Now And Forever
Chapter 09
By Abraxan
Many thanks to my brilliant Brit-picker, Kelpie, and my fabulous betas, Alexander, Asad, Iris and Rich! Thanks too to Mark Anders Harrison for help with a Latin incantation, and Mike McKean for his help with a sports question!
Coming soon to Amazon.com! "Star Sons 1: Dawn of the Two" an original fantasy novel by Abraxan (Lynda Sappington)! You can read a sample chapter at www.whimsyhill.com
When they arrived in the entryway of the house, Harry let go of Merlin’s tail and took off his cloak, being careful of the bouquet in his arms. He smiled, anticipating Ginny’s expression when she saw the beautiful flowers in their bedroom. He’d seen them in a shop near Remus’s house that morning and couldn’t resist them. He’d have to put a Freshness Charm on them so they’d still be pretty when Ginny finally arrived in three days’ time.
Hearing strange sounds from the living room, Harry stilled. His senses on alert, he set the flowers on a nearby table, drew his wand and approached the doorway as silently as possible. He gasped and jumped out of the way as Hermione, with a very un-Hermione-like squeal of laughter, raced through the door, followed closely by Ron. Harry goggled at his best friends, both of whom were completely naked. He blushed just as she noticed him.
"Harry!" Hermione squeaked. She attempted to cover herself with her hands as she blushed all over. "Oh!" She turned and raced up the stairs.
Ron stopped and swallowed hard, his skin as red as his hair. He hung his head and peeped at Harry through his fringe. "Uh, hi, Harry. I wasn’t expecting you quite so soon."
Ron’s expression hit Harry as very funny. He bit his lip, trying his best not to laugh. "Obviously. Shall I leave and come back later?"
Ron sighed and waved a negligent hand. "Nah. It’s your house. I’m sorry you found us like this."
Harry was laughing out loud now. "I did tell you to enjoy the house."
Ron snorted. "Yeah! And blimey, have we! I could tell you―"
Harry shook his head before Ron could say any more. "No, thanks."
"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione called down the stairs. "You’re naked!"
As he and Ron both laughed, Harry glanced up and saw Hermione was now demurely wrapped in her bathrobe.
"I’ve seen him naked since we were eleven, Hermione," Harry said, chuckling at the blush suffusing her face again. "Now, you, on the other hand. . . ."
"Ooo, men!" she said, then turned on her bare heel and flounced off to her and Ron’s room.
"Thanks for the entertainment!" Harry called after her. He looked at Ron and burst out laughing again. "I mean that. That’s the best laugh I’ve had in ages."
Ron grinned. "Glad we could help out. Now try to get that image of my wife out of your mind, OK?"
"Why?" Harry teased. At Ron’s expression, Harry relented. "OK, OK, fine, if that’s how you want to be." He snorted, trying to stifle another bubble of laughter that was trying to escape.
Ron grinned at Harry and shrugged, then started up the stairs. Halfway up, he turned back to face Harry. "We’ll clear out for the holidays, mate. You and Ginny should have the house to yourselves."
"You don’t have to—"
"It’s only fair. It’s your house, and it will be Ginny’s in a few months. You two should enjoy it. Hermione and I can stay at the Burrow. Mum will be over the moon about it, I’m sure. We need to do some stuff anyway."
Harry frowned in confusion. "Stuff?"
"Yeah. We’ll leave this evening, OK?"
"If you really want to, but you don’t have to."
Ron grinned. "I know, mate."
* * * * *
A few days later, Harry flashed to the Entrance Hall at Hogwarts and found Ginny waiting for him beside her trunk. Hedwig’s cage sat on top of the trunk and Ginny held Trouble, locked in his basket, in her arms.
"Hi!" He gave her a quick kiss, then pulled back to grin at her. "Ready to go?"
She beamed at him. "Yes!"
"Right." Harry stuck his finger in Hedwig’s cage to say hello, then did the same with Trouble before tapping each cage and then her trunk with his wand, sending them to the house. Once they were gone, he changed into a phoenix and flew over Ginny. When she grabbed his tail, he flashed then to the entry hall of the house, then changed back into himself. "Here, let me take your cloak."
Ginny looked around with interest as she released Hedwig and Trouble from their cages. Christmas baubles hung from the ceiling, and a huge bunch of mistletoe was tied over the doorway to the living room. "It looks wonderful. Dobby and Winky are decorating, I see."
"Actually, the mistletoe was Ron’s contribution." Harry laughed, remembering the scene he’d popped in on a few days’ earlier.
Ginny gave him an appraising look. "Do you have something to tell me?"
Harry snorted. "Yeah―" He was interrupted by Hermione running down the stairs to hug Ginny.
"Welcome home!" Hermione said.
Ginny returned Hermione’s hug gladly. "Thanks!"
"Yeah, good to see you," Ron said as he came downstairs with a bulging bag slung over his shoulder. He looked at Harry. "Sorry to bother you, mate. We forgot a few things."
Ginny frowned. "What’s going on?"
Ron grinned and gave her a one-armed hug. "We’re staying at the Burrow so you two can have the house to yourselves."
"But . . . but I was looking forward to―" Ginny began.
"We’ll see you several times over the holiday," Hermione replied, "but this is your house. And Harry’s. It’s your turn to enjoy it." She leaned over and kissed Ginny’s cheek, then pulled Harry down to kiss him as well. "Don’t you dare tell her about the other day!" she whispered as she hugged Harry.
Harry snorted, then pulled back to grin at his best friend. "Why not? It’s funny!"
"What’s funny?" Ginny said.
"Harry . . ." Hermione’s voice held a warning tone.
Harry smiled at her, doing his best to look innocent.
Hermione sighed. "Fine. Fine! Do what you want."
"Thanks!" Harry said brightly. "I’ll be nice about it."
After Ron and Hermione left, Ginny turned to Harry. "What was Hermione on about?"
"I’ll be happy to explain," Harry said with a snort of laughter as he took her hand. "Come with me, m’lady, and I’ll tell you all about a very funny thing that happened when I got home a few days ago."
* * * * *
"You caught them naked?" Ginny fell on the bed in their room laughing. "I’ll bet they were embarrassed!"
"I didn’t know people could blush all over their bodies like that," Harry agreed, still chuckling as he flopped on the bed next to her.
"Ron—"
"Hermione, actually. Ron and I have seen each other naked since our first year in Hogwarts, y’know. The boys’ showers aren’t private at all."
Ginny giggled. "I can just imagine Hermione’s face."
"She wasn’t terribly happy, no. And Ron told me to forget what she looked like."
Ginny got up on one elbow and leaned over him, holding a pillow in her free hand. "And have you?"
"Why should I? I didn’t do anything wrong!" He laughed and wrestled the pillow away from her before she could bop him with it. "Hey, give over! I just looked! I wouldn’t be a red-blooded guy if I didn’t!"
"I’ll give you red blood," she said, jumping astride his chest, snatching the pillow away from him and using it to pummel him playfully.
Harry grabbed the pillow and tossed it away, then wrapped his arms around her and flipped the two of them so she was on the bottom. "You were saying?"
Ginny slid her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in his hair. "That’s better. Stop thinking about Hermione. Think about me!"
"Who said I was thinking about Hermione?" He kissed her tenderly, then moved his lips to her neck, hovering over the ticklish spot under her ear. He blew the tiniest bit of warm breath on her neck and, as usual, she squirmed and giggled.
"You’re so funny," he said straightening and looking down at her, happier than he could remember being for quite a while. "I just have to glance at that spot on your neck and you fall apart."
"I’m ticklish! You know that!"
"I know." He gave her a wicked grin. "And I simply have to take advantage of it." He bent over her and blew a resounding raspberry against her neck in her ticklish spot, making her shout with laughter. Just as Ginny tried to pull him closer, Harry got up and offered her his hand. "Come with me."
Looking puzzled, Ginny took his hand and got up. "Where are we going?"
"I have a remodelling project I want you to see."
She turned back toward the bed. "I’d rather—"
Harry wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. "You haven’t seen my project yet."
Ginny shook her head and smiled at him. "When have you had time to do any remodelling?"
"You’d be surprised what you can do when you can’t sleep and you have cooperative house elves. Come on."
"Does Hermione know you’ve been making the house elves remodel the house?" she asked as she followed him down the stairs.
"No. And you’re not going to tell her. I found out that Dobby loves to do projects like this, so I told him what I wanted done and turned him loose. He’s done a great job. And I helped a bit myself before I started staying with Remus and Tonks."
"Oh-ho, you did, did you? Trying to take some credit away from Dobby?" Ginny teased.
Harry acted wounded. "I had the idea, drew up the plans and helped with the work! What more do you want from me, woman?"
"You’re being very silly today," Ginny said as they reached the ground floor. "Where’s this project?"
"In the basement."
Ginny followed Harry to the basement door and down the stairs, then gasped when she reached the turn in the stairs where she could see the whole basement. "Oh, Harry! It’s beautiful!"
The basement had been magically enlarged and a huge swimming pool installed. It was an attractively irregular shape and had real water lilies growing along one edge, as if it were a pond rather than a pool. A small waterfall burbled at one end, flowing over rocks before splashing in the pool. Colourful fish could be seen flashing in the light that sparkled across the water.
Harry was enjoying watching her reaction. "The waterfall is the filtration system. I helped it along with a spell, too. The water’s pure and will stay clean on its own. It’s twenty feet deep, so we have a lot of room to play." He led Ginny the rest of the way down the stairs. "I’ve made a light that’s like artificial sunlight so the lilies will grow well, and put some other plants in there so the fish will stay healthy. There are ledges along the sides every so many feet at various depths so we can sit and rest, or," he leered at her suggestively, "whatever."
Ginny was grinning broadly now. "I didn’t bring a swimsuit. It’s winter, after all."
"Who needs a suit?" With a grand flourish, Harry did a Transference Spell that removed their clothes and laid them neatly on a nearby chaise. He added his glasses and wand to the top of the stack. "M’lady? Would you like to swim?"
She shook her head in disbelief. "In December. In a basement in London. Brilliant!"
"Don’t forget your gills. I intend to keep you down a while," he said as he pulled her to him and ran his hands down her back, savouring the silkiness of her skin. His breathing was already quicker, his body tingling wherever her skin touched his. He cleared his throat roughly. "Of course, if we keep this up, we’ll never get into the water."
Ginny smiled up at him and pushed hard, shoving him into the pool. She jumped in after him, then surfaced, sputtering. "Oh! Forgot my gills! I need my wand."
"Silly girl." With a gentle touch to each side of her neck, Harry gave her the gills she needed and performed the transformation on himself, as well. Ginny moved into his arms and kissed him as they slid below the surface, grateful that their gills removed the need for them to surface.
Harry’s hands glided down Ginny’s body, lingering over her breasts and the sweet swell of her bum. His lips trailed a path down her neck and shoulder, kissing each spot tenderly, savouring each kiss, each touch, every hitch in her breath or tremble in her body. How could anyone love someone so much without exploding from the sheer joy of it?
He and Ginny sank through the depths, the light becoming green and dappled as they descended. Ginny’s long hair floated above them like a glorious sail, its colour changing rapidly in the eerie light.
Harry felt her fingers in his hair, holding his mouth to her breast. Kicking gently, he pulled her to one of the underwater ledges. He sat her on the ledge and ran his hands down her body, his lips following in their path. When he reached her toes, he nibbled on them, then nipped her ankle and the back of her knees as he worked his way back up. Ginny sat with her head thrown back, her eyes closed in ecstasy, her gills fluttering as her breath came in shallow gasps now. Harry kicked just enough so his body floated up above hers, his hands busy all the while. He leaned down to kiss her lips and laughed in delight as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, kissing him and rolling them off the ledge at the same time.
They fell through the water, spinning slowly round and round as their passion rose. Harry thought of all the times he’d made love to this woman. How could each time be more exciting than the previous one? But it was, every time, each act of love more spectacular, more exciting, more loving than the one before.
Their passion spent for the moment, they rested on the bottom of the pool wrapped in each other’s arms, nowhere near ready to let go. Ginny nestled into Harry’s side, kissing his chest gently before resting her head on his shoulder and relaxing.
Could she be any more perfect? Harry sighed, savouring the bright bubble of happiness filling his chest.
* * * * *
"That was wonderful!" Ginny said as she towelled her hair.
"Glad you liked it," Harry said, taking the towel and wiping her back dry. "I built it for us."
She grinned at him over her shoulder. "And now we’ve broken it in properly, right?"
"Right in one!" Harry wrapped the towel around her from behind and began drying her front, which led to a lot of squirming on Ginny’s part and laughter from both of them.
Harry stilled suddenly. "Shush."
Ginny turned to stare at him. "What?"
"Shush," Harry repeated, his voice a hoarse whisper. The hair on the back of his neck had stood up, always a warning sign. He grabbed his wand and glasses from his pile of clothes while Ginny dug madly through her clothes looking for her own wand.
Harry turned to Ginny. "Stay here!" he whispered, then rushed silently up the stairs.
"No way! What’s wrong?" Ginny hissed as she ran lightly behind him, her wand at the ready.
"Someone’s upstairs. Nobody should be here but the elves." They crept up the stairs and stopped by the door. "Where’s an Extendable Ear when I need one?" he grumbled.
"Here." Ginny handed him an Extendable Ear and unravelled the flesh-coloured string of another for herself. She’d grabbed them from the pocket of her robes when she’d retrieved her wand.
Harry flashed her a brief smile and shoved the end of the Extendable Ear under the door.
"But where are they, Dobby? Ginny did return today, didn’t she?" Molly Weasley was saying.
"Molly, I told you we should have owled them before dropping by," Arthur said patiently.
"But we weren’t that far away—"
"Still, it’s not polite to just drop in," Arthur said.
Harry and Ginny looked at each other, their eyes wide. What were her parents doing here?
As they reeled in their Extendable Ears, Harry leaned toward Ginny and whispered, "I’ll flash us upstairs." A moment later, he was in phoenix form. Once she grabbed his tail, they flashed away, reappearing in their bedroom.
Harry held his hand toward the bathroom. Instantly, the sound of a shower running filled the upstairs hallway. "I’ll get dressed and go down. You can take your time. I’ll stall them," Harry said, grabbing the first shirt he could find and yanking it over his head.
"Aren’t you going to shower?" Ginny said as she wrapped up in Harry’s bathrobe, since all of her things were still in her trunk. "Isn’t that why you started it?"
Harry shook his head, grinned and winked at her as he pulled on a pair of jeans. "It’s your turn. I’ll send Winky up to put your things away while you shower," he added as he shoved his feet into his spare trainers and left the room.
Harry jogged downstairs and did his best impression of being startled when he saw the Weasleys. "Hello. I didn’t know you were here."
"And Dobby didn’t know you were here, either," Molly said, smiling up at him. "Where’s Ginny?"
"In the shower washing the dust out of her hair. We were just poking around in the attic, trying to decide what we can use of Sirius’s old stuff," Harry lied, creating as he went along. "It was a dirty business."
"Yes, it can be," Arthur agreed. "How are you, Harry?"
"Just fine. I suppose you came to visit Ginny?"
"We were in town doing Christmas shopping, and thought we could fit in some wedding shopping as well," Molly said eagerly.
"It would’ve been nice if you’d let us know you were coming. Then we wouldn’t have kept you waiting like this," Harry said, trying to politely set some ground rules before the elder Weasleys got too comfortable in his home. He wanted his time with Ginny to be private, not interrupted constantly by visits from her family. If they wanted to visit, fine, but they’d have to work out a time with Harry and Ginny first.
"Yes, I agree," Arthur said. "We’ll send an owl the next time we plan to come to town. I finished a project early today and Molly joined me in town so we could do some shopping. Then Molly thought we could do some wedding shopping at the same time, and, well, here we are."
Harry glanced down at Dobby, who was wringing his hands miserably. "Dobby, it’s okay. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where we were. Would you send Winky to put Ginny’s things away while she’s showering?"
The elf relaxed at Harry’s kind words. "Yes, Harry Potter, sir."
Harry looked up at his guests. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"
"No, thanks," Arthur replied.
"We’re fine," Molly added.
"So you’re Christmas shopping?" Harry said as the three of them sat down in the living room. "What wedding things do you want to shop for today?"
"I thought we could get a start on finding the right robes for everyone," Molly began with a smile, "although I know we still have a good bit of time before the wedding. But with Ginny at school—"
"Um, I need to talk to you about that, actually," Harry said, wishing Ginny was with him. Just as he thought that, he heard her on the stairs. "Oh, here’s Ginny."
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Ginny said, giving each of her parents a kiss on the cheek before sitting down with Harry.
"I know how dirty attics can be," Molly said. "I don’t blame you for wanting to shower. Did you find anything good?"
"No, not really," Harry said quickly. "I thought I remembered some furniture that wasn’t too shabby, but it was in worse shape than I remembered."
"And it will be more fun to pick out things we like anyway," Ginny added now that she understood the story Harry had told to cover for their absence. "Why are you here?"
Molly explained about her idea of shopping for the wedding since she, Arthur, Ron and Hermione were all on Diagon Alley. "And what was it you wanted to talk to us about, Harry? You started to say something earlier."
"Oh! Yeah, erm, about the wedding date. We need to move it up."
Molly gasped and looked at Ginny in alarm. "You’re not—"
"No!" Ginny sounded a bit exasperated.
"It’s my fault," Harry said quickly. He got up and grabbed his school bag from under his desk and dug out a piece of parchment, which he handed to Arthur. "I have healer’s orders to get married sooner, actually. I haven’t been sleeping well, and it’s causing me all kinds of problems."
"But I thought you were staying with Remus because of that," Molly said, frowning in confusion.
"I have been, but I still have nightmares and lose a lot of sleep. I only sleep well when Ginny’s with me." He blushed as he said this, but it was the truth and needed to be said.
Molly squirmed uncomfortably, then lifted her chin with a resolute expression. "So when do you want to get married?"
Harry laughed, hoping to ease the tension in the room. "Today works for me, but I think it will be best if we get married just before the Easter break at Hogwarts. I’ve talked with Grandfather already, and it isn’t a problem for him. I thought we could have it at Hogwarts—"
"And avoid the press that way! And the fangirls," Ginny said, giving Harry a teasing glance. "They’ll all be distraught over you getting married."
"Avoiding the press is a real bonus to having it at Hogwarts," Harry said. "And the house elves can do the food. That just leaves us with the decorating, I think."
"And the cake. And the band." Molly sighed. "I don’t think the band I booked can do an earlier date. I was lucky to get them for the original date."
Harry looked from Molly to Ginny, then smiled. Neither of them had been fond of the band Molly had chosen anyway. "I might have a solution to that problem."
"Really?" Molly looked hopeful for the first time since the beginning of the wedding discussion.
"Yeah. Hang on, let me send a message to someone. He may be able to meet me when we go shopping today to talk about it." Harry got up, found some parchment on his desk and started writing a note.
"Who?" Ginny said.
"Dan Jacobs." Dan and Harry had become friends, having lunch together whenever they ran into each other on Diagon Alley. Dan’s group, Toads in the Loo, was Harry and Ginny’s favourite band.
Ginny bounced in her seat in excitement. "Oh, they’d be perfect! I hope they’re free then!"
Harry grinned at her enthusiasm, relieved, as well, that the Weasleys had taken the change in plans so well. "Me too."