Nervous hearts .. (Christmas at the burrow 1998)

[headauror]

Her seemingly deliberate brushes of her hand across his own on more than one occasion at the cauldron had left the skin on his feeling oddly alive, it was both a really good sensation and yet at the same time had his stomach twisting in knots. The mixed feelings were only intensified when she pulled her gaze away and they spent several more moments lost in the simmering mist of the cider. What was she playing at?.. he wasn't angry of course..but damned if he wasn't confused.. on the stairs she'd jumped as if he'd shocked her with his touch and now..well he was becoming fairly bloody certain the connection of their skin over the ladle wasn't the result of clumsiness on either part.

And the words she'd spoken just prior to his asking her to sit at the table... tie everything up.. the sound of them was so finale it was twisting that invisible knife into the wreck that was within him with viscous force..straight to the hilt, why all the contact if she was done with it? If she just wanted to talk things over and clean them up neat so he'd know to back off, leave her be in that respect? He watched as she made her way to the table and settled into her usual spot.. at least somethings never changed right?.. that small thought tugged a tiny and weak nostalgic smile from him before Ginny was speaking again. I, er, Harry... I want to say that I... His heart froze in his chest..his gaze stayed locked on her face as her own eyes roamed the room..took in the family clock.. a wizarding marvel that had always amazed Harry and yet which for the moment he wished would vanish and stop taking Ginny's attention from him when she obviously had something she wanted to say to him.. something that, judging by her trips and pauses in speech, was rather hard for her to express.

Was it that difficult to just tell him not to bother and be done with it?.. Did she have any idea the torture he was putting himself through by standing here calmly..trying to hold and brave face, one free for the most part of the torrent of emotions inside him? But then she'd couldn't know could she..because he'd been to bloody much a coward to tell her about it on the stairs..lost his chance when he'd waited till the last minute and her mum had come in, and in doing so left it to her to muster that courage at this moment.. so of course she didn't know..bloody git he was... Voldemort must have dragged his backbone off with to some place of no return beyond the veil draped archway.. never mind thoughts on that though, he had enough going on here without straying to random thoughts that would cause him to dwell on his god father..

His gaze remained intensely focused on Ginny until she finally spoke again.. I mean, I wanted to tell you... .. bloody hell he cared for this girl but he wished she'd just get on with it before his heart imploded from the worry of it all.. I, uh, missed you ... she.."missed him".. did that mean what he hoped it did?!? Why did girls always seem set on talking in some cryptic code that left you worrying that your next words might just as easily get you a sound tongue lashing as they could a firm snogging??.. Simply eying Ginny for a moment, he finally dropped his gaze to his mug and sighed, before walking the finale few steps to the table and sliding in on the bench next to her. Setting his mug down he kept both hands in place on it. Toying with the lip of the cup with his thumbs as he tried to find some way to both be done with it, get the jest of his feelings out in the open.. that he was still interested..while at the same time not slamming his foot so far into his mouth that he'd be suffering a rather silent and uncomfortable dinner as a result. He kept his voice low and thought full, looking staring at his thumbs as they moved across the mugs rim for the span of most of his words.

" Gin.. you have to know I missed you to..right?.. I mean... you've no idea how often I thought about, worried.. "

He sighed and lifted both hands to drag them through his hair in frustration before turning his pained expression on her. Without really thinking on it, he reached over and grasped her own hand in his, tugging it gently towards him to hold in the space between them on the table..

" You 'do' realize that I still care right? .. That I honestly "never" wanted to hurt you... I just couldn't... I couldn't see any other way to keep you safe.."

[ron]

He had been given so many jobs by his blasted mother that by the time Ron was shunted into the garden to generally clean up, he was in quite the foul mood. From dragging in the perfect tree with George's help, to cleaning up his room, to making sure all of his presents were wrapped, to helping his mum some in the kitchen (he was getting pretty good at baking, if he did say so himself). Now he stood outside, shivering in the cold, his breath coming out like the smoke of a dragons. For a moment he just stood, staring around at all of the clutter that was the Burrow's garden.

After a moment, he thought he heard the approaching footsteps of somebody, so he quickly raised his wand, peering into the darkness, alert and ready. However, as his father rounded the corner of the house, Ron mentally scolded himself. Voldemort was gone, thing were getting under control, and still he feared that there would be an attack at any moment. Of course, they could never be too careful. Moody and Remus told them that.

The youngest Weasley son scowled, not wanting his train of thought to go down that road again. Thoughts of those people who would not be seeing another Christmas was not what he needed. He needed to get happier, he needed to be excited and get into the Christmas spirit. Harry would be coming over at some point before dinner, and after Hermione had a nice little Christmas with her parents, he would be able to see her too. Ronald kept his thoughts focused on these happy times as his father finally came to a stop right next to him, glasses crooked as always.

"I really love what you've done with the garden, son." Ron cracked a large grin, giving a tiny shrug. He liked the garden the way it was, no need to spruce it up, they wouldn't even be outside for anything. Too damn bloody cold, in his opinion. His mother was just daft, is what she was. It was the holiday fervor she always got.

"Supper is ready here soon. Your brothers are just finishing up something or another in the orchard. Oh, Harry has arrived." His father smiled before loping back around the corner, towards the distant sounds of cursing and a bit of laughter. Ron sighed, watching his breath curl up into the night sky, before squaring his shoulders and moving to the back door. He let a smile overtake his freckled features--it had been a bit since he and Harry had spoken. He was hoping that this time of year, Harry would be a bit more cheerful, a bit more connected to the family.

Left hand grasped firmly around the door knob, Ron shouldered his way into the kitchen. He let the door close loudly behind him, and he kept his back to the room as he unwrapped his scarf from his neck and shook the snow out of his ginger colored hair. He hadn't expected anybody to be in here, so he was in for quite a shock when he turned quickly and came face to face with Harry and his little sister, Ginny, holding hands at the table. Holding hands. Together...Alone.

A million and one thoughts flashed through Ron's mind as the two of them quickly quit touching one another, no doubt because of his presence. The old part of him wanted to yell at Harry for leading his sister on again, messing with her emotions. However, the words wouldn't come out of his throat, and he knew that he didn't want to say them. Slowly, Ron pocketed his wand in his back pocket of his jeans, wondering what to say. He came to realize that he did not altogether dislike his sister and Harry being here together. Maybe...maybe things were getting worked out between them? It was too bloody awkward for his taste.

"Harry, mate!" he finally said cheerfully, shuffling forward to pull his best friend out of the chair he sat in and clap him in a quick hug. Ron pulled back, one hand on the other's shoulder, a grin plastered on, that was mostly genuine. "Didn't know you were here yet! Good to see you, Mr. Ghost."

For a moment, Ron wondered how angry the two of them must be for his interuption. Perhaps they wanted privacy? Well..in a home like the Burrow, they were fools if they expected it.

Besides, nobody said Ronald Weasley had good timing.

[ginny]

His eyes stayed on her, and her voice faltered because of it. Say he didn't feel the same. Say that he just wanted to go back to when she was Ron's little sister and he was his best friend. What would she do, then? Look like a fool, most likely. Then they wouldn't be able to talk the rest of the time. Was there no way to win? Why did her stomach have to be in so many knots? She could sneak into the headmaster's office at sixteen and battle Bellatrix Lestrange only months later, but she could not tell Harry bloody Potter that she wouldn't mind getting back to that status where she was allowed to kiss him. He dropped his gaze, finally, and it seemed easier to breathe. His body heat slid onto the seat next to her, and she swore that she could feel him brush against her when he sat next to her. It sent her heart through another rapid beating in her chest. He was going to make her go mad.

His voice started and she looked up at him without really thinking. He missed her... He missed her and thought of her often and... worried for her. That must have meant that he cared for her, at least a little. He wouldn't tell her this if he didn't!

Then, his hand reached out and grasped hers to close some of the space between them. Ginny was afraid that her heart might stop in its beating. How embarassing would that be? His hand felt warm against hers and somewhat comforting. It was solid proof that he was here now, touching her, and really existing in front of her. Ginny was pulled toward him and had to look up to see him properly due to their height.

His next words made her breath catch in her throat. He did care. After everything and not talking about it all, he did. "Oh, Harry, I've always -" Her words came out in a rush to try and make him understand. He had to know how much she had missed knowing where he was and how he was doing and having a reason to be. He had to know how much she still cared for him, after all of this time!

She wanted to say more, but she was stopped instantly when Ron closed to door loudly behind him. Ginny jerked away from Harry, moving down to the end of the bench without really realizing it. Of course Ron would come at the time when she might have been able to tell Harry something about... them. She stood, moving over to the cider. She poured another cup and put it down on the table in front of Ron's place. It gave her something to do when her cheeks flushed and she had to duck her head to hide her embarassment.

[headauror]

Thoroughly disgruntled.. that would be a gentle way of describing his feelings toward his friend and his inopportune timing. Best bloody mate or not.. Ginny had been on the verge of letting him know.. just words from making everything finally clear . Whether what she'd have had to say was what he'd been hoping to hear or not, though he was very hopeful judging by her tone that he'd not have been disappointed, he had still wanted it done..wanted to know and get past this awkward tension between them that was nearly possible to reach out and touch.

He felt a wave of disquiet as Ginny pulled her hand away and quickly left the table. his gaze fallowed her a moment as she sought refuge back at the simmering cauldron of cider. Back to this then.. was she afraid of what her brother might say, that he'd be against there still being something between them? Or rather was she afraid he'd get the wrong idea.. the idea Harry was daring to hope.. that she still harbored feelings for the guy who'd managed to mess things up so badly to begin with. Frowning, he gave a silent sigh and turned to rise and greet his friend. A tight smile pressed his lips at Ron's jab towards his lack of frequent visits lately. He supposed he deserved as much, not that he could help how overly busy his Auror training kept him, but there was still that small twang of guilt at the knowledge that he had in fact found a reason on more than one occasion of what limited free time he'd had in the past months to avoid going to the burrow. Mainly when he'd known Ginny would be home. Before he'd gotten thoroughly disgusted with his own cowardice and love sick heart and decided to stop being such bullock and do something about it. Clapping Ron's back in a brief show of brotherly affection he shrugged.

" Busy with training and all, you know? They give you little enough time to sleep.. let alone visit those you'd like to.. "

He couldn't help a cursory glance in Ginny's direction at his words while slumping back down into his place at the table. His gaze though was quickly drawn away again as she was turning to come back to the table with a third cup of cider. Focusing again on Ron he tried for a bit more of a real and relaxed grin.

" And yeah, got here a good bit ago.. helped with some of the decorating and then your mum chased us in here to wait for dinner."

The bruise on his side twinged a bit with his current position and he found himself wondering if it might not have been a better idea to simply heal it all the way, sure he had his reasons for letting it heal on its own. But having anyone here take note of it and worry over him wasn't something he'd had the foresight to consider, nor was it something he intended to have happen.. first opportunity he'd see to that then. Ignoring the dull ache for the moment he continued on in conversation. There was no hope for it.. the moment was gone and he'd have to wait for another to come about before there'd be any hope of continuing thier talk. He new Ginny well enough to know that discussing ..well..'them' wasn't something she'd willingly do in front of Ron..nor would he particularly care for her to. Picking up his cider he sipped at the warm and spicy drink and then spoke again.

" So what's she had you at then? If it was de-gnomeing the garden you should have put it off a bit.. would've enjoyed helping with that. Is Hermionie still planning to come some time this week? Last owl we exchanged she'd been planning to try but was still a bit worried over leaving her parents alone to long.."

A frown tugged the corner of his mouth slightly as he thought on them. He still felt guilty about that.. what Hermione had put them through to protect them while she'd gone off with he and Ron to help hunt the Horcruxes. Guilty, but not regretful.. he'd have never been able to do it with them.

[ron]

They were disappointed (a tad bit embarrassed by what he could tell), of that Ron was certain. They had immediately broken apart, and while one savage part of Ron was happy that they knew when to cut things off, because of an older brother being around, he felt somewhat bad for interuppting whatever it was they had been discussing. Had it been important? Had they been sorting feelings and been planning out ways to get together again? For honestly, they were acting as he and Hermione had before they had admited their feelings for one another--slightly awkward and pretty annoying. The more mature part of Ron wanted them to get together as couple again already!

Ron's blue eyes followed Ginny's figure as she jumped up and poured a cup of warm cider, setting it down where he usually sat. With a small smile, he tried to catch her eye, but blue did not meet brown, and Ron knew then that Ginny was very heavily embarrassed. He settled with a soft, "Thanks, Gin," as she sat down again. His attention turned back to Harry, whom he pulled into a brotherly hug. Ron was happy that it was returned, although he knew Harry was less than happy at the interuption. Oops. Well, he'd get over it, yeah? They had been through plenty worse than just bad timing.

"Yeah yeah, training. I forgot being an Auror meant having no social life," Ron teased half-heartedly, his grin falling into a simple half smile as he moved to his seat and sat down. He noticed the way Harry looked at Ginny before slumping down into his seat, and bit the inside of his cheek, cursing himself and his timing. He gave an automatic nod at what Harry said about decorating and being chased to dinner, but his eyes would not stop going back and forth between his little sister and his best mate. A thick silence settled down, and the awkwardness was so obvious that Ron felt he could reach out and snatch it from the air.

To do something, he reached out with his right hand and wrapped it around the cup Ginny had set down at his place, pulling it to his lips, sipping down the warm and spicey liquid, feeling the warm spread through him gratefully. He realized then that he was shaking slightly, but hadn't noticed the cold, really, because of his preoccupied thoughts on Harry and Ginny. Now, though, Ron gulped down the drink, trying to warm up, as he kept looking at the two others in the room, trying not to be obvious about it.

Ronald looked up gratefully as Harry began speaking, asking questions, and so Ron placed the cup back onto the table, although his hands both wrapped firmly around it, soaking in all the warmth he could. He cleared his throat, detaching his left hand long enough to rub his freckled nose.

"Nah, didn't get any de-gnoming done, don't worry mate. Wouldn't do it without-cha. She had me clean my room a bit, and me an' George dragged in the tree. Were a bit late this year with it, but what can you do? What else...Oh yeah, had to wrap just a couple of presents, and then Mum and I cooked." Here Ron paused, and a smile tugged his lips upward as he looked at Harry. "Don't laugh, either. I'm getting quite good at making food, actually. Then, she had me go to the yard to spruce up, Merlin knows why, but dad saved me by sending me in here to get ready for dinner."

As he said this, Ron stood and moved to the sink, lathering his hands with soap and turning on the tap. He scrubbed them, and glanced over his shoulder as he continued. "Far as I know, Hermione's still coming, although it might only be a day or so, near the end of our little breaks away from home."

Ron let out a sigh without meaning to, eyes facing forward, back to the two others in the room as he continued to scrap off the non-existant dirt on his hands. His mind turned to a bushy haired girl, his girlfriend, his intelligent and lovely girlfriend. This was Hermione's first Christmas back with her parents after the whole war thing, and he didn't blame her for wanting to spend as much time with them as she could. He expected nothing less than her. Still, he couldn't help but to be jealous of the time her parents got with her. He missed her greatly when she was gone, he even missed the fights they got into. He loved being around her, especially during seasons, and he really hoped that she would be able to make it over at some point. He wanted to give her her present face to face, not over owl or some such thing.

With another sigh, Ron realized he had closed his eyes. Quickly he opened them and washed off the soap, drying his hands embarrassedly, wondering how long he had just stood there with his back to his sister and friend. He loped back over to the cider and with a quick grab and flick of his wand, summoned his cup and refilled it. He stowed away his wand again as he sat down once more, sipping the drink.

"I think she'll come at some point. Hope so, anyways," he said softly, and then looked through the fringe of his bright red hair towards his best mate. "What about you? Done anything at all besides work, mate?" With a glance at Ginny, Ron forced himself to focus on the conversation, and not how much he would hate to be interuppted if he was alone with Hermione.

[ginny]

OUT OF CHARACTER, DORKS:

SO.
I WANT SOME CUTE HARRY/GINNY.
SO I WANT TO SPEED THIS UP SOMEHOW.
AWKWARD IS CUTE, BUT I WANT CUTECUTE. YOU KNOW? ^^
I'M BRAINSTORMING. GET BACK TO YOU LATER.

[ginny]

Dinner could have gone better. After she, Ron, and Harry had navigated their way through an awkward conversation, her mother had appeared and sent Harry out to the living room so that she and Ron would help with dinner. For once, she took the job with grace. She never liked to help her mother cook, but now it gave her something to do so that she wasn't looking over at Harry every few seconds like a star struck third year. Cooking made her think and forced her to move her thoughts away from the boy sitting in the next room over.

Dinner itself had not been much better than their other conversation. It had been worse in some ways. She had to put on a front of being completely collected toward Harry around her parents. They didn't know anything about them going out or breaking it off or really anything that went on between the two of them. Maybe they could guess and see through her, but they didn't say anything and made her keep up her mask of just being an eager friend to hear all about auror training. He sat far enough away from her that she would not feel the urge to brush hands with him or something, but he was practically across from her on the table. When she looked up to get the butter or something, he was right there, and sometimes handing whatever it was that she wanted to him.

No, dinner could have gone much better. Luckily now, it was over. Could it possibly get better before she had to go back to school for the rest of her year? Part of her hoped that it would, but another pessimistist part of her said that it wouldn't get any better and she would be awkward the whole time before she got shipped off to Hogwarts. Well, only one thing could probably make it worse. At this rate, they might not even get to do anything to make it better or worse. Perhaps that was the best solution anyway?

Ginny sighed and hugged her knees closer to her as she looked up at the stars. With no hope of sleep to let her escape, Ginny had come out here so that she would at least have the space and privacy to think about everything going on.

It wasn't supposed to be this hard. If they were supposed to be going out again, if they really did work together as well as she thought they did, they would be together. If it was supposed to be, wouldn't it work out? Why did some other force want to make this harder on her? It was already confusing enough to think that you might love your brother's best friend. Wasn't that enough of a twist without this twisting of her heart every time he came over for a visit?

And he had come so close to saying something today. She'd been about to tell him exactly how she felt, and Ron had to come in, just like he had on Harry's seventeenth birthday. Ginny burrowed her head in her arms with another sigh. How would he have taken the news, anyway? Did he still care for her the way he had or the way she was sure she did? She could deny it to herself and others as much as she wanted, but she was still as smitten with him as she had been when she had seen him in her house at the age of eleven.

It would be just her luck that she fell for her brother's best friend who also happened to be the most famous teenager in the wizarding world.

Ginny sighed again and pushed herself up into a stand position. Her broom had been at her side the whole time, so she grabbed it and mounted it quickly, speeding off the ground before she could change her mind. The wind her in face with her hair flying back freely was familiar enough to make her feel more comfortable. Here, in the air, nothing could be wrong. Even when they were down by a hundred points, she could direct another play and push them into the lead with some goals and a seeker who would catch the snitch. Nothing could go wrong when she was flying above the rest of the world.

Ginny gripped herself closer to the broom and sped around the field where her brothers used to practice Quidditch when she was too little to play and only helped Ron referee. It hurt to think of Fred back here with his beater's bat at the ready, but at least it was a happy memory of him that ached dully. Ginny shook it away. She wouldn't let anything ruin her time up here. The small field was only lit by the light of the almost-full moon that could have thrust her thoughts in another few directions. She refused to think about it though. She just wanted to fly and leave the rest behind.

[headauror]

Sent out into the living room by a rather insistent Molly, Harry had occupied himself by taking in the familiar sights of the burrow. Homey, warm.. smelling faintly of a mixture of spice and a woodsy sort of scent. His eyes had grazed over the contents of the room from his perch in one of the armchairs. From the cozy couch with its many miss matched pillows to the tall and exceptionally full Christmas tree that had been set up in the corner for the Holiday. Having already been dressed the trees boughs glittered and twinkled with lights and garland. It was a heartening sight.. reminiscent of another Christmas spent here and the memory brought a nostalgic smile to his face. Though the smile wavered as it settled on the trees point. Resting there was a typical topper.. some simple sort of star rather than the grimacing, ugly little gnome that had glowered down at him through its gold painted face on that past occasion. The ugliest little angel Harry had ever seen, stupefied and placed there for daring to bite the ankle of a Weasley twin with a rather rich since of humor, a Weasley who'd given up his cheerful life in the fight to help save their world...

Right.. best not to think to much on that. This was suppose to be a happy time of year after all wasn't it? Mr. Weasley had eventually wandered into the room and Harry had spent the remaining time before dinner chatting with him on things of interest only to those who dealt with the daily happenings at the ministry. He had a great deal of respect for the man.. though with the realization of the level of his feelings for Ginny that respect had also inherited a healthy dose of nerves. He found himself wanting to make an impression on the man as more than simply the adoptive son he seemed to have become to him.. he knew Arthur was proud of him.. felt he'd accomplished a great deal in his young life. But Harry still felt the need to make his goals for the future known.. to impress on Arthur that his focus hadn't ended with the downfall of Voldemort. He was still set on accomplishing goals, being responsible..seeing to the future.. why this desire was so strong was something he had been hesitant to examine to closely. He was only seventeen after all right? Shouldn't feel that strongly about someone yet ..should he? And Ginny.. if she even still cared for him at all in that way, he felt fairly certain that at only sixteen she'd laugh in his face if he voiced the truth lurking in the shadows of his mind. The truth that amidst the forced, unavoidable acceleration of his childhood, dealing with things most adults never even dreamed of, his heart to had matured right along with the rest of him, and the simple fact of the matter was that he didn't like Ginny Weasley... nor did he simply care a great deal for her, no.. he'd gone on ahead and fallen in love with his best mates little sister. Not that any of these thoughts were spoken, or even crossed his mind on a totally conciuos level as he casually conversed with Ginny's dad, but he did find himself trying his best to place himself in a positive light by sharing with the man his plans on a professional level.

Some while later Molly had called them in to dinner. He'd taken a seat directly across from Ginny, not wanting to crowd her as he was still at a loss as to exactly what she had meant by having 'missed him..' yet at the same time wanting to be able to seek eye contact with her during the meal. She's seemed a bit to accepting of Molly's insistence he leave them to cook and go catch up with the others before supper, almost relieved that he was leaving the room. Whatever small fraction of progress they'd manged to make, be it towards restoring a comfortable friendship or rekindling some more, felt as if it might slip away and be lost when he had stepped out of the kitchen. He hadn't liked the feeling..hadn't liked it at all, and was determined now to keep her from shutting down again and blocking him out. He tried for idle conversation during dinner.. chatting with the family as a whole.. sharing random tid bits of his training, the ones that were of a more mellow nature and wouldn't have Molly, and he hoped..Ginny fretting over his safety and health. And though Ginny responded, joined in on the chatter, her calm interest seemed forced somehow.. as if she were covering up some deeper, more involved level of feeling. He'd even passed her a thing or two that had been beyond her reach.. hoping for a reacureance of the purposeful brush of her hand across his as she'd done at the cauldron. It didn't happen, she seemed to make it a point to accept the items politely and gratefully, but while also making the greatest of efforts not to let their skin connect. It was a bit of a disappointment, he found himself craving the odd fuzz of pleasant, static like, charge that had occurred when they'd previously touched. Maybe he'd read into it, only imagined she'd brushed his hand on purpose over the cider.. wishful thinking of a daft heart given over to a love that wasn't returned.

Dinner had finally come to an end and he'd gone up to Ron's room to unpack, get settled and catch up on things. Following that was more time with the family in the sitting room, Ginny seemingly just as distant as she'd been at dinner. The hours had ticked by and eventually everyone had trickled off to bed for the night. In the end he found himself staring at the ceiling from his cot, Ron's snores taunting him from his best mates bed as he fought for sleep that refused to come, or perhaps the desire for it simply wasn't strong enough for it to fight its way past his frets and worries over a young red head no doubt sound asleep in another part of the house. Sighing in frustration he finally gave up the pursuit of dreams as a bad job and rolled off his cot. After sliding on his glasses he dawned his jeans and pulled on an old blue sweat shirt and his shoes, he ran his hands haphazardly through the mess of hair atop his head and snagged his jacket. He shrugged quietly into it as he made his way down the stairs. He found himself pausing briefly outside of Ginny's door, but with a soft shake of his head he continued on and out of the house. Pausing at the Weasley's broom shed to barrow Ron's broom, surely his best mate wouldn't begrudge him a mind clearing lap or two on it, he shouldered it and pulled from a pocket of his jacket a small golden ball. Though he might have next to no time to mount a broom these days, let alone play, he still had a great passion for the game and a love for the position he'd once played. Heading down to the orchard he set the small ball lose.. lost in thought, and snatched it from the air only to release it and do the same over again as he walked. He'd picked up the habit somewhere along the way.. something to do when thinking.. trying to gather his thoughts... catching the snitch.. it was such a simplistic task. Hard as hell mind you, but not a real thought consumer. Look for the gold, set your sights on it and do what you must to snatch the speedy little thing from the air. If only the rest of life where so simple.

On reaching the tall and sheltering trees, he mounted the broom and kicked off into the air, relishing in the feel of the crisp cold wind against his face and closing his eyes as it snared his hair and made it dance into an even crazier disarray than usual. A contented sigh bridged his mouth as he gave himself over to the relaxing feeling of flight. Tossing the small gold ball into the night he set it lose to roam and lose it's self within the enchanted limits of the Weasley's orchard and make shift Quidditch pitch. Set on giving the snitch an honest head start, he fooled about with a series of dives and loops, that while merely entertainment to him would have kept the average first year in riveted awe. Eventually he settled into a still position, the cool dark of night all around, and peered through it for the tail tail glint of gold. There.. it had gleamed in the shadows ahead. Leaning forward over the booms handle he streaked forward intent on recapturing it. Lost in the chase and souly focused on the golden glint, by the time he was close enough to make out the figure of Ginny on her broom, half hidden in a shadow from his starting point, it was a bit late to pull up quite sharply enough. That's not to say he plowed right into her. Skilled as he was on a broom, by the time his eyes had widened and the reality of an impending collision had sunk in he'd done a flip that had him skidding to a stop just at her side, though all the same as he bumped up against her her reflexively reached out a steadying arm and wrapped it round her waist. No doubt she was most likely as surprised to find him racing head long into her as he was to find her in his path and be damned if he'd risk her falling due to his absent minded flying.

When the fog of confusion cleared and he glanced down to his side, it was to see Ginny firmly, hugged to his side, her broom hovering steady at the side of his own... right. Something of a cross between a decidedly nervous and embarrassed noise issued from him as he pulled his arm gently from her and ran it through his hair. His gaze dropping to his broom handle and he made a shaky effort at a warm smile..

" Heh... erm, sorry... wasn't Blatching I swear.. "

His reference to the Quidditch foul of flying with the intent to collide was his own lame stab at humor. He'd taken it in hopes of lightening the mood of the rather awkward moment.. it hadn't worked, at least it hadn't for him. His fool stomach was in knots. He gave her a curious glance.

" What are you doing up at this hour anyway? "

Ok..that hadn't come out exactly as he'd meant it, and if he knew Ginny at all she's likely take a bit of offense...

" What I mean is... arn't you at all tired? ..It's got to be going on what? Midnight at least? .. umm.."

He was nearly afraid to ask but by Merlin he was tired of it already.. walking on eggshells, trying to shield his own heart. If she was upset about something he wanted to know about it, help if he could. Tilting his head a bit he did his best to catch her eye.

" You alright Gin? .. "

[ginny]

She didn't know how long she was out there with the wind in her face and her thought temporarily on things other than her relationship status and feelings with a certain auror in training. Quidditch always seemed to be a panacea for her problems for at least a little while. It got her mind off things and let her do something she loved. Flying was like breathing to her, completely natural and needed to exist. It calmed her and made the whole world seem to stop spinning for a little while. She did another few flips carelessly, letting her light laughter ring around the makeshift field her older brothers had made ages ago while she stood and watched with cups of lemonade for when they got tired from working. No one was going to be out with her, anyway. They would all be sleeping on Christmas Eve like the normal people that they were. Well, as normal as the Weasleys could be.

She was pulled from her relief of thoughts when an arm wrapped around her waist tightly and protectively to keep her from falling when something bumped into her rather hard. Ginny reached for her broom automatically, ready if she needed to roll in the air to stay off of the ground. She could recover pretty well from getting hit. You needed to be able to when you were a chaser. The cause of her would be fall seemed to be the same thing that still held an arm around her waist to hug them against each other. As if she needed another reason to think about him.

Harry Potter.

Time seemed to slow as she heard her heart beat echo in her head at a pace that seemed much too fast. She knew it was because of his arm around her, but that did not make it any less annoying that she reacted like this. Slowly he pulled his arm from around her and seemed even more nervous about everything than she did. Harry Potter nervous? About her? That seemed absurd. He faced down the darkest wizard of all time less than a year ago. How could she be that scary?

"What?" she said quickly, not sure if she could really pay attention to what he was saying at the moment. "Oh, right. No, fine. It's all right. Er, yeah." She surely sounded brilliant at the moment. He was probably blown away with her intellect. What had he ever seen in her, honestly? She could not even put together a nice sentence that made sense anymore. She was losing it.

"Just flying," she answered lamely, though she somehow thought he would understand what she meant. He did the same thing it seemed. He escaped his problems with a few laps and tricks around the pitch. She lifted her eyes to look up at the moon that was still managing to give them just enough light to see by. "Clears my head." She nodded to herself and looked back to him. At least she could be his friend again if nothing else? Smile and be cool, Weasley. Relax.

"Were you looking for something, by chance?" Ginny glanced behind her shoulder and turned to flash him a teasing smile. "Go." With that, she turned quickly on her broom and sped after the golden ball that had darted past her. She looked around to try to spot it and thought she saw a flash of gold. She didn't look back to see if Harry had gotten her point. She bent farther over the broom and raced toward it. Her arm reached out as if in a dream to the fluttering gold ball that was trying its hardest to allude her.

Ginny lifted herself off the broom to push herself farther toward it. She could probably hear Harry flying after her in the same mission. With a celebritory "Yes!" Ginny grabbed the ball and turned quickly to him again. Her smile was back in place as the snitch struggled in her hand. "I win."

His sped stayed up so that he managed to catch up with her and pull by her side. Ginny's thoughts tried to sort out what she wanted to do from what she should, but gave up quickly. Screw it. If they were going to get anywhere one of them would have to do something. Without another word to him or any thoughts of what might happen afterwards, Ginny threw the arm with the snitch around his shoulders and pulled his lips down to meet hers. God, she had wanted to do this for ages.

[headauror]

He couldn't help the slight smirk that touched his lips as Ginny fumbled over her words.. damn but she was cute when she did that. Apparently he'd intruded on some deep level of thinking that had yet to evaporate from her mind. Even with his daft attempt at nearly knocking them both from the sky. Fallowing her gaze to the moon above his smirk smoothed out into a smile of agreement. He'd just been about to nod and agree with her that flying was definitely the best way he knew of to relax and clear your mind when Ginny glanced behind them and asked.. if he'd been looking for something? what?.. His mind had become so centered on the girl sitting next to him that the snitch had succeeded in completely leaving his thoughts. Bit embarrassing for a seeker.. thank Merlin he'd kept that from happening back at school..err... often? Right... Ginny had smirked and taken off like a shot after the small glint of gold in the distance and a fraction of a second later he was hot on her heels.. leaning down over the broom which gave a shudder of protest at the speed he was asking of it. Oh right... wasn't his Firebolt.. he really needed to make a trip to Diagon Alley and replace it one of these days. He frowned at the brooms shaft and the fact that it had caused him to lose the challenge at hand. That is, until he looked up..

Flying to the rear might be the down fall of his attempting to catch the snitch, but,... wow... what a view. Ginny bent low over her broom.. making all the right swoops..all the right dips.. and as she urged the broom forward and reached out for the snitch, Her trim form arching up to try and grasp it, Harry's heart shifted into another gear along with Ginny's broom, hammering in his chest and.. err.. warming him up.. right, the cold winter air had nothing on him with a sight like that filling his eyes. He watched, a wide grin in place, as she plucked the snitch from the air and wheeled to face him. Excited and thrilled as if this were an actual game and she'd just won it for a roaring, cheering crowd of Gryffindor. He could almost hear the thrilled crowd in the quiet orchard bellow as he took in and absorbed Ginny's enthusiasm.. her bright smile and thrill at having won the game. How in the name of Merlin had he gone without her this long? That was a question he really couldn't put an answer to. Ginny's spontaneous nature.. her complete zest for life, lightened his heat and knocked considerable age off of a heart and mind that had matured much to fast for its own good. If there was one thing he'd rather think less about than the past year spent away from her and how he'd managed to survive it, it was the future ahead and how in the name of Merlin he'd cope if the beautiful red head, far more alluring in his opinion than any Veela, wasn't a part of his. Chuckling he leaned forward and sped up to her side, beaming and ready to give her a congratulatory hug and a well earned comment on how well she'd done. He never got the words out of his mouth..

His eyes popped wide as Ginny's arms encircled his neck and pulled him down to press their lips together. The shock lasted for all of a breath before the monster that had been thoroughly sulking in his chest all evening gave a happy sort of flip and without another thought he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her slight form to him. One hand lifted to twine its fingers through Ginny's hair and cradle her head as he tilted his head to better deepen the kiss. The last time Ginny had surprised him with a much unexpected kiss it had been both the most wonderful thing, and yet at the same time terribly bitter sweet. It had been a kiss of goodbye..or at least, see you later, we can hope? But honestly at that time he'd not known if he'd ever see her again, if he'd even live to have the opportunity to. But this kiss.. Merlin.. this kiss of Ginny's was ..hello.. I never left.. and Harry was determined to add to that his own firm impression of ..and I've no intentions of ever doing so again...

Lost in the moment he failed to notice that not only was the broom, not use to Harry as it had a different owner, both drifting off and away from Ginny's but it was losing altitude at the same time. Pulling them both down towards the ground in a slow decent that had them only about ten feet or so off the ground when he lost his balance. His eyes widened a bit as he realized the distance of his lower half from Ginny's own broom a bit late and, as his hands were still a bit occupied and his legs rather forgotten at the moment he tumbled from his broom. Arms still securely wrapped around Ginny, apparently her grip had gone a little lax as well, he pulling her with him. He leaned back into the fall to make certain she'd not wind up being the first to hit and held her to him as he took what little impact the snow bellow manged to dish out. Landing with a soft crunch in the dry and fluffy snow, he pulled a hand from his embrace of her to dust away the spackleing of snow that had scattered across his glasses. That done he smirked rather sheepishly up at her from the bottom of the glittering fairly deep hole their bodies had pressed out in the snow drift they'd fallen into.

" Err... think It's safe to say I've ...umm... 'fallen' for you? "

He pinched his index and thumb together..

" just a bit?..."