to escape back home and away from the madhouse. Both of them were completely exhausted and craved a good night’s sleep.
–Well, Cookie, that was an interesting day,†Harry yawned from behind his hot chocolate mug.
–Mmmm, although I wouldn’t exactly say that I was completely thrilled to get stuck under the mistletoe with my brother! Just…ewww!†she complained.
Harry just laughed at her. –Well at least you didn’t have to kiss him in the end though,†he pointed out.
–True. But you had to kiss Hermione!†she sniggered.
–Oh Merlin, don’t remind me!†he grumbled. –I thought Ron was actually going to kill me! The concept of it was pretty much the same as forcing you and one of your brothers to kiss. It’s just not right! Hermione’s always been like my sister, and so that was practically incest! I hope that I never have to do it again!†he said, finishing off his drink.
–Well then you’d best be more careful in future then!†she laughed.
The duo sat at the kitchen table just talking, as they did most evenings. Whether they’d just sit and discuss Quidditch practice, family issues, TV programmes or just general rubbish, they found it a good healthy way to share a house without murdering one another. The strange thing was that no matter how irrelevant or random the topic they chose was, they never ran out of anything to say to each other. That was one of the beauties of their relationship, things were never awkward.
–Well at least we have tomorrow at home,†Harry yawned, after a second, levitating his empty mug into the sink where the washing up utensils started scrubbing it clean.
–True. One day without Fred and George doing something annoying and idiotic,†Ginny sighed, smiling slightly.
–One day of them not doing something annoying and idiotic to you,†Harry corrected. –They’re still going to drive your family – your Mother in particular – insane.â€
–Then it’s just as well that we’re not there. I value my hearing too much; I don’t need my Mum bursting my eardrums with her shrieking.â€
Harry just laughed in amusement as he stood up and stretched. –I’m going to bed now. I’ll see you in the morning. Oh, and please, Cookie, let me sleep in until at least ten,†he begged.
Ginny smirked in a way that could not be trusted; it told Harry that she was planning something. –Of course, Muffin. You need every second of beauty sleep you can get!†she grinned.
–Hey! I will have you know that I am already very beautiful,†he exclaimed, pretending to be scandalized.
–Sure, Harry. Keep telling yourself that,†she said cheekily.
–You’re so cruel to me, Cookie!†he cried, pretending to be very upset and hurt.
–Aww, you love me really!†she giggled, standing up to give him a hug.
Harry hugged her back and chuckled lightly. –Goodnight Gin. I’ll see you tomorrow.†He kissed her gently on the cheek and disappeared down the hall to his bedroom.
Ginny watched him go before sinking back down into her chair at the table. She really should be going to bed herself; Christmas was always bust very time of year, and it usually exhausted her.
She sat there with various thoughts whizzing through her head. After Christmas it would soon be the start of a new year, and the end of one of the best of her life.
Living with Harry was easy, he knew her so well and vice versa. There was hardly any tension between them, and they only argued very occasionally. One such time was when Harry had hosted a guy’s night out in their house.
-Start of Flashback-
Ginny was laying in her bed with her pillows over her head to try and block out all of the noise. She had tried to use silencing charms, but she and Harry had agreed previously that they should put up some irreversible charms to stop any other spells like that from working. Harry had joked that it was so that he could tell when she was asleep because of her loud snoring, but Ginny always stuck with her choice of it being so that she could hear him singing in the shower.
The infuriating racket had been thrumming through the walls of her bedroom from the living room since half past nine that evening; it was now one in the morning, and they were making no indication of stopping any time soon.
She could distinctly hear Ron howling with laughter and most of her other brothers were there too, judging by the very familiar yelling and so-called singing (which could very obviously been mistaken for two cat’s fighting). There was a constant din of loud music and a lot of shouting and yelling.
Eventually, losing her patience, Ginny threw her duvet off of her, threaded her arms through her dressing gown and marched out of her room and down the hall.
When Harry had seen her storm into the room he had gulped and suddenly felt quite scared of her. She looked positively furious and if looks could kill…well, let’s just say that he’d be long dead.
Ginny walked straight up to their stereo – which worked in their apartment because of it being a Muggle property, and therefore had electricity – and turned it off.
There was a groan that passed all around the room as the music suddenly stopped. Then her brothers finally turned and spotted their younger sister. They all flinched, knowing full well what she was capable of.
–I want you all gone in the next minute,†she said in a deadly flat tone that suggested that she was too angry to even yell at them.
Immediately all of the redheads and a few other guys that she knew but was too tired to put a name to picked up their jackets, and everything else they’d brought with them, and either Apparated home, or used the Floo network from their fireplace.
When everyone was gone, Ginny turned to Harry and glared at him. He backed away a few paces in alarm, his hands held protectively in front of him.
–Gin, I’m really sorry, I didn’t realise that we were making so much noise!†Harry tried to explain his eyes pleading silently with her.
–It is gone one in the morning, and we have Quidditch practice tomorrow. If you fall off your broom and die because you’ve gone to sleep in the air, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself. Sure it is still up to you what time you want to go to sleep, but next time don’t bloody well keep me awake too! I’d like to get some sleep so that I’m not flat out in the morning!†she growled.
–I’m sorry I kept you awake!†he apologised, stumbling as he tried to walk towards her.
Harry was usually the kind of guy who could hold his alcohol. He never got drunk, even if he drank as much as Ron, and her brother was giggling and singing female Muggle pop songs. This was always a blessing in disguise when Ron needed someone to bring him back to The Burrow without Apparating on his own and Splinching himself badly. But right now, Harry defiantly looked tipsy. How much had he drunk?!
Ginny voiced this observation, –Merlin, Harry! How much have you gone and drunk! It takes a lot to get you pissed,†she snapped irritably.
–I don’t know,†he admitted. –I can’t remember. Ron just kept handing me bottles and telling me to drink them. He said it would clear my mind and loosen me up a bit. He reckons I work too hard and that I need a break.â€
–Well getting smashed isn’t going to help anything, is it? If anything it’ll make the situation worse!†she told him exasperatedly.
–I-I…oh God –†Harry started, his hand over his mouth and his eyes wide.
Ginny grabbed his by hand and ran him down to the nearest bathroom. She pulled up the toilet seat just in time for Harry to haul down into it. He whimpered pathetically before looking up at her pitifully.
–Don’t look at me like that; it’s your own fault,†Ginny said stubbornly just as Harry lurched for the toilet and threw up noisily. –OK, fine! Wait here,†she sighed, leaving the room and coming back seconds later with a potion in her hand. â€Drink this,†she ordered, thrusting at him.
–What is it?†he asked weakly
–It is designed for idiots who drink too much. It will stop you throwing up for long enough so you can get to sleep,†she explained harshly.
Harry took the potion gratefully out of her hand and swallowed the whole thing in one go. –Thank you,†he smiled sleepily as it started to work its magic.
Ginny had to help Harry get into his bed, and he collapsed on the top and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
She found a blanket in the cupboard and draped it over him before ruffling his hair gently. –You know, for the boy who saved the world, you can be pretty useless sometimes,†she rolled her eyes before smiling affectionately at the man who was her closest friend.
-End of Flashback-
Merlin, he annoyed her sometimes! But she didn’t know what she’d do without him. Ginny finished off her drink and put the empty mug in the sink. She leant back against the work station and sighed.
It wasn’t weird that she preferred her best friend immensely over her boyfriend was it?
Nothing Is Ever Easy. by Ginny_x_Weasley
Chapter Notes: Sorry for the long wait! I love you all, but especially those select few who reviewed. Thanks guys, I’m sending you all virtual hugs, just so you know!
And a big thank you to Maple, you're amazing, so I’m sending you a virtual hug too! :) xxx
Chapter Endnotes: Sooo...what do you think? Any good?
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