SIYE Time:17:14 on 9th December 2024 SIYE Login: no | | |
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The Deal By kjpzak
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Category: Post-OotP
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Fluff
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG
Reviews: 37
Summary: Do you ever get over your first love? By helping her teammates out, Ginny finds out the answer. Total Fluff.
Hitcount: Story Total: 8720
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The Deal
Disclaimer - I own nothing. I wish I did. All my thanks to J.K. Rowling.
Do you ever forget your first love? Or maybe, more importantly, do you ever get over your first love? Ginny Weasley sat, her elbows resting on her knees, her chin resting in her upturned hands, watching Harry pace up and down the length of the tent, pondering these all important questions. As one of Gryffindor’s chasers, she was sure that Harry would rather have her paying rapt attention to his pre-game match pep-talk, then contemplating her love life, or lack thereof. But then again, Harry had been going on about dive maneuvers and evasive bludger tactics for ten minutes now and she found herself drifting away again. In my case, of course, it was rather one sided, Ginny thought, so does it really qualify as a first love? The ache of letting go of the dream certainly had hurt enough to make it feel real. And in the end, Ginny had to wonder if she really had gotten over Harry, or if the pain had just been too much, she had simply put a lid on it, in hopes it wouldn’t explode. Either way, Ginny knew she needed to move on and that seemed to be her sticking point.
It was hard to go forward when she was constantly reminded of why she had fallen for Harry in the first place and why she had continued to be so enamored with him for years to come. It was hard to give up on her dream when every time she really looked at Harry, at who he was and who he was becoming, she felt a tug at her heart and a strong desire to wrap her arms around him and tell him it would be okay. But that wasn’t her place. Especially today, the first quidditch match of the season. Ginny had whole heartedly agreed with Professor McGonagall’s decision to make Harry Gryffindor’s Quidditch Captain. What Harry lacked in strategic thinking, he more than made up for in passion for the game and talent. Harry was a leader, a leader who needed something other than the pain of the past year to focus on. And then there were those eyes, so often hardened with anger, filled with determination fueled by loss. Being captain allowed Harry a much needed outlet, albeit a small one, and Ginny was glad for him.
Raising her eyes from the floor, Ginny looked around at her teammates. She could tell Harry had lost most of them, and his speech showed no signs of coming to a conclusion. Ginny caught Ron’s eyes across the room. Ron looked pleadingly at her and pointed his head toward Harry. Ron then moved his finger across his throat. Ginny sighed. Practice after practice had
been like this. Harry determination to succeed was driving them all mad. Something needed to happen quickly, otherwise the match would be over and they wouldn't have made it to the pitch. Ginny sighed, concluding if she couldn't move her heart on effectively, at least she could help her teammates.
Looking back, Ginny didn't know why she took the course of action she did. She stood up, picked up her broom and walked purposefully toward the front of the tent, stopping directly in Harry’s path. Having just started on his eighth point of his
ten point plan to stop Ravenclaw before they had a chance to score, Harry didn’t notice Ginny in his way until he was practically right on top of her. Taking advantage of his confusion at the obstacle, Ginny grabbed the front of his robes and dragged his face down to hers. Standing on her tiptoes, Ginny pressed her lips to his. It lasted barely two seconds, but two seconds was long enough for the world to stop. Or at least Harry’s ability to communicate. As Ginny released the front of Harry’s robes, they stared at each other, blinking like owls. The team's attention was focused soley on Ginny and Harry.
Ginny stepped back, took a deep breath and picked up her broom. Harry continued to simply gape at her.
“Right. Time to play!” Ginny announced and turned to head out to the pitch.
Harry looked back at Ron. He looked as dumbfounded as Harry. But then a grin started to play at the corners of Ron's mouth and he shrugged his shoulders.
“Not exactly how I would have gone about it,” Ron said, grinning, “but it was effective! Let’s go, Captain!” Ron slapped Harry on the back and headed out of the tent. The rest of the team filed past Harry, most of them beginning to grin right
along with Ron.
Harry returned to earth slowly. What was that? What WAS that? Ginny had up and kissed him, right in front of the whole team! Right before a match! She couldn’t do that. This was Quidditch! Instead of establishing focus, he couldn’t think of a single strategy, a single play, a single maneuver! That was unsportsmanlike! Did she want to loose?! And yet, while annoyed for these reasons, Harry knew that wasn’t all of it. Ginny wasn’t allowed to stir up feelings like that.
And stir up feelings she had. He wanted to be mad. Being angry meant he didn’t have to feel. He didn’t have to worry. He didn’t have to care. He could act without thinking and it still seemed to have a purpose. He didn’t question the pain and
anger. Nobody was supposed to take any of that away from him. But Ginny’s kiss had.
He didn’t want to care for someone else he could loose, someone who could be hurt because of him. There was nothing he could do about Ron and Hermione. They had proven there was nothing that he could do or say to make them go. However, he was finding it harder and harder to follow his rules around Ginny. Telling himself she was his best friend’s little sister didn’t help. Ginny wasn’t just Ron’s sister anymore. She had become very much her own person in his mind. It had become increasingly difficult to ignore his feelings for Ginny Weasly when every time he turned around he was reminded how much of an original she was. She was smart, courageous, and could fly circles around Ron, not that Harry was going to tell Ron that. After what happened in the Ministry last year, Harry knew Ginny understood what loyalty meant and why sometimes rules were meant to be broken. And Sirius had liked Ginny. Damn. He didn’t need this. But then, he could swear in the back of his mind, he could hear Sirius say, “Yes, Harry, you do need this.”
Cheers from the stands filtered in through the opening in the tent flaps as the Ravenclaw team was announced, breaking through Harry’s grumblings. Harry hurried out of the tent, slowing down to a purposeful stride. Ron curiously glanced his way as he stopped next to Ginny.
Harry cleared his throat. The neck of his robes suddenly seemed tight and the October air seemed much warmer than it had just a few minutes before. Harry took a deep breath.
“WEASLEY!” he shouted over the crowd. “THAT WAS TOTALLY UNPROFESSIONAL!”
Ginny looked up. Harry noticed the tell tale signs of the Weasley blush beginning to creep up her neck.
“UH…YES, I -I SUPPOSE IT WAS,” she shouted back, returning her focus to the Raveclaw team as they took to the air.
Harry grinned, gaining confidence as he noticed Ginny’s ears begin to turn pink.
“AS CAPTAIN OF THIS TEAM, I MUST INSIST ALL MEMBERS ACT IN A SPORTSMAN LIKE WAY,” he shouted.
“OKAY!”
“ESPECIALLY ON DAYS WHEN WE HAVE MATCHES!”
“ALRIGHT!”
Harry leaned over, close enough to Ginny so she could feel his breath on the side of her cheek and only she could hear. “Do you plan to repeat that performance?”
Ginny whipped around to look at Harry, who had quickly straightened up and was now facing the pitch, staring straight ahead.
She noticed his cheeks were almost as red as his robes. Oh, what the heck, she thought. How else could I embarrass myself after that? She shouted back over the crowd, “IF WE WIN, YOU BET. IN FACT, IF WE WIN, I’LL GIVE YOU A VICTORY KISS. IF IT WORKS, WHY MESS WITH IT?”
Madame Hooch blew the whistle and Ginny headed out to the pitch, missing the grin that threatened to overtake Harry’s face.
******
Post-match, the euphoria of the Gryffindor victory earned Ginny a high five from Harry but nothing more. While the common room exploded with celebration, Ginny watched Harry smile, a truly happy smile, one that reached his eyes, for the first time in months. He needs to do that more, she thought.
Several days later, thoughts of Saturday's match were long gone under the weight of studying for her O.W.L.s. With an armload of books in her arms and her book bag slung over her shoulder, Ginny backed out of the library, almost knocking Harry
down.
“Oh! Harry, I’m so sorry!” Ginny apologized, blushing slightly, as she righted herself.
“No - no problem, Ginny. Can I take some of those for you?” Harry offered, and started unloading Ginny’s arms.
“Thanks! These O.W.L.s are going to kill me!” She finished, wondering why Harry could still make every intelligent thought fly out of her mind when she wasn't prepared.
“Yeah…” Harry shifted her books to his right side and turned down the corridor. To Ginny’s surprise, Harry ducked into a nearby alcove. Ginny followed Harry, tripping slightly over an uneven cobblestone, her book bag slipping from her shoulder to the floor with a thud, several quills and a bottle of ink spilling forth. Crouching down to gather her things, Ginny sighed. She supposed that being in close proximity to Harry would always rattle her nerves.
Nervously, Harry looked down at the bottle of ink rolling toward his feet. Harry had wanted to catch Ginny ever since Saturday, but things hadn’t been going his way. Now he had her, but all his courage seemed to have been left behind in his
last class.
As Ginny bent down to retrieve her things, both of them started to speak —
“Oh, Harry, I’m really sorr-“
“I’m here to collect.”
Ginny’s eyes shot up. She straightened up and looked at Harry.
“What?” she asked.
Harry took a deep breath, looked into Ginny’s eyes and said, “I’m here to collect.”
Ginny’s brow furrowed. “Collect? Collect wha-oh.” Saturday. The deal.
Harry noticed Ginny’s blush begin to deepen. He hurriedly spoke, “Well, that is if it’s okay with you.” He grinned slightly as he took a deep breath and continued, “I mean, I was thinking of doing it at the next practice, in front of the team…”
Ginny stepped back. She looked at Harry. He was serious. He was nervous. And she realized he thought she might say no. Ginny's heart gave a little leap, knocking the well placed lid on her emotions sideways.
Ginny drew in a breath and stepped forward again. Straightening her back and raising her chin, with an impish grin, Ginny stated, “I am a Weasley. As such, I honor my word always.”
Harry shyly smiled at her. “Good thing, that.”
Ginny almost forgot to breath. She watched Harry lean closer to her and felt that invisible string that went between her heart and his shorten, pulling her onto her toes, so that her lips met his half way. It was a simple kiss, a gentle kiss and Ginny closed her eyes and lost herself to the feeling of completeness.
As far as smiles go, Ginny knew the one that replaced Harry’s lips on her own was a goofy as they came. She also knew it was a match for the one on Harry’s face. Yes, she thought, Harry definitely needs to smile like this more often. Then, she couldn’t help it. She giggled.
“What?” asked Harry.
“Wow. Just…wow.” Said Ginny.
Harry grinned at her, then carefully took Ginny’s hand in his own, gently weaving his fingers between hers. Ginny reached down and grabbed her bookbag with her free hand and allowed Harry to gently pull her into the corridor beside him. As they walked back to Gryffindor tower together, Ginny had her answer. No, she would never get over her first love because for her, it would be her only love.
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Reviews 37
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