SIYE Time:17:19 on 4th October 2024 SIYE Login: no | | |
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Afterwards By seafrost
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Category: Post-HBP
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley
Genres: Angst, Fluff, Humor, General
Warnings: Sexual Situations
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 19
Summary: This is what happens after the end...one-shot
Hitcount: Story Total: 5481
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He was healing.
It seemed impossible to believe, but he was.
He was a murderer now, and it took a long time before he could close his eyes without reliving that final scene. He had made the world safe again, but he thought he was going to lose himself in the process.
But incredibly, he hadn’t.
~~~
It was mid-afternoon, and Harry and Ginny were laying side by side on a picnic blanket in the back garden of the Burrow. They had just finished eating a large lunch prepared by Mrs Weasley and were now relaxing pleasantly in the sunshine.
There was no need to talk.
~~~
First of all, everyone had wanted to talk to him. He had had to retell every excruciating detail so many times he felt it was now etched upon his mind in indelible ink. She had wanted to talk to him too, she had wanted to ask him if he was okay, to tell him that everything was going to be fine, but she had seen the look in his eyes, and for once in her life she had been quiet.
It was then that he had known everything really was going to be okay.
That first night, she had sneaked back into his room when everyone had finally left him. He had been staring at a crack in the ceiling above him, not wanting to close his eyes. She hadn’t said anything then either, but had climbed into bed next to him and wrapped her arms around him until he fell asleep. In the morning, she had been gone when he woke up but he could still smell her on his pillow, and with this thought he was able to get up and face everyone at the breakfast table.
~~~
It had taken a long time for Hermione to recover from the events. Ron had been unconscious when it had happened, but Hermione had been there and she seen every grimace, heard every shriek of pain. He hated himself for putting her through this, he had tried to Stupefy her before it happened, but she was too quick, too intelligent for him.
~~~
Ginny shifted next to him and rolled over onto her side so that she was facing him. He could see every freckle on her nose and even his own reflection peering back at him from the depths of her pupils. She wiggled her nose and stifled a large yawn, and he couldn’t resist a smile.
~~~
Ron had grown up now. He may have been unconscious when it happened, but seeing the effect it had on Hermione was enough for him to become an adult almost overnight. He only stayed at the Burrow for a few weeks, and got a temporary job with the Ministry. Harry knew that Ron was trying to save up enough money to afford a small house, and when he could he would ask Hermione to marry him.
Harry knew lots of people would think Ron and Hermione were too young to be thinking about marriage, but Harry knew differently. The three of them, they weren’t children anymore.
~~~
Everyday he was glad that Ginny hadn’t been there. She had not taken to kindly to him constantly telling her to stay away from trouble during the war, she felt that she had as much right to be fighting Voldemort as he did (which she did, he just didn’t want her to.) They had had some really terrible rows about it, and she had always managed to turn up when he least wanted her to, duelling with the Death Eaters.
It was at these times that he had hated what he had to do the most. He had always hated it, but he knew he would have done it even if he didn’t have to, even if he wasn’t the “chosen one”.
But having Ginny at the Burrow, who hadn’t been there, whose eyes he didn’t have to avoid, was what had helped him the most. She was something that wasn’t the war, and when he was with her he could feel better about what he had done, because he had made things safer for her.
~~~
Ginny was falling asleep on the blanket next to him. She wiggled slightly to get comfortable and draped one of her arms across his middle. Without even thinking about it, he pulled her closer to him, so her head was almost resting on his shoulder. He could feel the warmth of her breath against his neck.
~~~
He didn’t have a clue what they were, whether they were boyfriend and girlfriend or not, but it didn’t seem to matter because he was happy with things as they were.
Sometimes he worried that she might want someone who acted more like a proper boyfriend, bought her flowers and took her on dates, but it was never for long. They had kissed a few times, but mainly they just enjoyed each other’s company, because it was all he had wanted when had come back. He had been physically and emotionally exhausted, and had just wanted her to be there for him, without any pressures. They had had so many arguments during the war that it was enough she was there.
He did know that she loved him though.
In the summer after sixth year, when he went to the Burrow for Fleur’s wedding, she had told him. They had argued about breaking up, they had kissed when they shouldn’t have, and when he had to go, she had finally told him that she understood. And that she loved him.
It had felt as though his heart had swollen right out of his chest, and he had been unable to keep the smile off his face.
It was because she loved him, and he loved her (although he hadn’t told her) that they had fought so much during the war. She wanted to fight, he wanted her to be safe. Her safety was the most important thing to him now, and her being angry with him was a small price to pay for it. But deep down, he had thought she understood, even if she had trouble agreeing. She had always been determined to prove that she wasn’t a helpless girl, and whenever they met it was always in a battle, where he least wanted to see her. But she had stayed away from the final confrontation, and he knew what it must have cost her to sit waiting for news.
~~~
Harry rolled over so he too was on his side, and the movement caused her to open her eyes blearily.
“Hey,” she said, playfully poking him in the side, “I was sleeping!”
He rolled his eyes at her, because he knew she hadn’t been and was about to retort just that when he had a better idea. Leaning forward, he kissed her firmly on the mouth. And not like the other kisses they had had in the past few weeks, but a real kiss. He felt her relax in his arms and held her as tightly as possible. The ends of her hair were tickling his hands.
When they broke apart, he saw that she was smiling at him. He knew the exact same expression was mirrored on his own face. Grinning mischievously, she rolled on top of him and kissed him again. He buried his hands in her hair and felt himself get completely lost in the moment and she shifted on top of him. Why had he waited this long?
“Oy oy, what have we here then?” a voice cut through him and he realised with a sinking sensation that it was one of the twins. It was like being doused with cold water.
“Looks like Harry molesting our baby sister to me, George.”
In a flash Ginny was off of him and pulling herself to her feet, glaring at her brothers angrily. Harry sat up too, to try to hide his body’s reacting to her kissing him, all the time avoiding the twins’ eyes. He knew that they approved of him and Ginny but surely catching them in a compromising position was another matter.
“Or were you molesting him, Gin-Gin?” Fred asked, ignoring the fact sparks were practically flying out of Ginny’s ears. “Either way, it didn’t look like he was complaining.”
With a swift movement Ginny had reached Fred and kicked him in a place that made him double over in pain. She looked at him smugly, and Harry although sympathising with Fred, was glad that she had never aimed her anger at him in that way before.
“What was that for?” Fred asked indignantly.
“Well Fred, if I’m not doing any ‘molesting‘, I don’t want you doing any either!”
Harry could not stifle a laugh, as he was reminded of how much he loved Ginny. She just wasn’t like anybody else. George was obviously reminded too, as he slung his arm round Ginny’s shoulder and ruffled her hair affectionately before helping Fred up from the ground.
“On and Harry,” George added, as Harry tried to look as much as possible like someone was not going to hurt their sister, “you might want to save your activities for another place, Mum’s going to come and get you both for dinner soon.”
With that, they were both gone. Harry tried not to look too relieved as they set of back towards the Burrow, Ginny slipping her smaller hand into his and squeezing it.
And now, finally, it felt like the right time to tell her.
“I love you.”
~~~
The End
~~~
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, I was trying something different with the style and structure of this one, and I’m a bit worried about whether people will like it or not :/
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