SIYE Time:18:27 on 10th December 2024 SIYE Login: no | | |
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Discoveries By hgromance
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Category: Pre-OotP
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley
Genres: Fluff
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: G
Reviews: 7
Summary: Harry discovers more than just old-fashioned fun on a snowy day.
Hitcount: Story Total: 5732
Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.
Author's Notes: This was written for the takingitinturns fic exchange at LJ. The theme was motion. This takes place during Harry's third year.
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Discoveries
This particular snowy December day was one of very few carefree days for thirteen year old Harry Potter. Since the beginning of the school year he’d known an escaped criminal, Sirius Black, was out to kill him for taking out Lord Voldemort back when Harry was a year old. He’d also just recently heard that this Sirius Black was supposed to have been a friend of his parents and betrayed them, leading to their deaths by Lord Voldemort. Harry found it extremely difficult to concentrate on his schooling knowing out there somewhere was a traitor and killer.
He’d become rather moody until the Weasleys and Hermione Granger, one of his best friends, decided they’d had enough and hauled him outside for a snowball fight. So that’s how today ended up being a carefree day. It ended up being a massive free-for-all fight between himself, Hermione, Ron Weasley, his other best friend, Ron’s sister Ginny, and two of Ron’s brothers, Fred and George, twins.
With all the snowballs flying fast and furiously, he didn’t have time to think of anything but dodging and throwing. Admittedly, he was better at dodging than hitting his targets. Maybe because he played Seeker on his Quidditch team, whose job it was to dodge Bludgers trying to unseat you and to catch a tiny golden ball. Either way, he found himself rather enjoying the day. The sky was a clear cobalt blue, the sun shined unhindered, but the air was crisp and cold. His breath puffed like a baby dragon before it learned how to breathe fire.
Quickly he scooped up a large handful of snow and packed it into a ball. Knowing his aim was bad, he decided to run up on his target and deliver his ‘package’ that way. He took off heading for Ron and flung the snowball as he sprinted by, hitting Ron in the back. He attempted to do the same to Hermione but she caught on and hit him with a well-placed snowball before he could let loose with his. Smack! It hit him in the face, some of the snow making its way underneath his scarf, causing him to shiver.
"Hey," Harry complained good-naturedly while attempting to clean off his glasses, "I thought we were supposed to be avoiding the face."
Laughter met his complaint. Laughter, it sounded, from the youngest Weasley. Harry wiped his face on his sleeve and replaced his glasses. Yep, just as he’d thought. It was Ginny laughing at him. He was glad she could laugh again. Just last year, caught in a situation made by Tom Riddle, Voldemort’s teenaged self, Harry didn’t think she’d ever laugh again, but here she was, laughing at him. He looked closely at her sparkling brown eyes, her cheeks ruddy from the cold, her fiery red hair and thought she looked different. She looked...pretty. Another snowball to the side of his head brought him from his musings.
"You’re supposed to be dodging the snowballs," teased Ginny, "not standing there and being a snowball magnet."
Harry’s response was to clean his glasses, scoop up a large amount of snow and launch it at her but, of course, it missed.
"Harry, you’re supposed to hit your targets," she taunted, "not miss them by a mile."
"Hey, I’m a Seeker not a Chaser. I’m supposed to dodge balls coming at me not try to throw them at targets."
He promptly got hit by two more snowballs and Ginny giggled. "You’re not doing a good job of that, either, apparently."
Harry scooped up two handfuls of snow and packed them into one big snowball, all the while keeping his eyes on Ginny. When it was ready, he took off in her direction, ducking any snowballs thrown his way.
Realizing his intent, Ginny let out a delighted little shriek and ran in the opposite direction. She zigged around people. She zagged around trees. Briefly glancing over her shoulder, she saw Harry was still on her tail. Putting on a burst of speed, she headed down by the lake, winding her way through the trees.
Harry was not going to be deterred. He was set on getting her at least once with the snow. Seeing she was headed for the lake, he decided to come at her from an angle instead of from behind. He’d almost caught up to her when his foot hit an icy patch, went out from under him and his back impacted with the ground with a loud oomph! The air knocked out of him, he laid there, chest heaving, trying to drag in air.
Hearing his fall, Ginny turned and ran back to check on him. Unfortunately, she too found a slippery spot and went skidding, doing her best to stay upright. She succeeded until her foot connected with one of Harry’s and down she went, right on top of Harry, who let out another oomph!
Blushing furiously, she scrambled off Harry. "I’m so sorry. Are you okay?"
Sitting up, Harry dusted off the snow from his squashed snowball before looking into her concerned face, her very pretty, concerned face.
"I’m fine."
Except he wasn’t, not really. He wasn’t bad, just not the same. It had just hit him how nice it had been to be so close to her when usually such close contact made him feel uncomfortable. There was just something magnetic about Ginny that drew him to her. It was that magnetic something that caused his next action.
Harry’s eyes never left hers as he hesitantly reached out slipped her hair behind one ear, lingering there ever so slightly. Then he stood, held out his hand for her and helped her up.
"Want to go for a walk?" he asked while continuing to hold her hand.
She smiled brightly. "Okay."
The two set off, hand in hand, along one side of the lake. The crunch of their boots in the snow the only sound heard, spending half the distance of their walk in companionable silence. Puffs of vapor marking their breaths.
Ginny’s mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out why Harry had touched her and why he continued to hold her hand. She knew what she wanted the answer to be, but was it? Mentally shrugging her shoulders, she decided to wait him out. If there was one thing she’d learned about Harry, it was not to push. He’d talk when he was ready. He’d proven her right when he’d talked to her about the whole issue with Sirius Black, not because he wanted advice, or to have his concerns swept away and be distracted, but because he just needed someone to listen. She listened, unlike Hermione or Ron.
Harry stopped walking and turned to Ginny. "I suppose you’re wondering what’s going on with...well...this," holding up their clasped hands, "but to be honest, I don’t really know for sure. I mean, I like it. I like you. I mean, I think you’re pretty. I’m feeling all these things inside right now and I don’t know what they mean. I’m just really confused."
He paused, shuffled his feet, and glanced out at the lake before turning back to the girl in front of him. "I’m discovering I like you touching me and touching you in return. I like how your eyes light up when you laugh. I like your independence and your mischievous streak."
He smiled, chuckling. "I think it’s hilarious how you have your older brothers cowed and eating out of your hand. Seriously, though, I feel drawn to you and I’m not sure why. I don’t want you to get your hopes up or anything but I’d like to continue this," again pointing to their still-clasped hands, "to see where it goes. If you’re okay with that, of course."
Inside, Ginny wanted to scream and jump for joy. Instead, she merely smiled, squeezed Harry’s hand, and said, "I think I can be okay with it."
"Good."
Squatting down, Harry grabbed some snow and before Ginny realized what he was going to do, slipped it under her scarf, making sure it went under her jumper and shirt collars.
"HA! Finally got you!"
Before she could react, he sprinted back in the general direction of the castle, making sure to not go very fast. Sure enough, she quickly caught up.
"You’re going to pay for that, Potter."
"Okay," he said with a smile.
They slowed back to a walk, Harry taking her hand again and continued back to the school.
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