49AN: extention is just after the letter, and before Percy, surrounded by #~#~#. More from me at the end…
Chapter 8 – March 1999
Hermione has gone insane, again! There was a compulsory Sex Ed lecture yesterday that "completely screwed up" her revision timetables and she spent all of today sat in the library writing them out again, reworking her timings and constantly mumbling about wasted time and more valuable aspirations.
We had to sit there, all afternoon, as some Ministry witch explained the mechanics of sex, various methods of contraception and how babies get here. Nothing Hermione and me didn't know already, don't worry! Having six older brothers, Hermione as my best friend and Molly Weasley as my mother have their advantages apparently. Hermione confused the poor dear when she asked about Muggle forms of contraception too, but that was just plain funny!
Anyway, my point is, it's reminded me that we have some stuff to talk about before we go that far, and I thought maybe we could talk when we're back over Easter?
With all my love, always,
Gin x
#~#~#
Harry fidgeted, he couldn't help it. He still wasn't used to the stares that people directed to him in public and the idea of sitting outside Florean Fortescue's and waiting for Ginny to arrive had been most unpleasant. The warm weather had brought out most of the magical population of the entire United Kingdom and they all seemed to be walking past his table in Diagon Alley. Some people seemed to be walking up and down the street just to see him time and again.
Ginny wanted to eat lunch together, and seeing as how she needed potion ingredients and new quills he'd been talked into meeting her here. He gestured to the waitress to bring him another coffee and sighed as a white-haired witch made her fourth pass.
Luckily, he didn't have to wait much longer for Ginny to swoop into the chair opposite; she dropped her bags dramatically besides her and smiled at Harry's shocked expression.
"I thought you only needed potion ingredients and a quill?"
"Well, yeah, but while I'm here I may as well stock up and George gives me discount on the WonderWitch products he stocks. Madam Malkin's wasn't busy so I got my robes adjusted – there's no point in buying new ones this close to the end of term – and Hermione wanted me to pick her up a book or three from Flourish and Blotts."
"So you're all done?" He asked hopefully, and Ginny's face broke into a broad, gleeful smile again.
"Yes, I'm done." She spoke gently and only slightly mockingly. She was grateful he was here, if only for lunch, and she loved appending time with him. She watched lovingly as Harry beckoned the waitress and ordered their food. He didn't have to ask; he knew what her favourite sandwich was here, ordered the brown bread she preferred and even asked for the sandwich to be toasted too. He didn't judge her for wanting a hot sandwich on a warm day. She shook herself slightly to stop from staring; she really did love him.
They talked amiably while they waited for their food. The girl waiting tables brought their pot of tea over and they watched other shoppers and pedestrians enjoying the sunshine. Ginny gave the white haired witch an evil glare as she passed by a seventh time, Seamus stopped by to catch up and arrange a night out with Harry and they shared comments about passers by.
By the time their food arrived, they were talking about family. Charlie had come home for a few days and, having left the day before, Ginny was replete with family gossip and theories about relationships, work stresses and hobbies. By the time they returned to the Leaky Cauldron to Floo to Harry's flat, they had completely caught up with each other and were happy to walk the length of Diagon Alley in silence, hand in hand.
Ginny propped her shopping bags by the fireplace when she arrived at Harry's. Harry stumbled through the connection, as graceful as ever and nearly tripped them both as he tried desperately to keep his balance. His face flushed gloriously red as he reached for her arm, but caught hold of her somewhere else instead.
"Sorry," he mumbled as he straightened himself busied his hands brushing himself off.
"That's ok. Not the first time you hands have been there now, is it?" She cocked a grin at him, letting him know she was teasing as she moved to take a seat on the couch. "Besides, they're allowed to be there." She spoke quietly that time, more under her breath than anything else, but Harry heard her in the quiet, empty flat.
"Oh yeah?" He now smiled back at her as he bounded across the short space between them and took the seat on the couch next to her. He leaned in and, swiping at the hair in her face, started to kiss her. She tried valiantly to laugh as she kissed him back, but her breath was currently extremely valuable.
When they did finally surface for air, they were definitely in a more relaxed position. Harry had leant her back onto the sofa and was stretched out beside her, his hands firmly planted on her hip and in her hair. In return, her hands were also exploring the back of his neck and along his ribcage.
"You wanted to talk about this didn't you?" Ginny could see longing in Harry's eyes. He wanted to continue, go further and make love to her. They'd discussed it previously and he'd expressed his willingness to wait if that's what she wanted but she could see in his eyes that he wanted more. Maybe it was just something she recognised in herself.
She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Harry seemed to have heated every part of her and she had to fight the urge to carry on kissing him.
"Yeah. I did, didn't I?" She shuffled about, a signal to Harry, and they moved so that they sat side by side again. She interlocked their hands, and look up at him, suddenly sheepish given their intended topic of conversation.
"Gin?" She must have been silent for longer than he'd expected. She'd been silent longer than she planned; Weasley's weren't generally silent unless food was being consumed.
"I want to wait. I mean, I want to make love to you, but I think I should finish school first."
"I know."
"You do?" The certainty and finality in his voice had startled Ginny slightly.
"Yeah – you need your NEWTs and, to be honest, I don't mind waiting. Like you said, I want to too, but waiting makes sense for us, right? We have the rest of forever together and waiting a couple more months won't make much difference in the long run." He gave her hand a squeeze as he turned to meet her eyes and smile sexily. "Besides, when your home full time, it'll mean we have time to make our first time together special."
"Yeah." Ginny was confident of her response, but feeling nervous still. She wasn't sure why – she agreed with everything he'd just said.
"Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" His voice filled concern at her ongoing silence.
"Not really." She met his gaze again, not realizing she'd looked down, and smiled. "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, which we are." She kissed him on the lips to punctuate her statement and continued to think a bit longer. "Y'know that ministry witch had some interesting booklets and stuff."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," she confirmed, smiling cheekily. "They had diagrams and everything." She was trying not to laugh out loud as she spoke, eyes ablaze and mind whirring.
Harry chuckled at her reaction.
"Yeah? Why do I get the feeling it gave you ideas?"
"Because you know me so well," she leaned in for another kiss, planting her lips more firmly on his. He could only hum in agreement. Harry broke of their kiss, seemingly as another thought occurred to him.
"You said something in your letter about contraception. Did you have any thoughts about that?"
"Well, mum always talked to us about potions a witch can take, and Hermione is convinced that Muggle condoms are effective too, but so far that's unconfirmed, at least as far as I know."
"So, do you have a preference? I mean, I'm happy for us to use condoms, but if you'd rather use the potions…?"
"Well, if condoms are effective, both actually," her voice thoughtful. "The ministry witch said about the whole 'belt and braces' thing and it's probably a good idea to use both and make sure." She paused. "I want kids with you but not yet, that's more of a oneday idea."
Harry laughed off her statement, but she knew they were in agreement on that score. They sat in a comfortable silence, knowing their conversation had been informative and drawn to a close, at least for now. Harry smiled broadly over at her and squeezed her hand again; she loved when he did that.
"So tell me more about these booklets you said the Ministry witch had." He whispered, winking at her sideways. She moved, as quick as a flash, and twisted to sit on his lap facing him, knees planted either side of his thighs as he reclined into the sofa.
"You were right," she said smiling and leaning into a kiss. "They gave me ideas."
It was a long time before they surfaced for air again.
#~#~#
Percy looked at his watch as he heard the kitchen door closing. Nearly one thirty. Ginny was obviously trying to sneak in, but he'd been waiting for her; she wasn't going to get by him.
She jumped, shocked, as she turned into the small hallway and saw Percy sat on the stairs, in the dark.
"Oh, Percy, you made me jump!"
"You know Ginevra, I have better things to do than to wait up for you to come home."
"I never asked you to wait up for me."
"I know that, but I thought it prudent. Our parents obviously don't mind you staying out all night, but I-" She intervened before he could gain his stride.
"Mum and Dad knew exactly where I was, and they don't have any concerns about Harry." He could hear her anger building. If nothing else, he wanted his concerns kept between them. His parents wouldn't appreciate his prying and certainly nobody else in the house would appreciate the disruption to their sleep. He tried to keep his voice calm and quiet as he spoke.
"Yes I realise this, but-" she cut him off again.
"Harry and I aren't sleeping together." Percy's ears burned red at her candid statement, but she continued without noticing, or passing judgement on him at any rate. "Even if we were, it's none of your business."
"Yes, I know. I was just concerned that he might be… pressuring you into making decisions that you're not ready for."
"Percy." Her voice suddenly calm and even, he looked into her eyes, just as calm as her outer self. "Harry loves me. And I love him. You don't have to worry about him rushing me into big decisions. We've talked about sex, several times. We're waiting. Besides, I'm still in school, and we have the rest of our lives together."
"That's something else, actually. You and Harry both talk like you're in this for life. It worries me… slightly" he added as he saw the hurt look in her eyes. But she swallowed her retort and spoke calmly.
"I know. We're young, and people make mistakes, but Harry and I are certain about this; it's not a mistake. We… He is everything I've ever wanted, and I'm everything to him too. Didn't you hear him, after the Battle – I was the last person he thought about, and he came back for me. We love each other; so much it confuses me sometimes, but we both know where this is going, and it makes sense to us."
"It just seems like a very mature relationship and you're both barely Of Age."
"I know. And thank you, for sharing your concerns. But like I said, it's not your job to worry about me. Your job is to love me, and support my decisions and hunt Harry down if he ever hurts me, though I assure you, there won't much left of him by the time I'm finished with him." She smiled and hugged Percy, glad to see he was smiling too when she let him go.
She gave him a kiss and said goodnight to him, a salutation he returned and they both went their separate ways to their beds.
Molly, watching and listening from an upper storey stair, couldn't help but smile herself as she considered the exchange she had overheard and the future of her beautiful, strong willed and mature daughter.
AN: THANK YOU for sticking with me, reviewing, favouriting and setting up all those story and author alerts! It's obvious that loads of you love this story and I do too! Clicking Complete now makes my heart tighten just a little bit, but never fear, I'm writing again… I just have to pull myself together to type it up properly and start posting!
Thanks again,
Vicky Starfish
Oct 2011